Wednesday, January 25, 2012.
Boise State and UNLV, despite being a regional fit, hook up for only the fourth time ever tonight. On the rare occasions these two teams have met, it has been entertaining—for one team or the other, at least. And the first two were in high-profile situations. BSU and what was then more commonly known as Nevada-Las Vegas first faced off in the 1976 NCAA Tournament. That’s when UNLV was earning the moniker “Runnin’ Rebels” under coach Jerry Tarkanian, and run they did. The Rebels put up an astounding 87 shots in the game at MacArthur Court in Eugene and blitzed the Broncos, 103-78. BSU Hall of Famer Steve Connor was the game’s leading scorer, though, with 26 points. The schools didn’t meet again for 28 years, when Boise State dropped UNLV 84-69 before almost 10,000 fans in Taco Bell Arena in the 2004 NIT.
The only other game in the series occurred last season at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. It was a more tame atmosphere than UNLV’s home facility, the Thomas & Mack Center, where the Rebels are averaging almost 13,000 fans a game this season. The Rebels blasted out to a 15-0 lead in that one and still led by 15 points with 3½ minutes left in the game before holding off a Bronco rally, 75-72. Chace Stanback, who led UNLV that night with 16 points, is the Rebels’ scoring leader coming into tonight’s game. But Mountain West Co-Player of the Week Anthony Marshall is the hottest Rebel, scoring 40 points and dishing out 18 assists in two games last week.
UNLV, at No. 12, will be the fifth-highest ranked team ever to visit Taco Bell Arena. Boise State is 4-6 versus ranked opponents on its home floor, winning the last two such matchups against No. 20 BYU in 2007 and No. 21 Utah State in 2009. But there’s a real disparity between the Broncos and Rebels in talent and experience, especially with sophomore guard Jeff Elorriaga now on the shelf.
Chris Petersen has gone outside the box in hiring the replacement for Marcel Yates as Boise State secondary coach. Jimmy Lake, the defensive backs coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, joins the Bronco staff after five years in the NFL. Lake has also been given the title of “defensive pass game coordinator.” He does have a connection at Boise State, though—he and BSU defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski coached together at Montana State. If reports that former Bronco linebacker Andy Avalos has been hired to coach LBs are true, Boise State’s 2012 staff is complete.
For a couple Senior Bowl practice updates, we go to Rob Rang at CBS Sports.com. His view of Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore doesn’t differ from some of the others we’ve heard. “With such an impressive collegiate resume, Moore will get his shot at the next level,” writes Rang. “But, as he showed Tuesday in practice, he has an uphill battle because of his size and arm limitations. Moore has very good touch and anticipation on his passes, but, to little surprise, his lack of arm strength was exposed on several pro-style passes and scouts have been discouraged with his unorthodox mechanics. There is a place in the NFL for a brilliant offensive mind like Moore, but he hasn't shown anything in practice to warrant a pick in the top five rounds.” That seems to be where Kellen’s stock is sitting right now. But those who dismiss him are making a mistake.
Rang sees Boise State safety George Iloka trending up, though. “Measuring at almost 6-4, 222 with above average length (nearly 34" arms), Iloka has had a very positive start to the week of practice,” writes Rang. “He has looked a bit tight when asked to cover in man and flip his hips, but he can plant and drive on the ball with good timing and ball skills. Iloka has shown the footwork and overall ‘feel’ to match up against both receivers and tight ends so far in practice.” A route-jumping interception by Iloka in 11-on-11 drills was called the “play of the day” by Yahoo! Sports. The fact that Iloka has bulked up to 222 pounds since the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas is one of the more amazing factoids coming out of Mobile.
Also from Yahoo! Sports: “Practice ended with Doug Martin (RB, Boise State) returning kickoffs. Martin was one of Monday's stars and has looked like one of the best athletes on the field so far. Martin even lined up at fullback in front of Isaiah Pead (RB, Cincinnati) in what appeared to be a ‘speed’ package for a few snaps.” The Muscle Hamster is as chiseled as he’s ever been, weighing in at 219 pounds on his 5-9 frame.
Navy is going to be in a conference for the first time in its storied 133-year history beginning in 2015, and it’ll be the same one as Boise State. The Naval Academy accepted an invitation to the Big East yesterday. The Midshipmen bring stability to the conference in a back-door kind of way—by adding a service academy, the Big East sees its new $10 million withdrawal fee kick in. Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk had some interesting observations, saying that the academy needed a home for its football team. This may be a message to Army, but it could just as well be one to BYU. “Opportunities to exist as independents into the future are clearly in jeopardy,” he said. It’s not too late, Cougars.
He who scores first in an ECHL game doesn’t always have a leg to stand on. Left wing Michael Neal got the Idaho Steelheads on the board first last night against Stockton with his fourth goal of the season early in the second period. But the Thunder answered with a tally 28 seconds later and ran away with it in a 4-1 victory. Stockton scored twice more in the second frame, magnifying a disturbing defensive trend for Idaho. Play-by-play man Will Hoenike pointed out that the Steelies have now allowed a whopping 60 second period goals in 40 games. The Steelheads, who have dropped below .500 at 18-19-3, get another shot at the Thunder tonight in CenturyLink Arena.
This Day In Sports…January 25, 1998:
The Denver Broncos finally win a Super Bowl, beating the Green Bay Packers, 31-24, in San Diego. The Broncos had lost four Super Bowls previously. Three of them were with John Elway, the veteran quarterback who at last got the monkey off his back almost 15 years after coming out of Stanford as the no. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft. Denver would win the Super Bowl again the following year in the final game of Elway’s career.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment Sunday nights at 10:30PM on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra and anchors five sports segments each weekday on 93.1 The Ticket. He also served as color commentator on KTVB’s telecasts of Boise State football for 14 seasons.)
