Air Force flies in Wednesday

The Falcons arrive on Wednesday

This is a team that SJSU led at halftime in the pairing on January 15. But Air Force came back and won 77-62. Guard Tre' Coggins led with 27 points and 6-foot-9 Marek Olesinski finished with 19 points, with both shooting 5-8 from long distance. The Falcons also won the rebounding battle 34-21 and shot 57%, 46% and 79% respectively. However, they did commit 23 turnovers.

Since that meeting, AF has stumbled.

There was a loss at Colorado State, then Wyoming at home, losses on the road to Boise State and then Nevada and two more defeats against Fresno State and Colorado State at home.

The sophomore Coggins missed the BSU, Nevada, and BSU games due to a suspension (apparently for academic issues) but he is back in his old role of leading scorer with a 17.5 points per game average.

6-foot-4 junior Max Yon is next at 13.2 followed by 6-foot-9 junior Marik Olesinski with 12.5 point each time out. The latter is also grabbing a third-on-the-team 5.4 rebounds per contest.

6-foot-4 Kamryn Williams brings 10.3 points nightly alongside a team-leading 6.1 rebounds (yes, at 6-foot-4!) and 6-foot-6 Justin Hammonds is at 8.9 points a contest and 5.7 caroms.

A total of ten Falcon players average double figures in playing time.

Air Force plays the so-called Princeton style of offense, with a lot of movement and backdoor cuts away from the ball. This is a team that doesn't fire up shots early in the count, preferring great patience in waiting for and seizing advantage of defensive lapses.

Simultaneously, opponents have difficulty playing 30 or so seconds of defense each possession and any slipups are usually recognized quickly and seized upon. That does not bode well for a very youthful Spartan squad.

The game will be a tough one for guys wanting to get up and down the floor. Call the key how well the Spartans defend this unique style.