Falcons Host Wyoming on ESPN
2/17/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 17, 2003
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Date: Monday, Feb. 17, 10:00 p.m. MST
Site: Clune Arena (6,002), USAFA, Colo.
Television: ESPN, Bob Carpenter (play-by-play) and Jimmy Dykes (analysis) with the call.
Radio: KVOR AM 740 in Colorado Springs
Records: Air Force is 11-10 overall and 2-6 in the MWC. Wyoming is 17-6 overall and 5-3 in the MWC.
Coaches: Air Force is coached by Joe Scott (Princeton, 1987), who is in his third season with the Falcons. He has a 28-50 record in his tenure at Air Force. Scott came to AFA from his alma mater, Princeton, where he was an assistant coach from 1993-2000.
Wyoming is coached by Steve McClain (Chadron State, 1984), who is in his fifth season as head coach of the Cowboys. Prior to taking the head coaching job at Wyoming, he was an assistant coach at TCU for four seasons. McClain has a record of 96-47 at Wyoming.
Series: Wyoming leads the overall series, 63-19. The Cowboys have won the last seven games against AFA, including a 46-44 victory in Laramie earlier this season. Wyoming won all three games last season, including an 83-76 four-overtime thriller in Laramie, and a 51-48 victory at Clune Arena.
Scouting Wyoming
Wyoming is 17-6 overall and 5-3 in Mountain West Conference play after defeating New Mexico, 103-91, Saturday night in Albuquerque. The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the Cowboys. Donta Richardson led Wyoming with a career-high 39 points against UNM, going 12-for-20 from the field, including 7-for-10 from three-point range. Jay Straight added 18 points and was 10-of-12 from the free-throw line. Uche Nsonwu-Amadi chipped in with 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds against UNM. Straight dished out seven assists, while Richardson had six. Richardson leads the team in scoring, averaging 18.1 points per game. Nsonwu-Amadi follows at 13.6 points per game and is the MWC's top rebounder, averaging 10.7 per contest. Joe Ries is second on the team at 4.0 per game. Straight is sixth in the MWC in assists, dishing out 3.4 per game. Wyoming won its second straight MWC regular-season title last year after going 11-3 in conference play. Senior Marcus Bailey is out for the remainder of the season after suffering a knee injury earlier this season.
First Big Monday Matchup At Home
For the first time since Feb. 1, 1992, Air Force will host a nationally televised game when ESPN shows the AFA-Wyoming game on Monday, Feb. 17 as part of its "Big Monday" tripleheader. Tip-off is scheduled for 10:00 p.m. MST. The Falcons have three other games on television this season, two on SportsWest (March 1 vs. BYU and March 8 vs. New Mexico) and one on ESPN-Plus (Feb. 15 vs. Colorado State).
Tops in NCAA Stats
The Falcons are currently ranked No. 1 in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 56.0 points per game. Air Force is also fifth in the nation in turnovers per game, averaging 11.3.
Category -- # -- Rank
Scoring Defense -- 56.0 -- 1st
Turnovers per game -- 11.3 -- 5th
Three-pointers made per game -- 8.6 -- 16th
60 Points is the Key
The 60-point mark seems to be important for the Falcons this season. Air Force is 8-0 when it reaches the 60-point plateau, and 3-10 when it scores less than 60. The only victories this season with a point total under 60 are the 57-52 win at Arkansas State, and home wins over Navy (56-43) and Savannah State (56-33). Defensively, the Falcons are 8-3 when allowing less than 60 points to an opponent, and 3-7 when their opponent scores more than 60. CSU (51-49), Wyoming (46-44) and Utah (45-35) are the only teams to beat AFA when scoring less than 60 points.
Three-Point Streak
Air Force has now made a 3-point shot in 318 consecutive games. The last time the Falcons failed to make a three-pointer was Dec. 4, 1991 in a 57-51 victory over Adams State College.
What's next
The Falcons travel to the West Coast next weekend for a MWC game at San Diego State on Saturday, Feb. 22. Tip-off is at 8:05 p.m. MST.
Highest Computer Rankings Ever
AFA's RPI ranking of 135 on Sunday, Feb. 2 is the highest ever for a Falcon team. The team's highest mark in the Sagarin Ratings this season was 70th on Dec. 16.
