Omari Moore (Photo by Max Bechtoldt)
By Matt Weiner (@MattWeiner20) – MBB Beat Reporter
Thursday’s 9 p.m. matchup between the Nevada Wolf Pack (11-13, MW 5-8) and San Jose State Spartans (7-18, MW 0-13) will be the second of a back-to-back between the teams.
Tuesday’s game marked the first time in conference play the Spartans left the first half with a lead only to have Will Baker turn into the Hulk, pulling the Wolf Pack from behind winning 81-72.
Know Your Foe
Coming into Tuesday’s game, Desmond Cabridge Jr. and Grant Sherfield were expected to be the deciding factors. The hope was that if you kept them at bay, then you’d leave Lawlor Events Center in Reno with a win.
Turns out, you also have to account for Will Baker, who finished with 23 points on 11-13 shooting. The last field goal was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Alvaro Cardenas lost Sherfield on the pick and roll, putting Majok Kuath in a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation. If Kuath doesn’t leave Baker, Sherfield has a wide open high-percentage shot. Kauth chose to pick up Sherfield, leaving Baker on an island the size of Catalina which led to the dunk.
Head coach Steve Alford used Baker’s 7’0” frame to expose the SJSU’s lack of size all night long and will go down this well. That is unless any Spartan finds some magic beans and grows seven inches while packing on 45 LBS of lean muscle.
If the Spartans are able to chip Baker and create their own version of a Jigsaw torture room from “Saw”, then the Wolf Pack will just rely upon Cambridge Jr. and Sherfield to get going from beyond the paint.
Cambridge Jr. got off to a great start leading the court with 14 points on 4-5 shooting from three at the half before being shut out in the second half. One half of no offense doesn’t mean he’ll repeat it the next game. He’s another volcano around the Pacific Ocean that could unpredictably erupt at historic portions.
After all, less than a week removed from doing this:
Sherfield picked up for Cambridge Jr.’s second half struggles by scoring 13 points and whipping around four assists in the final 20 minutes. Some of Nevada’s best offensive possessions came when Sherfield used a screen at the top of the key to open up enough space for a mid-range jumper or a pass to a big cutting to the rim.
At times, the chemistry between Baker and Sherfield in the pick and roll looked like a carbon copy of Deandre Ayton and Chris Paul in the 2021 NBA Finals.
Spartans Route To Victory
“Selecting the right person for the right job is the largest part of coaching.” This quote is from Phil Crosby. Taking a one preview break from a movie due to Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds providing me with no motivating material in “The Proposal”.
Now back to basketball.
SJSU head coach Tim Miles is dealt with the tall task of finding the right guy to stick on Baker. No matter what it won’t be totally even, Baker will always have the upper hand in size and strength, but using different guys to chip in double teams is always a possibility. As mentioned before, Cambridge Jr. and Sherfield can light things up, but if a boat’s leaking in a couple different spots you gotta plug the biggest one first.
Offensively, it was a great showing for the Spartans in the first half and a skosh above mangagle in the second half.
For the most part offensive flow was much better and the box score reflected it.
The question is can the 9 of 18 brilliance from three in the first half be repeated in the second half, but went 5 of 14 in the second half, a difference of 15%.
Since day one the m.o. for the Spartans has been shooting the long ball when it’s there as they lead the Mountain West in makes (236) and attempts (649).
Omari Moore, Spartans leader in points, assists and rebounds is fully in the mix from three, going 8 of 16 from three in his last four games.
Good things will happen if the Spartans continue the hot shooting from three and bone up down low.
