Muleskinner

Issue date: 2/21/08 Section: Sports

Commentary: Nate Taylor [Click to enlarge]

It's the side of basketball fans generally don't like to watch, but it's the side Mules fans need to pay more attention to for the rest of the season.

For the Mules, who are one of the MIAA teams fighting to get in the NCAA tournament, defense will be the deciding factor in whether or not they go to the tournament.

After winning Saturday's game against Emporia State on the road, the Mules, for the sixth straight game, kept a team from scoring more than 65 points.

Due to this, the team has won five of its last six games and is in a position to finish the season strong, with the last two of three games inside the Multipurpose Building at home.

Junior guard Nathan Frazier knows how important the team's defense will be down the stretch.

"I think if we continue to play good defense it will help our chances, although we have to get better on offense," Frazier said.

Now, I know it's bad, and it's not fair, but I still hear people compare this team to last year's Final Four team because sports fans love to compare things.

So, when people compare this team to last year's, they usually think the reason the Mules are not as good is because the team doesn't have the offensive power of guys like Alonzo Brooks, Theo Jones and Zack Wright.

Although the Mules did score a lot of points at times last year, they were also able to force turnovers on defense, which led to easy, fast-break points off turnovers. That's what this team has to do, turn their strong defense into some offensive production.

You know, they have to play "Mule Ball;" that gritty philosophy of in-your-face, do-whatever-it-takes-to-stop-the-other-team-from-scoring plan, while disrupting any rhythm in the other team's game plan.

I know it seems so cliché at times, but it's the truth in any team sport. Defense wins championships. It's not a secret for anyone who watches this team that the defense will have to get it done.

I'm not worried about the team's offense because there are enough guys to score points. With the shooting ability of junior guard Joe Young, the post game of junior forward Skip Thomas and the development of junior point guard De'Andre Byrd, the offense should be able to score in the 70s.

With that said, it's going to be interesting to see what happens in the next two weeks for the Mules as they head into the MIAA tournament.

This is one of the most exciting times in sports for me, when a team's back is against the wall.

The Mules seem ready to fight the uphill battle to get to the tournament.

I know this for sure.

If the defense stays the same as it's been for the last six games, the Mules will be in the tournament.

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