Dons Notes: Previewing Idaho State Bengals

Nov 15, 2013; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils forward Richie Edwards (5) and Idaho State Bengals guard Evann Hall (10) battle for a loose ball during the first half at Wells Fargo Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

The Dons are coming off their first loss of the season thanks to of the Nevada Wolf Pack. In the loss, senior Cody Doolin scored a career high 33 points but the Dons still  lost by two points.  USF kept it a tight game throughout the night, however the experienced late rallying Wolf Pack pulled out the win. On the other side of the court, the Idaho State Bengals are coming off a loss of their own thanks to the Sun Devils from Arizona State. The Bengals lost to ASU by 28 points. During the preseason, there was word that USF played Arizona State in a secret scrimmage, but no stats or outcome was ever released.

Tonight, the Dons are hoping to improve to 3-1 on the season before a challenging road trip to end their second full week of action. During the previous three games at home, Mark Tollefsen has emerged as the Dons consistent leader in scoring and Matt Glover has developed into a key player on the court. Glover, however, has also been involved in foul trouble early in contests – including committing two technical fouls in his first three games. Glover fouled out in Friday’s loss to Nevada, leaving the Dons without his performance for the final minutes. Seniors Cody Doolin and Cole Dickerson are acting exactly how we thought they would. Dickerson is cleaning up the boards for the Dons and Cody is racking up the assists. Cody Doolin is also on pace to pass former Don Angelo Caloiaro as the all-time leader of games played with the Green & Gold. Doolin needs 27 more games to surpass the mark of 128 games.

Now, time to focus on the Idaho State Bengals. This is a team that has historically struggled in the Big West and was hoping to make some serious strides during the 2013-2014 campaign. Currently, the Bengals are 1-1 with a win against Evergreen State. Even in that win, head coach Bill Evans was not happy with the ISU play on the court.

"The Kool-aid was unsweetened. I don’t think we were selfish. I don’t think our energy and focus was very good.  We turned the ball over too much. That was not good.–Bill Evans, Idaho State University Head Coach"

The wheels came off the wagon in the second half of the ASU game last Friday. After a gritty first half, the Bengals had trouble keeping the big men out of the paint and kept the shooters undefended from beyond the arch. The results were pretty expected once the defense broke down.

USF and Idaho State have faced-of four times in the past. San Francisco leads the series 4-0 with all four wins coming at neutral site facilities. This will be the Idaho State’s first trip to the Hilltop. The Dons are great shooters from beyond the arch and will probably aim to take down the Bengals with their shooting.

Coach Rex Walters preaches that the most important game of the season is the next game. However, with such a weak opponent coming to the Hilltop tonight, I hope that the Dons take the opportunity to work on some plays they can benefit from against Montana and Oregon. Those next two games can send the Dons into a mediocre 3-3 start or send the Dons into a conversation of where their true position lies within the West coast Conference. San Francisco should bring down the Bengals tonight in a blow out game. The real challenge awaits later this weekend.