Cincinnati does it. Louisville does it too. But the University of Utah does it perfectly.
“It” is a bruising, physical style of basketball that disrupts the offensive flow of opponents. That’s what the Saint Louis University men’s basketball team faces at 9 p.m. at the Cleveland State Convocation Center, as the No. 9-seeded Bills tangle with the No. 8-seeded Utes in a first-round NCAA contest.
“It’s going to be a war,” said coach Lorenzo Romar. “Utah always plays a physical, physical style of basketball. (Utah coach Rick Majerus) recruits guys that like to bang.”
SLU sees a little bit of that style in Conference USA when they play American Division foes Cincinnati and Louisville. But the Utes take banging to another level.
The frontline of forward Hanno Mottola (250 pounds), forward Alex Jensen (225) and center Nate Althoff (260) have the ability to overwhelm their opponents. All three get position in the blocks and outmaneuver defenders. And they can rebound with the best, as they average 17.2 boards per game collectively. Mottola and Jensen also can step out beyond 15 feet and knock down a jump shot. Mottola scores 17.4 points per game while Jensen chips in 13.2 ppg. Althoff adds 10 ppg
But it’s in the key that the Bills will face the most problems.
“They’ll be in the paint,” said coach Lorenzo Romar. “They’ll go inside. That’s where they get the majority of their scores.”
The Utes create some matchup problems for the Bills in the frontline. Chris Heinrich will probably take Althoff down low. After that, it gets troublesome. Maurice Jeffers, who usually handles the opponents best offensive weapon, doesn’t matchup too well with the bigger Mottola. He’ll probably guard Jensen. Matt Baniak will most likely shadow the quicker Mottola.
It’s at the guard spot that SLU may be able to overtake the Utes. The scouting report on Utah is that guards Tony Harvey and Jeremy Killion have trouble handling the ball under pressure. With Dave Fergerson, John Redden and Justin Love playing in-your-face-defense lately, the Billiken trio could pose problems for the Ute guards.
It’s the SLU defense that could be the turning point in the game. Utah averages 71.4 ppg, but SLU held opponents to 51 ppg in the C-USA tournament last week.
“Our defense has been keeping us in the game,” said Love.
At 9-0 in first-round contests, Majerus is a magician when it comes to first-round games in the tournament. And he meticulusly prepares for each game.
“Give Rick Majerus time to prepare . and he’ll be able to teach our patterns to someone else,” said Romar, who coached once with Majerus a few years ago.
If the Billikens win, they most likely will face the Michigan State Spartans, the No. 1 seed. The Spartans are probably the most experienced team in the tourney, with four seniors in the starting lineup who are returning from last year’s Final Four team. Mateen Cleaves and Morris Peterson guide the MSU attack. That game would be at 2:40 p.m. on Saturday.
And the Bills won’t be satisfied with just a one-win-and-out performance. They look for an outing similar to the C-USA tournament.
“I’m not satisfied with making it (to the NCAA tournament),” Love said. “I want to advance in this tournament.”
If SLU wins two games, they advance to the Midwest Regional Finals in Auburn Hills, Mich., next Thursday night.
