Hoops Preview: Behind the Bison

FARGO, N.D. — With this post, we’ll start a series breaking down all of Idaho’s non-conference hoops opponents. A reminder: Vandal Nation Live coverage of Idaho vs. North Dakota State begins at 1:30 p.m.

North Dakota State Bison (1-1)

Summit League — 2009 record: 30-7 (lost to Kansas in NCAA First Round)

The Bison are relative newcomers to Division I basketball, but they’ve already tasted success at the highest level of college hoops. Last season, with a redshirted class of seniors built for North Dakota State’s first chance at an NCAA Tournament berth, the Bison swept through the Summit League with 30 wins, the tournament title and the conference’s automatic bid. Not satisfied there, the Bison nearly upset Kansas in the Big Dance’s opening round, powered by star point guard Ben Woodside.

But with last year’s seniors gone, it’s a bit of a rebuilding project for North Dakota State this season. They dropped a disappointing opening game at Utah Valley, squandering a narrow halftime lead despite getting 27 points from point guard Josh Vaughan. Once you get past Vaughan and veteran forward Michael Tveidt, there’s not much proven firepower here. Those two combined for 46 of the Bison’s 72 points in Orem, with the bench chipping in just seven. Again, Idaho finds itself facing a team with not much depth, and coach Don Verlin is most likely planning to run the floor. NDSU coach Saul Phillips needs someone else on his young team to step up.

The Bison simply must keep the game pace slowed down to win this game — they don’t have the shooters to keep with Idaho shot-for-shot. If either Vaughan or Tveidt get in foul trouble early, things could get ugly early because everyone else on the North Dakota State roster so far looks like a role player. They’ll also need a much-improved defensive effort, after giving up 50% shooting and 44% 3-point shooting to the Wolverines.

But if the Bison burn clock and pick up some steals (a place where the Vandals showed they can be exploited) they should hang close, because the Bison won’t reciprocate — they just don’t turn the ball over. Plus, NDSU has the home-court advantage, something never to be underestimated.

Read on for a look at NDSU’s starters and key reserve.

Good Morning Vandal Nation: Nov. 20, 2009

SPOKANE, Wash.— Just sneaking in under the bell, it’s this morning’s link roundup. We’re en route to Fargo, N.D. for tomorrow’s basketball game, so posting will be pretty light today. We’ll try to get a game preview up tonight when we stop in Denver.

Last night, Idaho’s spikers ran Boise State right out of Mem Gym with a straight-sets sweep of the Broncos — made even sweeter by it being Senior Night. The Vandals have the No. 3 seed in next week’s WAC Volleyball Tournament and will play… No. 6 seed Boise State. The Argonaut’s Lisa Short has a preview.

The women’s hoopsters weren’t as lucky, falling 54-51 in overtime at Eastern Washington, after coughing up a big late lead with a slew of turnovers.

Again, Vandals/Bison men’s hoops tips off at 2 p.m. Pacific time tomorrow, and we’ll have Vandal Nation Live courtside coverage, with pregame at 1:30. Click here to join, or set an e-mail reminder.

Basketball

• We previewed tomorrow’s hoops throwdown between Idaho and North Dakota State in The Argonaut. There’s companion video interviews, too.

• San Jose State takes on a tough Pac-10 foe in the guise of the Washington Huskies tonight, and Spartan Hoops has a great game preview/breakdown.

• Another pair of Idaho’s future opponents — Seattle U. and Fresno State — went toe-to-toe last night and this time it was the Redhawks pulling off the upset on Elgin Baylor Night. The Seattle U. Basket Blog has the story.

• Brian McInnis of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin previews Hawaii’s battle tonight with BYU.

Football

• The Logan Herald-Journal’s Wade Denniston previews tonight’s Utah State/Boise State game.

• Teddy Feinberg of the Las Cruces Sun-News posts his five keys for New Mexico State as they look to upend Nevada.

• One Bronco Nation Under God adds their pregame USU/BSU thoughts.

• Fresno State needs to get out of the WAC, pronto — so says Matt James of the Fresno Bee.

• Logan Hopkins of The Collegian breaks down Fresno State’s matchup with Louisiana Tech, which the West Coast Bulldogs will have to play without NCAA-leading rusher Ryan Mathews.

Good Afternoon Vandal Nation: Nov. 19, 2009

Hey look, it’s another edition of everyone’s favorite link roundup!

A reminder: Tonight’s your last chance to see Idaho volleyball at home, as the Vandal spikers will take on Boise State in an intra-state grudge match at 7 p.m. in Memorial Gym. Idaho is locked into the No. 3 seed in the WAC Volleyball Tournament. If you can’t make it, we’ll have scoring updates on Twitter joined in progress.