Three's Company
Air Force is 16th in the nation in three-pointers made per game after spending most of the season in the top two. AFA is sinking 8.6 long range shots each contest, still No. 1 in the MWC. AFA's 66.7 percent (16-24) against Ga. Southern on Jan. 1 was a season-high and the best percentage since shooting 69.2 percent from long range against Montana State on Nov. 30, 2001. AFA is making 38.8 percent (181-467) of its shots from beyond the line. Individually, Tim Keller is second in the MWC for three-point percentage at 46.4 percent (64-of-138) and three-pointers made per game at 3.05.
Still Searching for a Road Win
After its 73-59 loss at New Mexico last Saturday, Air Force now has a 25-game road losing streak against Mountain West Conference opponents. The Falcons won their first-ever MWC road game, 81-77 in three overtimes, at San Diego State on Jan. 20, 2000, and have not won a conference game away from home since. AFA is 0-5 on the road this season, previously losing at Colorado State (51-49), Wyoming (46-44), Utah (45-35) and BYU (65-33).
Scoring Drought
Air Force scored just 68 points in its games at Utah and BYU, the lowest total for consecutive games in school history, surpassing the mark of 75 during the 1981-82 season, at UTEP (L, 35-66) and home vs. Wyoming (L, 40-54). Also, the 33 (at Utah) and 35 (at BYU) points are No. 3 and 4, respectively, on AFA's list for fewest points scored in one game.
Bellairs Fifth Player to 800 / 600
Tom Bellairs became the fifth player in school history to record 800 points and 600 rebounds in a career. He has 880 points and 665 rebounds in 101 career games. Bellairs moved into the No. 4 spot on the school's all-time rebounding list this season and is 26th on the school's scoring chart. Bellairs is No. 3 on the MWC's all-time rebounding list, behind Josh Davis (795), who played at Wyoming, and UNLV senior Dalron Johnson (781).
New Long Range Records
Air Force set a new school and Mountain West Conference record with 18 three-pointers against UT-Pan American on Dec. 5. The previous school record was 16 made against Doane College on Nov. 22, 1997. The previous MWC record of 17 was shared by Utah and Colorado State. The 18 three-pointers ties for the fourth-most in one game for Division I this season. The Falcons are also tied for No. 9 (16 vs. Georgia Southern) and No. 19 (15 vs. Stetson) on the list for most three-pointers made in one game this season. Air Force is the only team in the country that appears three times in the top 30 for this category.
Last Time Out
Air Force 80, Colorado State 75
Feb. 15, 2003 at Clune Arena
Freshman Antoine Hood scored 30 points and Tim Keller added 26 points, both career-highs, to lead Air Force to an 80-75 win over Colorado State in the Mountain West Conference Saturday. It was only the second start of Hood's career, which came after starting point guard Vernard Jenkins sprained his left ankle in practice Friday. The win snapped a three-game losing streak by the Falcons (11-10, 2-6 Mountain West Conference) and a four-game losing skid to Colorado State. Center Matt Nelson led the Rams with 21 points while guard Andy Birley added 17, and forward Brian Greene added 13. The Falcons started the game with drives to the hoop and backdoor layups, making their first nine field goals, and 13 of 15 in the first half. The 86.7 percent shooting in the first half is a new school record. Air Force finished the game shooting 71.9 percent (23-32) from the field, breaking the school record for best percentage in a conference game. Hood, from Sugar Land, Texas, scored 19 of his 30 in the first half, and had a steal and four rebounds in a career-high 37 minutes. Keller, meanwhile, scored 22 of his 26 points in the second half. The duo combined to shoot 16-for-21 from the field and 18-for-22 from the free throw line.
Notes from the Colorado St. Game
Individual
-- Antoine Hood's 30 points are the second-most scored in one game by an Air Force freshman; Randy Gricius scored 31 vs. Denver in 1976.
