Another early season road trip. Another loss. Idaho State had all kinds of chances against Hawaii to finally breakthrough and get a road win in nonconference play against a WAC opponent not named Idaho, but the Bengals couldn't take advantage of their chances. The Bengals led early, often and late but not at the final buzzer. Behind a full-court press defense, Hawaii rallied from a 37-30 second half deficit to win the game. Idaho State seemed unprepared and unorganized against the Rainbow Warriors' pressure, and committed 21 turnovers. The Bengals never win when that happens. Strangely, ISU coach Joe O'Brien didn't use freshman point guard Sherrod Baldwin in an attempt to break the press. Today, O'Brien told me that was a move to protect Baldwin from a tough road environment, but that he probably should have used him some. Oh well. Amorrow Morgan played an outstanding game, scoring 26 points, and Demetrius Monroe recorded a double-double. But the rest of ISU's roster was lackluster at best. Starters Donnie Carson, Matt Stucki and Lucas Steijn combined to score just 10 points and Idaho State couldn't even crack the 40-percent mark shooting the ball. All in all, this game reminded me of the way Idaho State lost at Long Beach ...

What a tough loss for the Idaho State men's basketball team to take. The Bengals led for more than half of the game, and had plenty of chances to win. They just couldn't get it done. Before I get on to the tough details, mahalo to all of you who stayed up and took part in the live blog. Sixty-nine comments at 4:35 a.m. is ridiculous. That's an all-time record for this blog. Maybe we can get to 100 by midday. Anyway, this game all changed when Hawaii learned that Idaho State couldn't stand up to pressure defense. The Bengals led 37-30 early in the second half when they didn't face much pressure, and Matt Stucki had a chance to bury a 3-pointer and put Idaho State up by 10. But his shot clanged off the rim and the Rainbow Warriors used a full-court press and trap defense to get back in the game. Idaho State seemed totally unprepared for that strategy. Just getting across the halfcourt line in 10 seconds became a challenge, and Hawaii actually held Idaho State scoreless for a five-minute stretch in the second half. By night's end Idaho State turned the ball over 21 times. "Hawaii took it up a couple notches, ...

Demetrius Monroe is the only tall college basketball player I have ever met who refuses to dunk. During his time at Idaho State, I can’t think of a single moment when I’ve seen the junior power forward rise above the rim and throw one down. Not in practice, not in warm-ups and certainly not in a game. Given that Monroe is 6 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs only 200 pounds, that makes him a rarity in the world of college basketball. Even though he can dunk without much effort, and regularly fights for rebounds well above the basket, he chooses to stick with the basics and make his points through layups, putbacks and jump shots. Instead of playing with flash, he plays with fundamentals. Instead of going for the play of the game, he goes for the routine play of the moment. It’s all he knows. Even though it’s boring to watch, it’s what works for him. Using the dullest — but most consistent — arsenal of post moves you’ll ever see, Monroe has worked his way into the Bengals’ starting lineup, and he’s going to stay there for quite ...

In the postgame handshake line, Idaho State coach Joe O'Brien told Eastern Oregon's players and coaches to go win a national championship this year. "They've got a great team," he said. "At their level, with that personnel, they're capable of doing that." That may be true. But just about all of the 2,217 fans in attendance for Idaho State's season opener against Eastern Oregon on Friday at Reed Gym were still sweating throughout a 75-70 Bengals victory. And they weren't sweating because they were hot. They were nervous that a NAIA team from La Grande, Ore., — albeit a very good one that is currently ranked sixth in the country at its level — was going to extend the Bengals' opening day losing streak to 10. If not for a string of huge defensive plays down the stretch, the Mountaineers may well have pulled the upset. But Idaho State played well when it had to and won its first opening game in 11 years. The Bengals won the game late by forcing five Eastern Oregon turnovers, which included a pass straight out of bounds, a five-second violation and a charging foul all in the final 30 seconds of the game. Shew! Now the Bengals can worry about pulling ...

It took much longer than expected, but word out of Idaho State is that Felix Caspari is now eligible to play. The NCAA clearinghouse finally got around to clearing him, so if Caspari doesn't play against Eastern Oregon in Idaho State's season opening game later today, the NCAA won't have anything to do with it. As an international recruit, Caspari had to go through a special process before being cleared. It took longer than six months. How much Caspari plays tonight is anyone's guess. In practice, he has looked like Idaho State's top power forward at times. But Demetrius Monroe is solid, and coaches really like him for that. And Chron Tatum has been playing well, too. So I wouldn't bet on much more than 15 minutes of action from Caspari.

