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Big Sky Report Card: 2012-13


bincitysioux

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This fan’s take on North Dakota’s first season as a full DI institution and member of the Big Sky Conference……………………

Football

Record: 5-6 (3-5)

Conference Standing: T-8th

The Good: The Sioux had one of the most prolific offenses in school history, only a year after it had one of it’s most inept offenses in recent memory. Arguably had the most talented wide receiving corps in FCS, and they all return. Of the 6 losses, 4 came against Top 25 teams, and one came against an FBS opponent. Continued the tradition of excellent Special Teams play.

The Bad: A great offense was countered by perhaps the worst defense in North Dakota history. Traditionally a strong running team, UND was rarely able to establish the ground game. Suffered wildly embarrassing losses to the top two teams in the conference.

Summary: While I was disappointed overall with the season, I don’t consider it a failure, like alot of fellow fans do. North Dakota was a middle-of-the-pack team in the best FCS conference. Despite embarrassing blowouts against MSU and EWU, the Sioux played well against Top 25 NAU, FBS SDSU, defeated decent Big Sky teams in UM and Sac St., and were a blown call away from beating UNC which would have given UND a winning record in their first season. I think the team will improve overall in 2013, but given the schedule, the record may not necessarily reflect it.

Grade: C-

Volleyball

Record: 15-17 (10-10)

Confernce Standing: 5th

The Good: Qualified for Big Sky tournament in first year of membership. Went 9-1 against the teams that didn’t make the tournament, including 6-0 against traditional conference powers Sac St., EWU, and UM. Went 5-6 in non-conference play, but 4 of the losses came to teams from the “Power 6” conferences including Top 20 teams USC and Texas A&M

The Bad: Went 1-10 against Big Sky teams that qualified for the Big Sky Tournament. Really were not even competitive in their lone tournament game.

Summary: Seems like the volleyball team did fairly well in their first Big Sky season, although I admit heading into the season that I felt a top 3 finish was attainable. Seems there was a distinct line in the conference competition between the teams that finished above UND in the standings, and the teams that finished below. The Sioux need to narrow the gap and compete better on the road. I believe they lost no seniors, so there should be a quality chance to make a move up in the standings in 2013.

Grade: C+

Women’s Basketball

Record: 11-18 (6-14)

Conference Standing: T-10th

The Good: Wins against Utah of the Pac-12, Big Sky preseason favorite Idaho St., and rival NDSU were really the only highlights of an otherwise dismal season.

The Bad: An injury to perhaps the best player, Alyssa Wall, and poor guard play that led to an embarrassing rate of turnovers all season. Players were defecting from the team before the season even concluded. For the most part, were not competitive against the teams that qualified for the Big Sky Tournament.

Summary: This was perhaps the most disappointing team in the UND Athletic Department this season. Picked to finish as high as 5th in the conference in preseason polls, I felt the ladies could have done even better than that. Wall’s injury changed a lot, but there turned out to be other major glaring deficiencies thoughout. The Big Sky is a legitimate Mid-Major Conference in DI basketball, that actually had a bit of a down year this season as a league. North Dakota has a lot of ground to make up to be competitive on an annual basis in the Big Sky.

Grade: F

Soccer

Record: 2-13-1 (0-9)

Conference Standing: 10th

The Good: Not much. A win against South Dakota St. and a tie against South Dakota.

The Bad: Zero conference wins. Outscored on the season by a margin 45-15.

Summary: This program has been bad for a number of years now. Hopefully the new coach can breathe a little life into this program, because there was nothing about the 2012 season that would suggest that improvement is on the horizon.

Grade: F

Women’s Tennis

Record: 3-16 (0-10)

Conference Standing: 11th

The Good: Not much. Their lone win against a DI opponent came against South Dakota in a DII tournament. Their other two wins were against NSIC schools. To their credit, they suffered narrow 3-4 defeats to SDSU, UNO, and Drake, so they were competitive at times in the non-conference season. Fairly competitive in doubles competition.

The Bad: No Big Sky wins. Were “out-scored” 62-8 in conference matches.