-- First Air Force player to score 30 since Jarvis Croff scored 31 vs. Utah on 3/9/00
-- Freshman Nick Welch dished out a career-high four assists
-- Sophomore David Peterson had a career-high two steals
Team
-- Air Force improved to 8-1 at home; Best home start since 1987-88 (9-1)
-- First 11-win season since 1989-90 (Finished 12-20)
-- Quickest Air Force team to 11 victories since 1988-89 (19 games that season)
-- This marks the first time AIr Force has been over .500 after 21 games since the 1988-89 season (13-8; finished 14-14, last non-losing season)
-- 80 points is the most against a Mountain West Conference opponent in a game ending in regulation
-- First time without an offensive rebound this season
-- For the fourth consecutive game, Air Force made less three-pointers than its opponent
Shooting Records Go Down
Air Force set a pair of new school shooting records against Colorado State last Saturday. The Falcons made 13-of-15 shots in the first half, the best percentage (86.7) for one half in school history, bettering the 82.4 percent (14-17) against Montana State on Nov. 30, 2001. Air Force finished the game shooting 71.9 percent (23-32) from the field, the best percentage ever for a conference game. The previous record was 63 percent (29-46) vs. Hawaii (WAC) on Jan. 26, 1985.
Jenkins Climbing Career Lists
Senior guard Vernard Jenkins has moved into the top five on two of the school's career lists. He is fourth on the school's all-time assist list with 320 career assists, and No. 4 on the school's list for career steals. He has 137 steals in his career. Jenkins is the Mountain West Conference's all-time leader in steals, and is third all-time in assists, behind Matt Montague (439) and Marlon Parmer (384), who played at BYU and New Mexico, respectively.
Last Time vs. Wyoming
Wyoming 46, Air Force 44
Jan. 20, 2003 at Laramie, Wyo.
Joe Ries scored 11 points and David Rottinghaus added 10 as Wyoming held off Air Force 46-44 on Monday. Wyoming took the lead for good less than 5 minutes into the game but never could shake the Falcons. Tim Keller missed two 3-pointers in the last 10 seconds, either of which could have won it for Air Force. The Cowboys have won 11 of 12 games and 11 straight at home. After Joel Gerlach, who had a game-high 21 points, hit an inside basket to draw Air Force within 46-44 with 2 minutes left, Ries missed a layup, but Keller forced a long 3-pointer that was far off the mark as the shot clock ran down. After Donta Richardson missed a 17-footer for Wyoming, Keller missed again from the arc with 10 seconds left and Uche Nsonwu-Amadi rebounded for the Cowboys and was fouled. He missed both free throws and A.J. Kuhle rebounded for the Falcons, but Keller, harassed by the Cowboys' David Adams and Richardson, heaved an air ball at the buzzer. Air Force came into the game ranked second in the nation in 3-pointers with 9.9 per game and was shooting 42 percent from the arc, but the Falcons sank only 5-of-15 from long range (33 percent). Richardson was averaging 17.3 points but didn't score his first points until he followed his own miss with a layup at the 9:19 mark of the second half, putting Wyoming up 35-28. He finished with four points. Rottinghaus scored five straight points during a 90-second stretch of the second half, boosting the Cowboys to a 31-23 lead with 13 minutes left, UW's largest margin.
Gerlach's First Double-Double
Junior Joel Gerlach posted his first career double-double with 18 points and a career-high 10 rebounds against UNLV. It marked the first double-double for any Falcon this season. Senior Tom Bellairs has 12 career double-doubles, which ties Brian Greene of Colorado State for the third-most by any active MWC player.
Keller Shooting
Tim Keller is among the best shooters in the country, as evidenced by the latest NCAA statistics (Feb. 11). Keller was 14th in the nation in three-point percentage (45.5 percent), and has since improved it to 46.4 percent. He is currently second in the MWC in three-point percentage, behind Utah's Marc Jackson, and three-pointers made (3.05), behind New Mexico's Ruben Douglas. Keller is eighth on the school's career list for three-pointers made with 96.
Home Sweet Home...
Air Force is 8-1 at home for the first timesince the 1987-88 campaign, when the Falcons began 9-1. Also, the team's six-game home winning streak to start the season marked the first time in school history AFA won its first six Division I home games. The Falcons won those six home games by an average of 22.2 points. For the first time in 30 years, Air Force won each of its first two home games by more than 20 points. The 29-point victory over Stetson on Nov. 26 was followed up with a 21-point win over UT-Pan American on Dec. 5. The last time that happened was at the start of the 1972-73 campaign, when the Falcons beat Tulane, 81-59, and Colorado State, 78-57.
...Road Sweet Road?
With its victory at UTEP on Dec. 28, Air Force has won three true road games in the same season for the first time since the 1997-98 campaign. Prior to this season, the Falcons had not won three Division I road games in a season since 1988-89, when AFA won consecutive games at Wyoming, Utah and Brigham Young.
