By Aaron Johnson (@voz_aaron1) – Senior Staff Writer
Head Coach Tim Miles yells from the sideline. I Photo by Andrew Hartley – The Spear
With the Mountain West tournament about to begin, San Jose State (9-22, 2-16 MW) is set to take on Colorado State (22-9, 10-8 MW) in round one Wednesday. SJSU are the underdogs as they have been depleted by injuries this season.
San Jose State has a tough matchup against Colorado State, but don’t count SJSU out just yet.
The Spartans have played close games in many of their losses this season while also playing with heart and showing high-effort no matter the outcome.
“Anything can happen that’s the beauty of the tournament,” junior guard Alvaro Cardenas said on a March 6 postgame press conference. “You can come in with whatever record and just get hot at the right time.”
The team has not lost faith so here are some keys to how they can pull off the upset against Colorado State.
1. Continue To Run The Offense Through Myron Amey Jr. and Alvaro Cardenas
Myron Amey Jr. shoots a three I Photo by Andrew Hartley – The Spear
Both junior guards Myron Amey Jr. and Cardenas are having career years. Amey Jr. was named an All-Conference Honorable Mention by vote of the coaches and the media on Tuesday.
Amey Jr. led SJSU by averaging 15.7 points per game in his first full-season as a starter. Amey Jr. missed significant time last season due to injury and finally got to show what he could do given a full load of playing time.
“I’m just blessed to be able to play every game,” Amey Jr. said in a March 6 postgame press conference. “That was one of my goals coming into the season, I wrote it down.”
Cardenas earned a career high 13.1 points per game and shot a career-high 45.2% from the field.
The Spartans offense has struggled to find its legs when even one of these guards struggles.
Cardenas and Amey Jr. have been who the Spartans have run their offense through and they’ll look to continue when the Mountain West tournament gets underway.
2. Generate buckets with Latrell Davis off the bench
Latrell Davis smiles on the sidelines. I Photo by Andrew Hartley – The Spear
Freshman guard Latrell Davis has been heating up over the last stretch of games and has provided something that SJSU needed:
Scoring off the bench.
The injuries to senior guard Ryen Perry and junior forward Rob Vaihola really hurt SJSU’s production from this standpoint. Vaihola’s injury moved sophomore center Adrame Diongue to the starting lineup further thinning out the herd of potential players off the bench.
Davis has now started to fully show his potential that he flashed at the beginning of the season. Davis is an extremely aggressive player and can provide big momentum swings off of his coast-to-coast plays.
“Going hard and going fast has never been a problem with him,” SJSU assistant head coach Jeff Strohm said. “But doing it with a purpose, controlling things has been and he’s learned to do that and has seen a lot more success.”
If Davis can get going, it can relieve some of the pressure off the starting five. Allowing Amey Jr. and Cardenas not to play 38-40 minutes. Giving them time to rest and have more energy later in the game.
Davis leads all non-starters in PPG with 5.4. Which shows that SJSU has not been consistent off the bench whether that be because of injuries or young guys trying to figure it out.
3. Play two good halves of basketball
Head Coach Tim Miles speaks to the team during a timeout. I Photo by Andrew Hartley – The Spear
This sounds easier said than done and obvious right? But it’s the honest truth.
There have been countless games this season where San Jose State has put together one extremely solid half of basketball but have not been able to play up to standard the entire game. Whether it be against Wyoming, UNLV or the second meeting against SDSU. Just to name a few.
The last time SJSU faced off against Colorado State is a prime example of that.
SJSU was outscored 38-19 in the first half but played them an even 28-28 in the second half. The Spartans have shown they can keep up with the Rams; it’s just about execution.