Jackrabbit Men's Basketball Roundup


Over the last two weeks the Jack Rabbits have had their ups and downs. They were sitting atop the summit league standings until they got knocked off the conference mountain top by in state rival USD. This set back was short lived, as the Jacks reclaimed their number one spot albeit with some help from Denver. The Jacks have gone a three-game winning streak since then but I’m sure they will be eager to return the favor when the Coyotes come up to Frost arena later this season.

Rave- Jackrabbits Rout Western Illinois

There is not much to break down and analyze here, the Jackrabbits soundly beat Western Illinois by 28 points. This was not much of a surprise. The Leathernecks have been struggling this season with a conference record of 1-4. Overall, the Jackrabbits had seven players scoring in double digits.

Rant- Poor Offense versus USD

It is never an easy task to play a strong rival on the road such as USD. Unfortunately, against their interstate rivals the Jackrabbits turned in one of their weakest offensive performances of season and ended up suffering their first conference loss of the season. On that evening the usual strengths of the team were not there. The first stat that stands out is the free-throw percentage. Normally, the Jackrabbits have been shooting 80%+ from the charity stripe, Against USD they only managed 50% percent. Also, USD guard Matt Mooney had field day, scoring 30 points while the Mike Daum was limited to only 18 points.

Rant-Jackrabbits Nearly Lose Back to Back Games

After the first half against Fort Wayne all indications were that the Jackrabbits were on their way to another rout, up 43 to 26. The Mastodons were missing easy baskets while the Jackrabbits were making their's. I am not sure what happened in the second half, whether its was the Jacks playing flat, the Mastodons shooting better, or both. The Jacks committed several turnovers which helped Fort Wayne claw back into the game, this could have been a very embarrassing upset if it were not for some clutch rebounding and shooting by King and Flatten late in the second half.

Rave-Jackrabbits Return to Form

After two shaky performances the men’s squad seems to have gotten back into their usual groove. The came wins against Omaha and NDSU, winning 80-60 and 82-63 respectively. They have now swept both teams this season. They need avoid the pitfalls they made in those earlier games if they want this winning streak to continue.

Up Next-Final Stretch

Looking at the schedule, there are five games remaining. This biggest challengers are USD and Oral Roberts. Both games will be available on ESPN 3, Both of these teams have held the number one spot in the conference this season. I will be looking forward to these matchups against likely Summit League tournament opponents. Hopefully, the Jacks will be able to avenge their earlier loss to USD.  




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Top 5 Favorite Jackrabbit Football Players

What's Cookin': Dessert

Guide to Fort Collins