The Lobos are back in action Saturday afternoon, when they’ll look to move to 3-0 in conference play with a win against Utah State. Last week showed that they’ve put the Hawaii debacle behind them and that they can win a game away from home. Now they’ll be looking to prove that they should be right in the discussion as being one of the top teams in the conference.
Category: Lobo Basketball
Some Thoughts on Turnovers
Did you know that the Lobo men’s basketball team has had an issue with turnovers this season? If you’re reading this, my guess would be that you’re well aware, especially given how hot of a topic it seems to be right now, and have found yourself pulling your hair out several times this season because yet another Lobo dribbled into a trap/had a pass bounce off of his hands/threw a pass into the stands for what seems like the hundredth time in the game. And as much as I’d like to be the contrarian to provide evidence that it hasn’t been as bad as it seems or that it hasn’t really been affecting them much, I really can’t.
Women’s Basketball Fresno State Recap
Saturday afternoon’s game for the Lobos was not kind to the offense, as they struggled to get any production on that end besides the 40 combined points from Khadijah Shumpert and Cherise Beynon. Still, the Lobos were able to take the game to two overtimes before falling 69-65 to the Fresno State Bulldogs (6-7, 2-0). This was the Lobos’ first conference home loss since the name change to WisePies Arena and their third straight home loss, which puts them at 8-5 overall and 1-1 in conference play. To me, the obvious thing is that the Lobos need to get Jaisa Nunn back or it could remain a challenge for the Lobos to score.
Game Recap
The first quarter was not pretty for the Lobos, as they only mustered 7 points in the quarter on only 2 made field goals. While the offense was not good, the Lobo defense was good enough to hold the Bulldogs to 15 points in the quarter. The Lobos were lucky enough to only be down eight at the end of the quarter, where a second quarter run would have the Lobos neck and neck with the Bulldogs. The Lobos did respond in the second quarter with even better defense than the first quarter holding the Bulldogs to only 7 points, but the Lobo offense continued to struggle, scoring only 11 points in the quarter to make the score 22-18 at half time. The Lobos were 6 for 30 in the first half for 20% shooting, but they were able to stay in the game because their defense limited the Bulldogs to 5 of 18 from the floor for 27.8% and the Lobos also forced 11 turnovers in the half.
Out of halftime, the Bulldogs were able to find the holes in the Lobo defense but weren’t able to create any separation for the first part of the quarter as the two teams traded baskets. With 4:16 left in the quarter, the Lobos were able to get to within one point of the Bulldogs at 31-30, but the Bulldogs then went on a 9-0 run to take a 40-30 lead with less than a minute left in the quarter. Beynon was able to hit a three-pointer to stop the bleeding and make the score 40-33 at the end of the quarter, which meant that the Lobos were still within shouting distance. The start of the fourth quarter wasn’t good for the Lobos, as they didn’t score in the first 3:14, but again the Lobos defense was good enough to only allow 4 points during that span. The Lobos needed to get the offense going to have a chance to come back and win the game and the Lobos did just that, finally. Down 46-36 with 5:37 left in the game, it looked like the Lobos had a very small chance to come back in the game, but the Lobos defense was stout the last 5:37 and didn’t allow single point. This allowed the Lobos offense to go on a 10-0 run to close out regulation tied at 46 and send the game to overtime. The Lobos shooting continued to struggle, as they were 11 for 35 from the floor to 31.4%, and besides the last 5 minutes of the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs offense played much better in the second half, shooting 11 for 27 from the floor for 40.7%.
The first overtime period gave the Lobos a chance to create some separation from the Bulldogs when they were able to jump out to a five point lead just a little over a minute into the period. The Bulldogs were able to make up the difference over that period to tie the score at 58 with 26 seconds left. The Lobos had the ball the chance to take the last shot of the period and Beynon got to the basket with just under 10 seconds left. Unfortunately, the ball touched every inch of the rim but rolled out. Luckily, the Bulldogs were able to grab the rebound but weren’t able to control the ball, turning it back over to the Lobos with 6 seconds left. So, with another chance to win the game, the Lobos weren’t able to get a shot off, turning the ball over and ending the period, sending the game to second overtime tied at 58.
The result of the game in the second overtime became apparent after Shumpert fouled out in the first minute of the period, with her fouling a three-point shooter. The Lobos were able to keep contact with the Bulldogs and gave themselves a chance to tie the game with 30 seconds left, but a missed layup. This allowed made free throws by the Bulldogs to give them the quality road win and giving the Lobos a tough home loss to hurt their chances of winning the conference. The Lobos finally got their offense going in the overtime periods, as they were 6 of 13 from the floor for 46.2%, but the Lobo defense couldn’t stop the Bulldog attack, allowing them to go 6 of 10 from the floor for 60%.
Players of the Game
As with the men’s team, we will give three Players of the Game with the same breakdown as the men. (3 points for first, 2 points for second, and 1 point for third).
- Khadijah Shumpert (19 points on the season): This was another great game from Shumpert, as she was the only steady offensive force in the second half. While she didn’t get that involved in the first half, her second half and overtime performance was outstanding. Shumpert finished the game with 23 points (8-15 FG, 7-8 FT), 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals.