Also, on Saturday we’ll be on the road from Fargo, N.D. with Vandal Nation Live coverage of men’s hoops: Idaho at North Dakota State. Pregame at 1:30 p.m., tipoff at 2. Click here to set an e-mail reminder.

Basketball

• We went One on One with Mac Hopson, Steffan Johnson and Don Verlin, talking to them about this weekend’s Vandals/Bison battle, the last in a three-game road swing to open Idaho’s season.

• The Aggies couldn’t quite pull off the same feat Idaho did, falling by a heartbreaking point to Utah, reports the Logan Herald-Journal’s Shawn Harrison.

• As we thought might happen, Nevada’s legs failed down the stretch and the Wolf Pack gave up a 12-point lead in the second half to fall at arch-rival UNLV, as Chris Murray of the Reno Gazette-Journal reports.

• The Spokesman-Review’s Josh Wright talked to Verlin & Co. about their loss in Houston.

• Two of Idaho’s future opponents did battle the other night, and Portland got the best of Seattle U. The Seattle U. Basket Blog has the story.

• The Vandal women picked up four top recruits, including 6-3 post Kelsey Bybee, who’s helped the Coeur d’Alene Vikings to consecutive Idaho State 5A Championships. She turned down Big 10, Big 12, WCC and other WAC offers in favor of the trip down US 95 to Moscow.

Football

• The Bulldog Bounce grades out Fresno State’s blowout loss to Nevada.

• Whatever problems Idaho has, they aren’t in the offense, says Jake Alger of the Idaho Press-Tribune.

• The NMSU Round Up’s Korey Middleton says Aggie fans may be scarce in their home finale against Nevada.

One on One: Mac, Stef and Don talk NDSU

We went one-on-one with Mac Hopson, Steffan Johnson and Don Verlin last night, as the Vandals look to put last Sunday’s disappointing defeat behind them and grab their second victory of the season over North Dakota State on Saturday.

All three acknowledged their mistakes, refused to make excuses and focused on what they said are necessary improvements as Idaho gets deeper into the season. With two home games coming up next week, the Vandals want to roll back into Moscow with a winning record.

Hopson admitted he’s been struggling with turnovers lately, and said he was disappointed in his own effort.

Johnson, who powered the Vandals to victory in Utah with 19 points, said the Texas Southern loss left him “with a bad taste in my mouth,” and watching the game film only impressed upon him how many mistakes the Vandals made.

Verlin put the blame squarely on his own shoulders, saying he failed to adequately prepare his team for the back-to-back road trip. He said Idaho should have a slight talent advantage over the Bison, but his team needs to take advantage of their strengths and, in particular, not cough up the ball.

Good Afternoon Vandal Nation: Nov. 18, 2009

It’s another edition of our daily links roundup, again pretty slow because of a football bye week and because of academic stuff. However, tomorrow Vandal volleyball plays its final home game of the season, the grudge match against Boise State.

Basketball

• We took a look at the Vandals’ backcourters, breaking down a deep group of guards.

• Shawn Harrison of the Logan Herald-Journal previews tonight’s Utah State/Utah intra-state battle. The Aggies will be looking to make it two straight WAC victories over the Utes.

• The Spokane Spokesman-Review’s Dave Trimmer features Idaho ironwoman Charlotte Otero.

• BleedCrimson.net’s Sam Wasson has the word from Las Cruces, where the New Mexico State Aggies went down to defeat again, nearly giving up triple digits to the arch-rival New Mexico Lobos.

• The Refraction makes its WAC picks for tonight.

• Hoops IQ picks the Vandals second-best in the WAC, behind only the Blue Aggies.

Football

• The Reno Gazette-Journal’s Dan Hinxman says the Wolf Pack hope to erase the memory of last year’s upset at the hands of New Mexico State. He also features Nevada’s senior-laden offensive line.

• Louisiana Tech freshman safety Chad Boyd was suspended by the WAC for half a game for a helmet-to-helmet hit on an LSU receiver last weekend.

• The Idaho Statesman trashes the University of Idaho again, as Tim Woodward says Boise fans are perfectly behaved, while Moscow fans are uncouth jerks.

STF Refugee Camp: The Ultimate Session In-Game Chat

Our good friends over at Storming the Floor are suffering from some Web hosting issues, so we’re gonna help them host their in-game chat for the final session of ESPN’s 24-hour College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon.

Click here to join in the fun as Gonzaga takes on Michigan State, Kansas faces off with Memphis and Arkansas gets blown out by Louisville.

Meet the Vandals: The Guards

With this post, we begin a series breaking down the Vandals’ 2009-10 roster by position, starting with the guards.

The backbone of Idaho’s offense last year was its backcourt, led by First Team All-WAC point guard Mac Hopson. Things should be no different this year, as with a relatively undersized frontcourt, coach Don Verlin will be relying on big production from his guards to keep the Vandals’ opponents on their heels. Fortunately, this year he has the talent and the depth on the bench to pull it off.

