This season's 6-0 start for the Broncos has created some real buzz . So much so, that we even got headline "ink" from the San Jose Mercury News! Podcasters and college basketball media are writing about opponents to not take us lightly. They have even mentioned a more legit chance at an NCAA at-large invite.
The press coverage and flattery is well deserved albeit on a six game sample size. We'll know in the next month if we can live up to the hype. To do that, we'll need to be Kings of the Road. Six of our next seven games will be away from Leavey. Even though some games are on neutral sites, true road games at St. Louis and New Mexico will be stern tests. Four of the seven teams are inside the NCAA top 100. Road losses to top 100 ranked teams don't hurt as much, but winning those would be a huge boost. The coaches and players will have to manage quick turnarounds adding to the difficulty.
This team has shown it is up for big challenges. Our defense has been stout and aggressive; forcing turnovers that have resulted in easier transition baskets. Defense has saved us in a number of games where our shooting has been sub par. The challenge ahead will be to stay aggressive, but not commit touch fouls far away from the basket that lead to high percentage free throws Our opponents are averaging seven more FT per game than we shoot. Too many.
Our rebounding has been terrific, grabbing over 100 offensive boards. We average 7 block shots per game with Bukky Oboye, Allen Graves, and Thierry Darlan the primary erasers. We are also moving the ball so much better than the past two seasons. Fewer hero shots and more really finding the open shooters. Our shooting has been literally hot and cold. Our three ball shooting has been erratic at 31%. More consistency would be a welcome addition to all the other strong efforts. Our FT percentage also needs work at 63%. We have four players that play a lot of minutes with sub 50% FT shooting. This is, and, will be critical for closing out victories late in games.
This roster has serious competitive fire. You can't teach heart. The rest can be learned and with experience this younger roster could be positioned to do some damage at the top of the WCC when conference play starts. Many look at the lower half of the WCC and assume easy victories against the likes of Pepperdine, USD, Portland, Pacific, and LMU. That would be a big mistake.
The WCC conference is now rated 6th best overall out of 31 NCAA conferences. Bronco fans know too well our untimely losses to LMU and Pepperdine over the past few seasons. Add to this list newcomer Seattle to the league, who just took down Stanford at Stanford. There are few, if any "gimmies". Games come quickly. Many, with only two days rest and little time to prep game plans from detailed scouting information. At the end of the day, it comes down to players executing the core offense and defensive principles ingrained in the two months of practice before the season. So far they have served us well and we'll need the whole roster to contribute their individual talents at the highest level possible.
First things first. Win the next seven, starting on the 27th in Palm Desert vs St. Louis.
We'll know a great deal more by Christmas what this team can achieve. Hopefully, it will be "Ho-Ho-Ho" and not Oh No, Oh No, Oh No....
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