T-Bird men's hoops thoughts
Southern Utah dropped to 3-2 on Friday night, falling 80-61 to Brigham Young at the Marriott Center in Provo.
The score was not indicative of the game, as the Cougars cruised to a 31-point lead early in the second half. But this is not a crippling loss by any means. This was easily the best team SUU has faced so far, and likely the second best (behind Washington) the T-Birds will play all season.
The Thunderbirds simply had no answer for BYU's Trent Plaisted, who erupted for 10 points in the game's first four minutes.
SUU's small frontcourt was a concern entering the season, but I think they'll be fine once they hit Mid-Continent Conference play. Outside of Oral Roberts' Caleb Green, the T-Birds won't face a big man like Plaisted in league games.
Though he's struggled lately, I'm still impressed with Tate Sorenson. I think he could be a real beast in Mid-Con play — at power forward. But he is really undersized for a five.
I think the key for SUU is Brad Kanis. If he can pick up the system — and finish on offense better — I think this would make a great starting lineup: 1 — Steve Barnes; 2 — Justin Allen; 3 — Nurudeen Adepoju; 4 — Tate Sorenson; 5 — Brad Kanis.
SUU is back home Monday to play Denver, whom the T-Birds beat 74-68 in Denver two weeks ago. DeShaun Walker is a tough guard for SUU (he scored 27 points in the first meeting), but the rest of the Pioneers never got on track.
There should be a larger crowd Monday than we saw Wednesday against Idaho, as the SUU students will be back from Thanksgiving break.
The game tips off at 7 p.m.
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