Drop Dead important game. Apps must win this game; last chance for a road "W" against a Sun Belt "have not." That will not come easy. The Bobcats have the SBC's leading scorer, Nijal Pearson, a 6-5 200, senior do-everything guard. He'll shoot all afternoon from anywhere he chooses. He can slash, he can post-up and he can launch his shots from DFW. He's NBA bound.
Goals 1 & 2: The first two challenges for the App defense will be to hold Pearson to *just* his 19 ppg average and hold the rest of his team in check.
Goal 3: Danny Kaspar has made a nice career of coaching ugly basketball. It's hard to watch basketball because his players are taught to create havoc on the floor to lure opponents out of their game plans. The Apps MUST stick to their game plan and avoid being drawn into the Bobcat chaos.
To make it clear, Kaspar is in his 29th season as a head coach and ranks among the Top 25 winningest active Division I coaches with an overall career record of 563-291 and his .659 winning percentage ranks in the top 30 active NCAA Division I coaches. His teams are no pushovers but his shtick and gimmicks raise my blood pressure.
OTOH, he's just 98-98 at Tx State. Yet, after getting swept in two contests last season, the Apps are only 5-6 in the all-time series against Kaspar's Bobcats. Gotta get one back today!
Listen... https://appstatesports.com/watch/?Live=490&type=Live
Watch... https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=73 ... 84b9e15136
Live Stats... http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=284870
