After the ASU, Houston and Nevada losses, it was clear that there could be some strategies that could cause USU problems.
A lot of references to heavy defense on Sam - which worked for Houston (6 points) and to a degree Nevada (16 points), but not so much ASU (27 points).
And clearly getting Queta in foul trouble early helps teams shoot better from inside the arc (and as an extension from outside the arc as well?) - see the BYU game. Even though he finished that game with only two fouls, the early timing of them changed the defensive mindset of the team (IMO).
A common factor in those four losses is TOs. ASU(20), BYU(16), UH(17) and UN(20).

So evaluating the FSU game:
Queta didn't have foul trouble (though Sam did).
Sam got close to his average.
And TOs were a respectable 11 - lowest of our losses.

So if the Wyoming coaches were looking at film from the FSU game, what do they pick up as a strategy to exploit?

Clearly, there are some players they would prefer to foul. But that has been a strategy in bball for years. Nothing that the FSU game 'exposed'.

Other than that, the outstanding stat was FSU shooting 48% from three (62.5% without Williams' 0-7). That was better than their shooting % inside the arc where Queta (with others) held a block party. They shot 43% inside the arc.

I don't think many coaches have a strategy that can be "implemented" that says shoot lights out from the three-point line. They can run the plays, but they can't realistically 'expect' to shoot near 50% as a team.

So, although the loss hurt deeply, I am not sure that it exposed a weakness that will haunt us in the future games. Sure, teams may decide to launch more threes, but there are several conference teams that should not use that as a primary offensive strategy. Although, I suspect that Queta's presence may make it a more common option as the year moves on.

Here's USU's problem right now. With the loss of Knight III, we have lost a very athletic defender. His Dad tweeted something about he wasn't allowed to "be all that he could be" at USU, but you have to be eligible to play in the first place, which he was not, so that is all water under the bridge.

Our guard line is extremely "unathletic" right now. Teams are doubling Sam and daring anybody else to take a shot. I think Porter may have stolen Ainge's time because he can shoot from outside, while Ainge can't shoot a lick. He threw up another airball from 3 on Wednesday night. We need to figure out what the deal is with Tauriwan Knight, because we need his athleticism badly. If its just "freshmanitis" we may not see much of him the rest of the way.

The other place we're really lacking is at the power forward position. Brown is not a real power forward-- he's more a 3 and playing him at four doesn't solve other problems. Plus, his play is so spotty this year. I had hoped he would settle in to a 15/6 role for the Aggies but it's not happening. Plus Quin Taylor, bless his heart, is just not a rebounder at all. If the ball bounces right to him he can get it, but going up and cleaning the glass--- just not in his wheelhouse. The guy who is emerging as a player in that regard is Justin Bean. He has a knack for being where the ball is, and has decent hops. He's very passive-- would like to see if he can do more offensively.

We've got to have others besides Merrill, Queta and Miller CONSISTENTLY score.

As a whole not a very athletic team. I love Sam but he needs to spend a great deal of time in the weight room

brian5562 wrote: ↑

January 12th, 2019, 2:12 pm

As a whole not a very athletic team. I love Sam but he needs to spend a great deal of time in the weight room

He's a very good perimeter defender. Have no qualms with his strength or ability to defend tbh

He may have decent strength but he has a bad body.

Must not affect his ability to play 35-40 mins every game

The announcers were commenting today on how strong he is during his play. I agree with them, he does not seem to get out muscled during the games.

brian5562 wrote: ↑

January 12th, 2019, 5:54 pm

He may have decent strength but he has a bad body.

I spoke with his wife and can confirm this statement. She married him for the fame.