Seattle U vs Utah Valley

By Gary Hill

 

Seattle U (3-11) vs Utah Valley University (8-10, 0-0 Great West

Key Arena (Seattle, WA)

Friday January 13, 2012 7:10 pm

RADIO: 710 ESPN Seattle

Series- SU 3-2

Last Meeting- 1/7- Utah Valley 77-72

Scouting Utah Valley:

The defending Great West champions are set for one of their final tune-ups before conference play begins. The Wolverines will be playing Seattle U in back to back games having not been in action since the Saturday meeting. They have been tough at home- 7-2, but they have really struggled on the road- 0-8. This will be the third straight year these teams have met twice. The Wolverines provide a number of match-up problems for Seattle U. In the last two years each one of their starters have given Seattle U trouble at some point. The Wolverines are tough are well organized under 10th year Head Coach Dick Hunsaker. Hunsaker has skillfully guided Utah Valley from a junior college to full Division I program. He has seen time as the head coach at Utah and made a Cinderella run in the NCAA tournament at Ball State including a win over Gary Payton and the Oregon State Beavers. The Great West Conference has been whittled down to 6 teams now, but it spans the country in men’s hoops- Utah Valley, Chicago State, Houston Baptist, North Dakota, New Jersey Institute of Technology and Texas-Pan American. Utah Valley is again the favorite to take the conference title.

The Ones to Watch:

Isiah Williams- 6’1 SR G- 15 ppg 2 rbds 2.3 assts

The SR guard is an explosive scorer. He is deadly from long-range and he can penetrate. He is not bashful about letting the jumpers fly and he will look to shoot every time he touches the ball if he is feeling it. The talented SR was an AP Honorable Mention All-American last season. His scoring average is down a couple of points from last year, but his offensive impact is still enormous. He was a huge key for the Wolverines win over SU on Saturday hitting 5-11 from downtown 38 minutes of action.

Ben Aird- 6’9 SO C- 9 ppg 6.5 rbds

When you watch him warm up you will not be blown away. He may strike you as a football lineman attempting to play basketball. Don’t be fooled. He has destroyed Seattle U on the interior the last couple of years on both ends of the floor. He went for 8 points 12 rebounds and 4 blocks in the win on Saturday. He also kept several balls alive on the offensive glass for his teammates. He is always around the basket and is tough on the glass. Seattle U needs to make sure they keep a body on him.

Keys to the Game:

1- Control Williams- He can light it up and was a huge factor from 3 in the first meeting.

2- Box Out- Seattle U needs to shut down second chance opportunities and must keep Aird, Keith Thompson and Geddes Robinson off the glass.

3- Feed Broussard- He is on a roll offensively and SU needs to keep getting him the ball.

Keys to the Game:

0 – The number of road wins for Utah Valley this year

3 – The number of games SU has lost in a row, and the number in a row they will be playing at home starting tonight

22.8 – The points per game for Aaron Broussard in the last 5 games

9.6 – The number of rebounds for Aaron Broussard in the last 5 games

17 – The number of points for Jarell Flora in the last two games after scoring 12 in the first 12 games of the year

5.5- The average number of assists for Cervante Burrell in the last two games

Revenge starts at 7:00 on 710 ESPN Seattle.