Vandals’ Tools Sharper
Idaho can describe its home loss to Long Beach State in early January in two words: So what.
Those who watched the 49ers’ 75-68 win might choose two others: “Rock” Lloyd. He scored 32 points.
“I watched the tape (recently),” Idaho coach Dave Farrar said. “Our team is totally different. I would think their team has grown as much as ours.”
The Vandals, who take on Long the 49ers Thursday at 8:30 p.m. in the opening round of the Big West tournament in Reno, are considered one of the favorites, along with East Division bullies Boise State and New Mexico State. UC Santa Barbara is the West Division’s best hope.
“When all things are right for us, we have a lot of tools that we didn’t have two months ago,” Farrar said. “We’ve developed more of a complete game and we have a nice rotation.”
Lloyd is one of the league’s top players. The 6-foot-4, 225-pounder hurt UI with an array of jumpers and inside work.
“Like all great individual players, you’re certainly not going to stop him,” Farrar said. “You just want to make him work hard.”
Tourney talk
OK, we’ll buy that Boise State, New Mexico State and even Idaho have the right to speculate about being selected for the NIT if they don’t win the conference tourney this week.
We’ll even buy Farrar’s contention that Idaho could host an opening-round game.
But we draw the line on the conference release making a case for UC Santa Barbara as an at-large NCAA possibility. The Gauchos, to their credit, won the Big West’s West Division. Still, a 14-12 record, an 0-8 start and a loss to insignificant Westmont College won’t impress the selection committee.
BSU won 19 games and knocked off Washington. New Mexico State won 20 and beat New Mexico and Wisconsin. Idaho’s case isn’t as convincing because it doesn’t have a eye-catching non-conference win - the best was probably the 95-67 spanking of Iona on ESPN. The Vandals’ best wins are in conference play, including two over BSU.
Mean Green machine
“I couldn’t have picked a better way to end the season,” said North Texas coach Vic Trilli, proudly pointing out that his team won three of its last four games.
The Mean Green might want to work on the first 3-1/2 months, though. UNT was 1-21.
Still, the Mean Green’s Deginald Erskin was the conference player of the week last week and Dexter Tennell won the award a couple weeks ago. Idaho won 12 more games than UNT, but has had no POWs this season.
Notes
At one point of the season, Idaho was being outrebounded by nearly six per game. The Vandals finished the regular season with 950 boards; opponents had 949… . UI reserve center Kaniel Dickens (ankle) is expected to miss Thursday’s game and probably the entire tourney… . Pacific coach Bob Thomason misses Michael Olowokandi, now with the L.A. Clippers. “I was watching tape of some games where we just threw it up and he went and got it, balls you couldn’t throw to anybody else.”
ALL-BIG WEST Curry honored Idaho’s Avery Curry was among five seniors named Tuesday to the all-Big West first team. Roberto Bergersen, who led the Big West in scoring with 22.3 points a game for Boise State, was named the conference’s Player of the Year. Bergersen, a senior swingman, also ranked in the Big West’s top 10 in five other categories. Other seniors honored were Charles Gosa of New Mexico State, B.J. Bunton of UC Santa Barbara and Jason Williams of Pacific. Cal State Fullerton’s Ike Harmon is the lone junior on the first team. Bob Williams of UC Santa Barbara was selected the conference’s coach of the year.