AFA men's basketball: Henke still giving it his best shot

This is not how Andrew Henke envisioned his senior season unfolding.

Air Force's 6-foot-6 guard/forward entered the campaign with expectations of his Falcons being competitive in the Mountain West Conference. Instead, they are 9-14 and last in the league at 0-10 heading into this afternoon's game at first-place Utah.

"I don't think I'm going to look back at this being the best year of my career, obviously," said Henke, who is averaging 9.5 points in conference games.

But the ultra-competitive Henke hasn't given up on the season. He believes there are goals left to accomplish.

"I still think if we win some games that we're not supposed to win with a team that's not supposed to do anything, that'd be a pretty good achievement," he said. "And then, winning a Mountain West Conference Tournament game, which nobody's ever done here."

If the Falcons are to pull an upset or two in their final six regular-season games and finally notch a win at the conference tournament, they will need a strong contribution from Henke. Air Force's four best performances in MWC play came against TCU, at Wyoming, against BYU and Wednesday against New Mexico. Not coincidentally, those are the four league games in which Henke has scored in double figures.

Henke had his best showing against the Lobos, scoring 19 points, his most since Dec. 13. He did it by breaking out of a shooting slump. In the three previous games, he shot 8-of-28 from the field, including 3-of-15 from 3-point range.

But during that time he "spent a lot of time in the gym," he said, working on his shot. His father, Brad, a former college player, was at the academy for the UNLV and BYU games Jan. 31 and Feb. 3 and helped his son tweak his form. And Henke went through extra shootingdrills - sitting in a chair and shooting to work on his shot's arc and shooting with his feet planted to make sure he was flicking his wrist correctly.

"Just went back to the basics, I guess," Henke, said. "When things aren't going your way, you have to go back to the most basic forms of what you do."

Henke said the Falcons are going back to basics as a group as well.

"We know we can't win with a negative attitude," he said. "So even if we are feeling that way, we've got to suck it up and try to have some fun and keep trying to do better."

THREE THINGS TO WATCH

1 UTAH'S FOCUS

The Utes have won five straight games, including Wednesday's momentous 67-55 victory over San Diego State that put them in sole possession of first place in the Mountain West Conference. So could Utah look past a reeling Air Force squad that it beat by 21 earlier this season? Utes coach Jim Boylen told the Salt Lake Tribune that his team talks "about respecting our opponents. Air Force is a team that is playing better."

2 AIR FORCE'S START

In their past three games, the Falcons have fallen behind 15-0, 12-2 and 23-10, to New Mexico, San Diego State and BYU, respectively. Air Force was able to rally and take the lead against New Mexico and BYU, but both of those games were at home. If the Falcons fall behind quickly at the Huntsman Center, they could be in for a beating like the Aztecs administered in San Diego.

3 UTAH'S WEAPONS

The Utes simply have too many for the Falcons. In the first meeting, Air Force limited 7-foot-2, 265-pound center Luke Nevill to seven points (10 below his average, which is second-best in the MWC). But five Utah players scored eight points or more. "They've just got a good blend of good inside presence and they shoot the ball as well from the perimeter," Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds said.

Quote to note: "I think it goes back to how you shoot the ball. I think it's just like anything else. If your wife tells you you look good, you feel better. If you shoot the ball well, you feel better about yourself and it gets the endorphins going." - Reynolds on the importance of the Falcons shooting the ball well.

Note to quote: According to ESPN.com's InsideRPI Daily report, Utah's Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) is 11th in the nation. Air Force's is 272nd. The RPI takes into account strength of schedule and performance against that schedule. It is one of the factors weighed when selecting at-large teams for the NCAA Tournament.