- Cherise Beynon (21 points on the season): While Beynon struggled from the floor, she did finish with a double-double and gave the Lobos a chance to win the game when the offense was struggling. Beynon finished with 17 points (6-19 FG, 2-8 3PFG, 3-6 FT), 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
- Whitney Johnson (2 points on the season): While she will never be a huge part of the offensive attack, Johnson played well at the center position while Jaisa Nunn is sidelined at the current moment. Johnson finished with 6 points (3-8 FG), 4 rebounds, an assist and 2 steals.
Conference Standings
- FSU 2-0
- SJSU 2-0
- CSU 1-0
- Wyoming 1-1
- UNM 1-1
- SDSU 1-1
- USU 1-1
- BSU 0-1
- UNLV 0-1
- AFA 0-1
- Nevada 0-2
The big surprise so far this season is SJSU, who were 2-9 in their non-conference schedule and have already matched that win total. CSU is still the favorite and the only reason they aren’t number 1 in the standings is because they haven’t played two conference games yet.
Picks
I went 3-2 on my picks Saturday to improve to 4-5 on the season. I hope that this week turns out better than last.
BSU vs. USU
AFA vs. WYO
Nevada vs. FSU
UNLV vs. CSU
SJSU vs. SDSU
Up Next
The Lobos will not have a mid-week game this week, which gives them a full week to prepare for a road game against Utah State. While Utah State’s home crowd for their men’s team is one of the best crowds in the country, it is nowhere as tough for the women’s team. The Lobos will have to play with great energy and hopefully the week off will allow the Lobos to solve some of the offensive struggles they have had recently.
Men’s Basketball at Fresno State Recap
In a game that the Lobos entered with a few question marks (Can they win on the road? Are they recovered from last week? Can they get back to playing like they did when we thought they could win the conference?), they walked off the court having made a statement, winning at Fresno by a 77-62 final score. They’re now 2-0 in the conference, including a road win against another team thought to be in the upper-tiers of the conference, and should be back in the conversation as a title contender.
Women’s Basketball vs. Fresno State Preview
The Lobos (8-4, 1-0) return to action at home Saturday afternoon to take on the Fresno State Bulldogs (5-7, 1-0). Both teams are coming off conference-opening wins and are looking to improve to 2-0 in conference play. The Lobos look to play a better game than they played against Nevada and need Jaisa Nunn to make a return to action ASAP. If the Lobos get a great game from senior forward Khadijah Shumpert, I really like the Lobos chances to win this game.
Women’s Basketball at Nevada Recap
The conference opener was an interesting game for the Lobos (8-4, 1-0), as they had a tough time creating separation from the Nevada Wolf Pack (1-11, 0-1). If you read our preview, we highlighted how it should have been an easy road win for the Lobos and it was anything but that. The Lobos didn’t have the service of Jaisa Nunn and Alexa Chavez got hurt in the first half, which limited their interior depth. Without Nunn, the Lobos needed Khadijah Shumpert to stay out of foul trouble and the Lobos didn’t get that, as Shumpert fouled out in 20 minutes of action. With everything that happened in the game, I was proud of how the Lobos fought and never game up the lead in the game. I think this will be a lesson for this young Lobo team that you can’t take any team for granted, even more so on the road. Without Nunn playing and Chavez getting hurt, Kianna Keller was the only bench player to play over 10 minutes. The Lobos bench production needs to be better for the Lobos to be the team that they want to be.
UNM at Fresno State Preview
The Lobos had a nice bounce-back game on Wednesday to start their conference season, beating Nevada 88-76 to snap their four-game losing streak. Things don’t get any easier though, as they travel to Fresno, CA to take on the Fresno State Bulldogs, another team with conference championship aspirations who just knocked off UNLV in Las Vegas. Although a loss likely won’t be devastating to their hopes of winning the conference, a win would give the Lobos a huge leg up on the competition and put the rest of the league on notice that they’re a team to be reckoned with.
Men’s Basketball vs. Nevada Recap
Conference play started Wednesday night for the Lobo Men’s Basketball team and they needed to get the bad taste out of their mouth from last week, when they went 0-4 with two very bad losses against Rice and Washington State. The game day didn’t get off to a good start, as freshman backup center Nikola Scekic announced that he was transferring an hour and a half before the game. With the departure of Scekic, the Lobos have only 3 true post players left on the roster with Obij Aget, Tim Williams and Joe Furstinger, which will force Coach Neal to use more four guard lineups than he has ever played. That might not be a bad thing, though, as parts of this game proved.
Men’s Basketball vs. Nevada Preview
A few years ago, I went to Hawaii for a friend’s wedding, expecting to spend time hiking, snorkeling, fishing, and otherwise enjoying all that the island had to offer. Instead, I stepped on a sea urchin my first day out there and was stuck on the couch for most of my trip. That still might have been a better Hawaii experience than what the Lobos just had. That holiday tournament ended their non-conference schedule with a thud, leaving them at 7-6 heading into conference play. They’ll look to regroup tonight against Nevada, hopefully righting the ship and getting the season back on track.
Women’s Basketball Conference Season Preview
It looks like for the third straight year that the Mountain West Conference will be a one bid league in Women’s Basketball, which means that every team will be more focused on the conference tournament championship compared the regular season championship, which doesn’t come with the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Last year, the Lobos finished second in the regular season and lost to Boise State in the championship game of the tournament last season. Since Colorado State won the regular season title, they were awarded the MW bid into the WNIT while the Lobos played in the Women’s Basketball Invitational. It will be interesting to see how the conference season shakes out and see if the Lobos can knock of Colorado State to win both conference titles.