As the 2011-2012 season winds down, Vandal men’s basketball returns to the Cowan Spectrum for a four-game home stand, in which Idaho will play three games in five days. Idaho hosts Seattle, a future WAC foe, before New Mexico State comes to town Thursday, followed by La. Tech Saturday.
Seattle University Redhawks (6-13) – 7:05 p.m. Tuesday
Idaho’s only opponent this season that does not belong to a conference has lost multiple games many would’ve expected them to win, but shocked Utah State a few weeks ago in Seattle. The Vandals upended the Redhawks earlier this season at Key Arena, 73-62.
Stephen Madison led Idaho with 17 points and the sophomore was also the team’s leading scorer Saturday in Reno with 18. Redshirt freshman Matt Borton came off the bench and logged just 19 minutes, but scored 13 points and grabbed three rebounds.
“Going into that game I was in a little bit of a slump and I broke out of it,” Borton said. “Since getting back from my injury I’ve been in a little bit of a shooting slump for three or four games, so hopefully I can break out of it.”
The Redhawks are 1-3 against the WAC this season and are led by Aaron Broussard, who averages just more than 18 points-per-game — No. 39 in the nation.
New Mexico State Aggies (17-7, 6-2 WAC) – 8 p.m. Thursday
The last time these two met, the final score didn’t accurately depict how tight the match-up actually was. Verlin stressed the Aggies’ size and physical strength and noted Wendell McKines, who leads the conference in scoring and rebounding, could very well turn out to be the WAC Player of the Year.
New Mexico State came out on top 80-68 in Las Cruces and McKines played like a man possessed, tallying 23 points while adding 10 rebounds. Idaho led the Aggies by nine points during the first half and trailed by just four with a minute remaining.
“What we’ve got to do is rebound our ball, they out-rebounded us by about 15 in the second half of that game,” Verlin said. “They’re huge, they’re big, physical, strong and we have to do a good job on the backboards and we’ve got to play probably our most physical, best rebounding game of the year if we’re going to beat a good New Mexico State team.”
Idaho leads the conference in rebounding defense while NMSU leads it in rebounding offense and total scoring offense.
La. Tech Bulldogs (11-12, 3-5 WAC) – 8:05 p.m. Saturday
Overtime was necessary Jan. 12 in Ruston, La., but Idaho escaped the South victorious, defeating La. Tech 90-88. The teams combined for 23 3-point makes, and fourteen of those came from Madison and Vandal shooting guard Deremy Geiger, who knocked down seven a piece. Geiger was 7-14 from 3-point land and finished with 23 points. The Bulldogs have lost two straight and might prepare for a third consecutive if they fall at Utah State Thursday.
La. Tech has been streaky at best and before its current slump, the Bulldogs won three straight before losing another four in a row. Madison contributed 18 points to Idaho’s 90 and Verlin said the sophomore played his best game in about five or six games.
“I’d been shooting it kind of bad and definitely been working on my shooting, slowing down and working on my mechanics, it felt good then,” Madison said.
The sophomore has seen success not only shooting but also from the post.
“It’s wherever I can get it,” Madison said. “I’m playing the four a lot so I’m working with my back to the basket and then at the three also when I post up against smaller guards it’s an advantage.”