Bowl projections are starting to become more and more realistic by the day, and there is a very good chance that some combination of Utah and Boise will be making it into a BCS bowl this year. But who's it going to be? Boise State or Utah? Both? Can BYU still make it? Could Ball State crash the BCS party, too? There are all kinds of questions out there. My guess is that at least one of those four schools will get a BCS invite. BCS rules mandate that if a team from outside the big six conferences — Big East, ACC, Big 10, Big 12, SEC, Pac-10 — is ranked in the top 12 of the final BCS standings, or is ranked ahead of any of the big six conference champions, it earns an automatic invite to a BCS bowl. But that rule only dictates that the BCS bowls take one of those teams. If Boise State, Utah and Ball State are all undefeated at the end of the year, and are ranked in the top 12, only one of them would have to be chosen for a BCS bowl. The other two could, and likely would, be passed over. So again, who's it ...

Anyone expecting the Idaho State men's basketball team to win its season opener on Friday against Eastern Oregon simply by showing up at Reed Gym needs to know only this: Eastern Oregon beat Montana Tech 88-61 last week while Idaho State only beat Montana Tech 73-55. Using the transitive property, the Mountaneers are a better than the Bengals. By seven points, even. Now, that in no way means that Eastern Oregon will come to Pocatello and beat Idaho State. The Bengals are the Division I team blessed with size and talent advantages. Eastern Oregon belongs to the NAIA and has no one taller than 6-foot-8 on its roster. I don't care what some algebra term says, Idaho State is still the favorite. But the Montana Tech comparison does show that Eastern Oregon is no patsy. So far this preseason, ISU coach Joe O'Brien has really talked up the Mountaineers. He has said that the Bengals will have their hands full in every way, and will need to play well to go into the Hawaii game 1-0. And he's not just praising Eastern Oregon to praise Eastern Oregon. The Mountaineers began the year as the No. 6 ranked team in all of NAIA, and have won their ...

Three weeks ago, John Zamberlin went out of his way to talk about how his Idaho State football team would not forget the way Northern Arizona kept throwing the ball against it in the fourth quarter even though the Lumberjacks held a gigantic lead. On Saturday at Holt Arena, the second-year coach once again hinted at revenge, saying that the Bengals would never forget the sounds of Weber State celebrating a Big Sky Conference title on their home field following a 59-27 beatdown. I like that kind of fire in a coach, and I like the way Zamberlin insists Idaho State will be good enough in the near future to avenge all the terrible losses it has sustained during this nightmare of an 0-10 season. But unless Zamberlin is wise enough to say goodbye to some of his close friends, admit his own failings and try something new in the third and final year of his contract next season, I fear he won’t be around long enough to see the Bengals avenge anything. Right now, his team is broken. In order to save his job, he will need to make some major changes. Against the Wildcats, there were only two things I liked: the inspired play ...

The chant of "Big Sky Champs" was impossible to miss at the end of this one. Weber State officially won the league with a 59-27 victory over Idaho State at Holt Arena, and there were no Bengals fans left to try to drown the Wildcats fans out. It's pretty sad really. I suspect the Aberdeen/Glenns Ferry game that is about to start in this arena will attract more fans. Interest in this team has to be at an all-time low. Idaho State did nothing to stop Weber State and got blown out big time. The Wildcats, during one stretch, scored a touchdown on seven straight drives. Quarterback Cameron Higgins threw for 369 yards and three touchdowns, Trevyn Smith ran for 143 yards and broke Weber State's all-time rushing record. It was a good game for Weber State and a terrible one for Idaho State. Only Clint Knickrehm looked good. He competed the whole way and gave Idaho State a large offensive boost. He's the only player I feel like defending at this point. He was the only Bengals player who looked like a winner. Everyone else not only looked bad, but it looked like a lot of them gave up in the second half. Not that I blame them. ...

Parts of the game were ugly, and parts of the game were really ugly. But in the end, the Idaho State men's basketball team defeated Rocky Mountain College 70-56 on Friday at Reed Gym and won its second exhibition game of the season. For that much, the Bengals can be happy. If not for the impressive debut of Kal Bay, I'm not sure the Bengals could be happy for anything. In an otherwise forgettable game, the junior college transfer point guard showed to everyone that he is the best point guard on Idaho State's roster and proved that he is also one of the team's best shooters. Behind 15 points, four assists and a rebound from Bay, Idaho State rallied back from an astonishing 28-25 halftime deficit and won going away. He hit three 3-pointers in there, and gave the Bengals an instant lift when he entered the game midway through the first half. With him in the lineup, Idaho State was a different team. Bay can handle the ball and create his own shot from the outside. He is also a talented passer. At times, he was too good and caught his teammates off guard. To many, his game raised the question of why hasn't ...