Air Force Academy – Jacob Burtschi made his point by handicapping what’s in store for the Air Force men’s basketball team.
The Falcons (23-7) returned to practice Sunday after four days off from a grind that had taken them from the Mountain West Conference’s showcase team to the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament.
A sure bet to drop out of The Associated Press’ top-25 poll for the first time in weeks, the Falcons open MWC Tournament play against Wyoming at 3:30 p.m. Thursday in Las Vegas. AFA needs a victory to halt a three-game losing streak as well as to stabilize their national image.
“I think a win on Thursday and it’s 95 percent sure we’re going (to the NCAA Tournament). A loss on Thursday, it’s about 5 percent sure we’re going,” Burtschi said. “If we want to go dancing, we’ll win. A lot of people say we still have an advantage over some other teams. I’d rather make it easy on the committee and win out. That way we can worry about where we’re being seeded instead of if we’re being seeded.”
Air Force’s chances of returning to the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row and third time in four years could be hanging in the balance.
Coach Jeff Bzdelik locked up the basketballs in his office after the Falcons lost 62-58 Tuesday night to BYU at Clune Arena. The setback snapped Air Force’s 30-game home winning streak that was the longest in NCAA Division I and left the Falcons in a third-place tie with San Diego State at 10-6 in the final conference standings. Air Force dropped to the fourth seed for the tournament as a result of tiebreakers.
“It doesn’t matter who we play; everybody is competitive, good and well-coached,” Bzdelik said. “It’s tournament time. Each game has its own drama.”
The Falcons’ regular-season finale followed a tiring trip to TCU on Feb. 24. The Falcons didn’t make it back to Colorado Springs until Monday afternoon because of canceled flights. Guard Matt McCraw and center Nick Welch also were slowed by a stomach virus that kept them up most of Monday night.
“We had an effective practice in terms of working on things we need to work on along with preparation for Wyoming,” Bzdelik said. “We had some pop back today.”
“Everyone’s feeling a lot more relaxed,” Burtschi said. “We needed a couple of days off to get caught up in school, get our minds clear and get our legs underneath us. But now instead of being the favorite for most of the season, we’re almost to the point where we’re the underdog. I think that’s good.”
