Montana - Boston College game preview
3/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The University of Montana men's basketball team already verified its controversial 12th-seed in the 2006 NCAA tournament with a dominating win over 5th-seeded Nevada. Montana has little if any time to celebrate, however, as its next opponent, 4th-seeded Boston College, should provide the Grizzlies with a challenge of a completely different kind.
Montana exposed the Wolf Pack as a two-man show in their first-round game, using physical defense to keep Nevada??s star forward Nick Fazekas away from the key and his mid-range comfort zone. While Fazekas is known for his rare mix of height (6-foot-11) and his polished perimeter game, the Grizzlies limited his touches to near the three-point and a handful of transition opportunities.
The Wolf Pack??s second-leading scorer on the season, junior guard Marcelus Kemp, was the only Nevada player able to step up in Fazekas?? absence. The 6-foot-5 Kemp used his large frame to get countless easy jumpers over the smaller Montana guards, and scorched the Grizzlies for an impressive 34 points. The rest of the Nevada roster lost their scoring touch in Montana??s physical man-to-man and occasionally swarming 1-3-1 zone defenses, however, and were unable to provide help to their stars.
??[Winning] means an awful lot. It??s been a little bit of a dry spell; 31 years since we had this opportunity. I had one gentleman at a post-game party dang near get down on his hands and knees and thank me and say he didn??t think he was going to live long enough to see this. That??s what this is all about,?? Montana head coach Larry Krystkowiak said. ??If we can head back to Missoula having found a way to win one more game, then the bar goes up a little higher.??
Boston College should pose a tougher challenge for Montana than Nevada, who never led in the Grizzlies?? first-round game. A large reason for BC??s success this season (27-7 overall, ranked 7th nationally in both polls) is that the Eagles?? offense runs through not one, but two star forwards in Craig Smith and Jared Dudley. The pair is one of the top scoring duos in the ACC, averaging 17.6 and 16.6 points per game, respectively.
The 6-foot-7 Smith provides the muscle for the Eagles with his 250-pound frame and soft touch around the rim. One of the top post-scorers in the nation, Smith was named an all-conference selection after each of the last four seasons and has been widely discussed as an All-American honoree in 2006.
Smith bruised BC??s first-round opponent, Pacific, for 25 points and 13 boards and should provide the most challenging match-up to date for Montana forwards Andrew Strait and Jordan Hasquet. Unlike Fazekas, Smith will look to start possessions by using his strength to get deep position on the lighter Grizzly posts.
??There were three or four times yesterday when he had three or four guys around him and he was able to muscle it up. It just shows how great of a player he is and how skilled he is,?? Strait said. ??We??re probably going to do some double-teaming and we??re just going to have to limit things we have control over like limiting second shots and making sure we stick with him in transition.??
The match-up presents a mismatch on the Montana side as well, however, as Smith will likely match up against the more agile and perimeter-friendly Hasquet or bigger Strait. Hasquet has already displayed his ability to stretch the floor offensively for Montana, hitting 4-of-5 three-point attempts in the Nevada game. If BC elects to move Smith to the center position, he will be matched against the taller and equally strong offensive post game of Strait. The 6-foot-9 Strait routinely hit tough shots around and through the heavier and taller Nevada posts, and could have another big game if he is matched up against Smith.
??[Strait] and I will be matched up,?? Smith said. ??I might not start out on him. It depends if we want to go man or zone, but I see us being matched up during the course of the game.??
Dudley appears to provide BC??s most obvious mismatch against the Montana defense. At 6-foot-7 and 225 pounds, Dudley has the game of an oversized guard, yet also possesses the size and skill to play in the post. He routinely provides the Eagles with mismatches against smaller or slower wings, and burned Pacific for 23 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists.
The Grizzlies could potentially match 6-foot-6 junior wing Matt Dlouhy against Dudley, but would likely be punished in the post. Dlouhy played well in the first round against Fazekas when the Grizzlies went small, but Fazekas?? tendencies to stay on the perimeter helped prevent Montanan from being exposed. The 6-foot-8 Hasquet or 6-foot-7 reserve Mike Chavez could also be used against Dudley, but both are more comfortable in the post and their size will likely be needed against the BC big men.
Another reason that BC are heavy favorites in the game is that, unlike Nevada??s duo of Fazekas and Kemp, Smith and Dudley are complimented by a supporting cast of highly capable scorers.
Leading the cast are guards Louis Hinnant, Sean Marshall and Tyrese Rice who average a combined 28.1 points per game. The three round out the Eagle??s top-five scorers and provide the slashing and outside shooting necessary to generate open looks for the BC big men. Sophomore post Sean Williams has also become an exciting part of the Eagles?? rotation, but scores sparingly and is used mainly as a defensive intimidator and space-eater.
BC is indeed a well-rounded team, but Montana has caught an early glimpse into the Eagles??s weaknesses as they struggled against an efficient 2-3 zone in their first-round double overtime win over Pacific. BC players and coaches denied that the zone was the cause of their early troubles during Thurday??s press conference, however, and said they were willing to accept the challenge again if Montana elected to play the zone.
??We??re going to continue doing what we??ve been doing. A lot of guys are making a lot of statements about shooting the three, but that??s not what we do here,?? Hinnant said. ??We have guys that are very capable of making it, but we??d rather get it down low. We know where our bread and butter is. Jared [Dudley] and Craig [Smith] do a great job for us in the post. We??re never going to be a team that puts up 30 three-pointers??
Montana head coach Larry Krystkowiak said that he wasn??t sure if the Grizzlies were going to utilize the zone, or even what they hoped to do on offense. Game plans should be concrete, Krystowiak said, and should not be changed overnight or within a practice.
