Weber State Stakes Claim As The Best Team In Utah

I said earlier that Weber State needed to beat Utah State if they wanted to be considered the best team in Utah, and they came through on Tuesday night thanks to a big first half and a huge day from Scott Bamforth.

The Wildcats came our firing in the first half, leading 42-27 at the intermission and leaving no doubt for everyone who was the best team in the state of Utah. They slowed down a bit in the second half and allowed Utah State to cut the lead down to as little as 6, but they held on for a pretty convincing victory over the Aggies.

The star of the game was Scott Bamforth, who had 28 points and 6 rebounds on the day, including 7 three-pointers. He made his first five attempts, which ran his streak up to 10 straight makes from three-point land before his first miss. He was especially huge in the first half, where it seemed like time and time again the Aggies left him alone, and he buried them. In the first half he had 17 points on 5/6 three-point shooting. Bamforth is also a good ball handler, which can help to take the pressure off Lillard.

Damian Lillard did not have his best game, but it is a testament to the depth of the Wildcats that they won solidly without their star playing his best. He did finish with 17 points, but shot just 4/16 from the field and 2/9 from downtown. However, he played solid defense, and held Brockeith Pane to 14 points. Even if he is not scoring, Lillard does other things to help his team win.

Kyle Bullinger also played very well for Weber, showing that he is the glue guy of the team. He rebounds the ball very well for his size (6'6'') as he had a game-high 13 rebounds, and always seems to have his nose around the basketball. He has a nice midrange game as well that can extend beyond the arc, and is just a nice all-around player. Jordan Richardson is the other guard that got some run, and I liked him. Offensively he takes care of the ball well, and defensively he is a nice on the ball defender. I don't think any coach would be displeased with those attributes from the back up PG.

Obviously the guards are the strength of the team, but the big guys are very solid as well. Kyle Tresnak had a nice first half (finished with 6 points), and showed some good skill around the basket. Frank Otis is very athletic for a big man, and made some nice plays even if the box score didn't show him having a big day. Byron Fulton is another offensive weapon for them (he had 10 points, including 2/3 from downtown), and he can score inside and out. Darin Mahoney is a solid rebounder and probably their best interior defender.

Weber State will not have a ton of chances to prove themselves this season out of conference, so this is a big win. (For the record, there other two big games are at BYU and at California). They think they are the best team in Utah, and it is hard to argue after this game. Less than a week ago, Utah State took down BYU 69-62, and now Weber State has beaten Utah State 73-63, and did it in convincing fashion.

Steps to being the best team in Utah:
Beat Utah State: Check
Beat BYU: Test comes December 7
Beat Utah: Test comes December 22
Beat Southern Utah: Test comes December 10

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Weber State Needs to Beat Utah State

Weber State thinks they are the best team in Utah, and the case could certainly be argued. They have a ton of returning talent, the best player in the Big Sky, and huge expectations heading into the year.

The good thing about college basketball is that these arguments are not simply academic, but they get settled on the court. The first test for Weber State comes Tuesday night against Utah State, who will be coming to the Dee Events Center. Last season, Utah State won 77-65 in Logan. This time, Weber State gets the chance to play them in Ogden.

If Weber State wants to be seen as the best team in Utah, they have three games to prove it:

- Tonight against the Aggies
- On December 7th they travel to Provo to take on BYU (who Utah State just beat)
- On December 10th Southern Utah comes to Ogden
- On December 22nd they get the Utah Utes at home

It is a big game for the Wildcats for a couple of reasons. One, it is always a big game agaisnt the Aggies, there is certainly no love lost between the schools. Two, Weber State's goal this year should not simply be to win the Big Sky, but to represent themselves in the postseason. To do that, it helps to have a higher seeding, and to do that, you need non-conference victories that stand out.

Beating Utah State less than a week after they took out BYU would be a huge first step. And it is vital for them to stake the claim to being the best team in the state. To do it, they will need to slow down Brockeith Pane, who might be the best player in the WAC. If they do that, they will have a great shot in this one

Game on.

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An Early Look at Idaho State's Schedule

The schedule for the Bengals was released a couple of weeks ago, so let's take a look and see what lies ahead for them this season.

I think Coach O'Brien and the Idaho St athletic department has done really well putting things together, creating a nice mix of home and away games.

“Our nonconference schedule is one that will test us and help us prepare for what will be a very competitive schedule Big Sky Conference,” O'Brien said. “Our staff is excited to get the team back on campus this fall to begin preparation for the upcoming year.”

Key home games include: Loyola Marymount (who could be solid in the WCC), Utah St. (a tournament participant year in and year out), North Dakota (a future Big Sky competitor), and Wyoming (a team in the area from a solid conference).

That is not a ton of marquee games, but it looks better than the home non-conference slate for Montana St. and Eastern Washington. The bad thing is that I am not sure Idaho St. will actually be favored in any of those 4 games, but they should certainly have a puncher's chance.

On the road, they have some challenges as well.

They will travel to Oklahoma, North Dakota, New Mexico, Boise St., Wyoming, Loyola Marymount, and Utah. They will also have an away Bracket Buster game. Certainly they are not afraid to challenge themselves in the non-conference, which Coach O'Brien should be commended for, especially in a season where he is possibly fighting to save his job.

Last year Idaho St. went 5-8 out of conference, but their wins were against Troy, Great Falls, Montana Tech, UMKC, and Cal-State Fullerton. It seems as if things will be significantly harder this time around, and 3-4 wins out of conference is a more reasonable goal.

What does everyone else think of their schedule? Like it, hate it? What is a reasonable number of games that the Bengals will win before Big Sky Conference play begins?

An Early Look at Weber State's Schedule

A few teams have released their schedule for the 2011-2012 schedule, with Weber State being one of those teams. As they are the early favorite in the Big Sky, let's take a look at some of the notable games.

From head coach Randy Rahe:

"Once again we have a very difficult and challenging schedule this year," said WSU head coach Randy Rahe who will enter his sixth season with the Wildcats this fall. "We are always looking to play as tough a schedule as we can and this year is no exception. We have a great opportunity to play several teams from Utah which is always a difficult test. Our preseason schedule always prepares us for the Big Sky schedule and the Big Sky, just like in other years, will be very difficult this season."

Their first test of the season will come against Utah St at home, which should be an extremely intriguing matchup. The Aggies obviously had a huge year last season, winning 30 games before bowing out in the NCAA Tournament, but they lose all-everything Taj Wesley. The Aggies have traditionally had a weak schedule, but they have beefed it up this year, and Weber St. will be a big part of that.

The early to mid part of December brings two very good road games which will be a great test for the the Wildcats. First is a game at California on December 7, who should be a fringe Tourney team out of the Pac-12 (led by Jorge Gutierrez, who I think we will all get to know better this year). Then, on December 16 they head to Provo to take on BYU. BYU obviously loses Jimmer, but they will have plenty of firepower to make it an interesting game.

Other non-conference games of note include the St. Mary's Classic in Moraga, CA at the end of November. They also have home slates against future Big Sky member Southern Utah on December 10, and against Utah (coached by former Montana head man Larry Krystowiak) on December 22. Finally, they will get a chance near the end of the year with a home Bracket Busters game on February 18.

Weber State believes itself to be the best team in Utah, and they will have a chance to prove it this season. With a home game against Utah St and Utah, and a road game against BYU, they will have perhaps the most intriguing non-conference schedule in the Big Sky.