Revenge has to be the only thing on the mind of Louisiana Tech coach Michael White.
Almost exactly one month ago the Vandals stole a 90-88 overtime victory from the Bulldogs in Ruston, and for the first time in six tries Idaho tasted victory at the Thomas Assembly Center. The Bulldogs, however, are experiencing a two-game skid that could reach three when they visit Utah State Thursday in Logan.
La. Tech played Nevada close at home, losing by two to the Wolfpack. The Bulldogs then missed opportunities to capitalize in Las Cruces, N.M., where they played the Aggies tight, but lost.
Idaho and La. Tech tipoff at 8:05 p.m. Saturday in the Cowan Spectrum and the Vandals will need to consider these four keys to the game if they plan on sending four seniors out victoriously in what will be their final home WAC game.
Lock down the perimeter
The Bulldogs aren’t huge but they can catch fire from 3-point range if allotted the time and space. The last time these two met, the hosts knocked down 13 threes and went 53 percent from beyond the arch. Trevor Gaskins came off the bench to notch five threes for the Bulldogs, who are No. 2 in the conference in 3-point makes.
“We’ve got to do a really good job of keeping them in front of us. They’re quick and athletic,” Idaho coach Don Verlin said. “Unlike New Mexico State, who play big, they play small so we’ve got to do a really good job with our help defense.”
Collect the boards
Verlin has stressed this throughout the season and with four players at 6-feet, 6-inches or taller, it’s imperative the Vandals use their size as a major advantage against a much smaller La. Tech squad. Their tallest man is Romario Souza, a forward who stands at 6-feet, 10-inches. Souza grabbed just one board during the teams’ last meeting and center Kyle Barone should have no trouble posting another double-double.Make the free throws
Idaho shot 91 percent from the charity stripe in Ruston but a lack of concentration from the line against Seattle could’ve cost the Vandals Tuesday — where Idaho only went 12-24. Barone was an impressive 7-8 from the free but the rest of the team combined for a horrid 5-17.
On the season Idaho is 67 percent from the free throw line, good enough for No. 5 in the WAC but not good enough in games that could come down to the wire — like this one did last time around.
“You know last time we played them down there we should have closed it out sooner instead of going into overtime. They’re a very athletic team” Djim Bandoumel said.
Adapt to the press
The Vandals expect a full-court press similar to the one Seattle applied Tuesday. Idaho became flustered early but dissected the press as the game progressed making it a non-factor eventually. Idaho’s major height advantage should make lobbing balls to twin towers in Barone and Djim Bandoumel a no-brainer, and the agility that Deremy Geiger and Landon Tatum bring should force La. Tech to stray from the full-court press by halftime.
“You have to take care of your ball, they’re going to press us all game long,” Verlin said. “You’ve got to make sure you play the game at your tempo — you don’t get going too fast. We scored 90 points there which is a lot of points … Like in all games, that game will be a game where we have to take care of our ball and dominate the possessions.”