• #1 Mac Hopson

A 6-2 senior from Portland, Ore., Hopson is the Vandals’ undisputed leader. Son of Idaho great Phil Hopson, who led the Silver and Gold on an unlikely charge to the 1982 Sweet 16, Mac transferred from Washington State in order to lead a rebuilding project at his father’s alma mater. Idaho couldn’t have asked for more. The younger Hopson was one of just four players nationally to break the 15/5/5 barrier, averaging 16.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game, and became the first Vandal ever named First Team All-WAC.

Back for his senior season with Idaho and surrounded by a stronger supporting cast, Mac’s numbers could explode. As the Vandals’ only instant threat last year, he was often double-teamed and mobbed by opposing defenses. This season, backed up by shooters like Steffan Johnson and Shawn Henderson, focusing on Hopson will be a very bad idea. More open looks and more guys to dish to? Yeah, that’s all a guy like Mac could ask for.

• #2 Jeff Ledbetter

A 6-3 junior from Brea, Calif., Ledbetter was brought in to give Idaho another potent threat from beyond the arc. Playing for Irvine Valley College, he shot 39 percent from downtown and averaged nearly 14 points per game. But Ledbetter is more than a pure shooter — he’s also proven to be an excellent ball-handler.

He exploded in the season-opener, contributing 16 points in just 14 minutes in Idaho’s road defeat of Utah. While he’s definitely going to play a specialist role in reserve this season, his minutes will be critical and all his shots will be big ones.

• #3 Shawn Henderson

Perhaps the revelation of the Vandals’ exhibition game, the 6-3 junior from Renton, Wash. exploded onto the court. Last year at North Idaho College, Henderson led the Cardinals to a Scenic West Athletic Conference title with 17.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.

In his first outing as a Vandal, Henderson hit his first five shots and ended 6-7 for the night with 12 points, four rebounds and two assists in only 15 minutes. He’s got a nifty double-clutch floater that’s almost impossible to defend, and he’s unafraid to drive strong. Idaho may have found one of its primary go-to guys off the bench.

• #5 Steffan Johnson

The key to Idaho’s 2009-10 season, and that’s no exaggeration. The 6-1 senior from Kent, Wash. lit up the Big West two years ago, dropping 14.5 points and dishing up 4.9 assists per game for the Pacific Tigers. The First Team All-Big West point guard headed north last season to join the Idaho rebuilding project. He spent his redshirt season learning Verlin’s system and building a close rapport with Hopson and his teammates.

As the Vandals’ starting shooting guard, Johnson not only gives Idaho a serious second scoring threat in the backcourt, he’ll take some of the defensive pressure off Hopson too. Leave him open and he’ll make you pay — Johnson shot a lights-out .410 from beyond the arc. Too, he has the ball-handling abilities to spell Hopson as point guard, giving the Vandals’ star some much-needed bench time. If Stef and Mac play up to their potential, there won’t be a better backcourt in the WAC this year.

• #10 Landon Tatum

A skilled pure point guard, the 5-11 junior from San Antonio will redshirt the year, given how deep the Vandals are at the point this season. Vandal fans should look forward to seeing Tatum on the court next season, however, because he was a star for South Plains College.

Playing for the Texans, Tatum started all 33 games, averaged 7.1 points and 5.8 assists per game, led the team in minutes and was named a national juco All-Star enroute to the Regional title game. As a freshman, Tatum won the NJCAA National Championship. With that kind of talent waiting in the wings, Idaho’s backcourt future looks bright.

• #20 Marcus Lawrence

Idaho’s backup point guard, Lawrence comes into this season with something to prove. The 5-11 junior from Las Vegas played two years at UNLV, posting a 3.5 assist-to-turnover ratio and finished third on the team with 53 assists despite limited minutes off the bench.

Lawrence redshirted last year, so he’ll have a year under Don Verlin’s system to prepare him for the task ahead. In 13 minutes of action at Utah, he scored 7 points and dished up two assists without turning over the rock once. Expect Lawrence to be the Vandals’ primary option off the bench to give Hopson a rest.

• #23 Justin Stewart

A 6-1 freshman from Spokane, Stewart walked on during open tryouts this year and impressed the coaching staff enough to land a roster spot. A 56 percent shooter, he helped Ferris High to an undefeated 29-0 Washington State 4A Championship season in 2008.

Stewart will likely redshirt this season to adjust to Division I ball and learn Verlin’s system, while playing a key role on the Vandals’ scout team. Playing as a walk-on is a somewhat thankless task that takes a huge commitment of time and energy. We congratulate Justin on making the team, and we look forward to seeing him out on the court down the road.