??We don??t have a whole lot of time to come up with a big plan. We??re going to try to keep it simple. We??re going to get out and practice, watch some more film and talk to some more coaches,?? Krystkowiak said. ??We want to be sure exactly how we??re going to try to approach that match-up problem.??
Montana exposed the Wolf Pack as a two-man show in their first-round game, using physical defense to keep Nevada??s star forward Nick Fazekas away from the key and his mid-range comfort zone. While Fazekas is known for his rare mix of height (6-foot-11) and his polished perimeter game, the Grizzlies limited his touches to near the three-point and a handful of transition opportunities.
The Wolf Pack??s second-leading scorer on the season, junior guard Marcelus Kemp, was the only Nevada player able to step up in Fazekas?? absence. The 6-foot-5 Kemp used his large frame to get countless easy jumpers over the smaller Montana guards, and scorched the Grizzlies for an impressive 34 points. The rest of the Nevada roster lost their scoring touch in Montana??s physical man-to-man and occasionally swarming 1-3-1 zone defenses, however, and were unable to provide help to their stars.
??[Winning] means an awful lot. It??s been a little bit of a dry spell; 31 years since we had this opportunity. I had one gentleman at a post-game party dang near get down on his hands and knees and thank me and say he didn??t think he was going to live long enough to see this. That??s what this is all about,?? Montana head coach Larry Krystkowiak said. ??If we can head back to Missoula having found a way to win one more game, then the bar goes up a little higher.??
Boston College should pose a tougher challenge for Montana than Nevada, who never led in the Grizzlies?? first-round game. A large reason for BC??s success this season (27-7 overall, ranked 7th nationally in both polls) is that the Eagles?? offense runs through not one, but two star forwards in Craig Smith and Jared Dudley. The pair is one of the top scoring duos in the ACC, averaging 17.6 and 16.6 points per game, respectively.
The 6-foot-7 Smith provides the muscle for the Eagles with his 250-pound frame and soft touch around the rim. One of the top post-scorers in the nation, Smith was named an all-conference selection after each of the last four seasons and has been widely discussed as an All-American honoree in 2006.
Smith bruised BC??s first-round opponent, Pacific, for 25 points and 13 boards and should provide the most challenging match-up to date for Montana forwards Andrew Strait and Jordan Hasquet. Unlike Fazekas, Smith will look to start possessions by using his strength to get deep position on the lighter Grizzly posts.
??There were three or four times yesterday when he had three or four guys around him and he was able to muscle it up. It just shows how great of a player he is and how skilled he is,?? Strait said. ??We??re probably going to do some double-teaming and we??re just going to have to limit things we have control over like limiting second shots and making sure we stick with him in transition.??
The match-up presents a mismatch on the Montana side as well, however, as Smith will likely match up against the more agile and perimeter-friendly Hasquet or bigger Strait. Hasquet has already displayed his ability to stretch the floor offensively for Montana, hitting 4-of-5 three-point attempts in the Nevada game. If BC elects to move Smith to the center position, he will be matched against the taller and equally strong offensive post game of Strait. The 6-foot-9 Strait routinely hit tough shots around and through the heavier and taller Nevada posts, and could have another big game if he is matched up against Smith.
??[Strait] and I will be matched up,?? Smith said. ??I might not start out on him. It depends if we want to go man or zone, but I see us being matched up during the course of the game.??
Dudley appears to provide BC??s most obvious mismatch against the Montana defense. At 6-foot-7 and 225 pounds, Dudley has the game of an oversized guard, yet also possesses the size and skill to play in the post. He routinely provides the Eagles with mismatches against smaller or slower wings, and burned Pacific for 23 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists.
The Grizzlies could potentially match 6-foot-6 junior wing Matt Dlouhy against Dudley, but would likely be punished in the post. Dlouhy played well in the first round against Fazekas when the Grizzlies went small, but Fazekas?? tendencies to stay on the perimeter helped prevent Montanan from being exposed. The 6-foot-8 Hasquet or 6-foot-7 reserve Mike Chavez could also be used against Dudley, but both are more comfortable in the post and their size will likely be needed against the BC big men.
Another reason that BC are heavy favorites in the game is that, unlike Nevada??s duo of Fazekas and Kemp, Smith and Dudley are complimented by a supporting cast of highly capable scorers.
Leading the cast are guards Louis Hinnant, Sean Marshall and Tyrese Rice who average a combined 28.1 points per game. The three round out the Eagle??s top-five scorers and provide the slashing and outside shooting necessary to generate open looks for the BC big men. Sophomore post Sean Williams has also become an exciting part of the Eagles?? rotation, but scores sparingly and is used mainly as a defensive intimidator and space-eater.
BC is indeed a well-rounded team, but Montana has caught an early glimpse into the Eagles??s weaknesses as they struggled against an efficient 2-3 zone in their first-round double overtime win over Pacific. BC players and coaches denied that the zone was the cause of their early troubles during Thurday??s press conference, however, and said they were willing to accept the challenge again if Montana elected to play the zone.
??We??re going to continue doing what we??ve been doing. A lot of guys are making a lot of statements about shooting the three, but that??s not what we do here,?? Hinnant said. ??We have guys that are very capable of making it, but we??d rather get it down low. We know where our bread and butter is. Jared [Dudley] and Craig [Smith] do a great job for us in the post. We??re never going to be a team that puts up 30 three-pointers??
Montana head coach Larry Krystkowiak said that he wasn??t sure if the Grizzlies were going to utilize the zone, or even what they hoped to do on offense. Game plans should be concrete, Krystowiak said, and should not be changed overnight or within a practice.
??We don??t have a whole lot of time to come up with a big plan. We??re going to try to keep it simple. We??re going to get out and practice, watch some more film and talk to some more coaches,?? Krystkowiak said. ??We want to be sure exactly how we??re going to try to approach that match-up problem.??
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