• #32 Kashif Watson

The Vandals’ returning glue, Watson, a 6-4 senior from Las Vegas, will play a key starting role for Idaho this season. He was quiet, generally unspectacular and absolutely reliable last year. Averaging 10.3 points and 3.5 rebounds, ‘Shif could be counted on every night to deliver points when the Vandals needed them. Not an outside shooter, Watson’s game is the quick drive and layup or the stop-and-pop midrange jumper, with which he can be deadly.

A transfer from Irvine Valley College, Watson was a teammate of Ledbetter, and helped lead the Lasers to a program-record 27 wins and a trip to the Southern California Regional Finals. This season, he should be getting more open looks and a few more minutes to rest his legs — he averaged 32 minutes per game last year, second only to Hopson in the Vandals’ “ironman” category.

Good Afternoon Vandal Nation: Nov. 17, 2009

We’re slightly belated today by a couple interviews and projects in the hopper this morning, so let’s get right to your links.

Basketball

• The Vandal women lost their season-opener at home last night, reports The Argonaut’s Ilya Pinchuk.

• Hawaii’s Roderick Flemings got named WAC Player of the Week, but his Rainbow Warriors fell apart in the closing stages of a nationally-televised ESPN College Hoops Tip-Off game last night, losing to Northern Colorado.

• I’ve got an Argonaut game story on the Vandals’ opening victory at Utah, but the lede got butchered in the editing process. The opening should read: Utah Utes coach Jim Boylen told the media Friday night’s game between his squad and Don Verlin’s Idaho Vandals was “Idaho’s Super Bowl.” If that’s so, then give the Vandals the Lombardi Trophy right now.

• Storming the Floor reports on the week that was in West Coast college hoops, mentioning Idaho’s “Super Bowl” upset of Utah.

• Spartan Hoops has the word from San Jose, where the Spartans got a season-opening win, albeit against an NAIA opponent.

• Sam Wasson of BleedCrimson.net talked to Newmag coach Marvin Menzies about his team’s ugly loss to St. Mary’s and their hopes of bouncing back tonight against New Mexico.

• The Refraction makes its WAC picks for tonight.

• The Reno Gazette-Journal’s Chris Murray previews the Wolf Pack/Rebels rivalry game.

Football

• Josh Wright reports on Idaho’s improved recruiting prospects.

• In the “unsurprising news story of the day,” Boise police made a number of arrests after the Vandals/Broncos game.

• Dave Southorn of the Idaho Press-Tribune looks at the Aggies/Broncos matchup.

Other sports

• The Argonaut’s Lisa Short previews the Vandals/Broncos volleyball grudge match, set for Thursday.

• LacrosseAllStars has a nifty look at the Vandals’ club lacrosse team.

Idaho mauled by Bulldogs

In their season opener at home, the Vandals were downed by poor shooting and spotty defense, in an 80-57 loss to Gonzaga.

“Let’s go Vandals” was the cheer which emanated from the mouths of every member of the Vandal band and audience in Memorial Gym as Idaho won the jump ball to start the game. As customary, the band kept cheering until a Vandal player scored the first point for their team.

For two and a half long minutes the band cheered.

Idaho’s slow start set the tone early, and in the end their inability to connect shots buried them.

Consider this: The Vandals shot an anemic 27 percent from the court over the course of the game. The Vandals didn’t fare much better at the free-throw line, clocking in at 47 percent.

“That’s the worst that a team I’ve coached has shot from the free-throw line — ever,” Idaho coach Jon Newlee said. “We even shot 300 extra free throws this week, so I don’t know.”

The Vandals managed to lead the game only twice, early in the first half. By the mid-point of the game, however, their advantage had been buried by the blitzing transitional play of the Bulldogs. Idaho didn’t register a point for an 11-minute stretch during the first half, and trailed 32-22 at halftime, a deficit they would never recover.

“I thought we came out, competed, and played pretty good,” Newlee said. “But we missed 13 lay-ups that we charted on the bench, and it just deflates a team when you don’t make lay-ups — those cost us.”

The Vandals played improved defense, Newlee said, but were no match for Gonzaga’s play under the basket. The Vandals never found their groove in rebounding, allowing Gonzaga recover time after time.

“The lack of our box-out really hurt us,” Newlee said. “We got into a jumping contest with them, and obviously we are going to lose that — they are big, athletic and talented physically.”

Idaho went on a brief hot streak at the start of the second to pull within 7 points, but the offense sputtered again, going over six minutes without scoring during which time Gonzaga piled on 15 points, which put the game out of reach for the Vandals.

Vandal Nation Live: Idaho vs. Gonzaga

Idaho’s women hoopsters open their season tonight at 7 p.m. in Memorial Gym, facing off against the Gonzaga Bulldogs. It’s a tough test for coach Jon Newlee’s newly-deep Vandal squad, and it should be a barnburner. We’ll have all the action coming to you from courtside.

Join us for live, play-by-play commentary, analysis and chat starting at 6:30 p.m.