Summary: North Dakota was quite competitive in NCC tennis. Unfortunately a significant investment into the recruiting budget will need to be made in the sport if it is to move up the food chain in the Big Sky which places a certain amount of emphasis on tennis.

Grade: D-

Men’s Tennis

Record: 4-12 (2-8)

Conference Standing: 9th

The Good: Wins against UNO, Northern Arizona, and Southern Utah.

The Bad: Non-competetive against everyone that finished higher in the standings.

Summary: Given the fact that Coach Wynne basically assembled this team from the student body, I was actually impressed that UND managed to stay out of the Big Sky cellar. Like women’s tennis, funding is going to be the biggest obstacle standing in the way of North Dakota being competitive in Big Sky tennis. With a great new facility, the tennis programs could actually possibly become factors in the conference if the University offered more, or any, scholarships.

Grade: D+

Men’s Basketball

Record: 16-17 (12-8)

Conference Standing: 3rd

The Good: Qualified for Big Sky tournament. Received 3rd consecutive berth to CIT Postseason tournament. Advanced to Big Sky semifinals, suffering 2 point defeat to perennial power Weber St. One of just 3 teams to have a winning road record in Big Sky play.

The Bad: Dismal 1-7 non-conference record against DI opponents that included very winnable games against SDSU, UMKC, and UNO. Embarrassing losses @ UNI, @ Weber St., @ UM, and @ rival NDSU.

Summary: It was an injury plagued season for the Sioux. With a fully healthy roster, this team could have won 20 games this season. With the majority of the offensive ouput returning, the upcoming season holds much promise. Focus and consistency were problems at times, but under the circumstances, Coach Jones did a remarkable job this season. The team should be in the hunt for a Big Sky Championship next season.

Grade: A

Softball

Season still in progress…………………..

Good recap, Bin, though I admittedly don't follow the tennis teams, soccer, or softball.

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This fan’s take on North Dakota’s first season as a full DI institution and member of the Big Sky Conference……………………

Football

Record: 5-6 (3-5)

Conference Standing: T-8th

The Good: The Sioux had one of the most prolific offenses in school history, only a year after it had one of it’s most inept offenses in recent memory. Arguably had the most talented wide receiving corps in FCS, and they all return. Of the 6 losses, 4 came against Top 25 teams, and one came against an FBS opponent. Continued the tradition of excellent Special Teams play.

The Bad: A great offense was countered by perhaps the worst defense in North Dakota history. Traditionally a strong running team, UND was rarely able to establish the ground game. Suffered wildly embarrassing losses to the top two teams in the conference.

Summary: While I was disappointed overall with the season, I don’t consider it a failure, like alot of fellow fans do. North Dakota was a middle-of-the-pack team in the best FCS conference. Despite embarrassing blowouts against MSU and EWU, the Sioux played well against Top 25 NAU, FBS SDSU, defeated decent Big Sky teams in UM and Sac St., and were a blown call away from beating UNC which would have given UND a winning record in their first season. I think the team will improve overall in 2013, but given the schedule, the record may not necessarily reflect it.

Grade: C-

Volleyball

Record: 15-17 (10-10)

Confernce Standing: 5th

The Good: Qualified for Big Sky tournament in first year of membership. Went 9-1 against the teams that didn’t make the tournament, including 6-0 against traditional conference powers Sac St., EWU, and UM. Went 5-6 in non-conference play, but 4 of the losses came to teams from the “Power 6” conferences including Top 20 teams USC and Texas A&M

The Bad: Went 1-10 against Big Sky teams that qualified for the Big Sky Tournament. Really were not even competitive in their lone tournament game.

Summary: Seems like the volleyball team did fairly well in their first Big Sky season, although I admit heading into the season that I felt a top 3 finish was attainable. Seems there was a distinct line in the conference competition between the teams that finished above UND in the standings, and the teams that finished below. The Sioux need to narrow the gap and compete better on the road. I believe they lost no seniors, so there should be a quality chance to make a move up in the standings in 2013.

Grade: C+

Women’s Basketball

Record: 11-18 (6-14)

Conference Standing: T-10th

The Good: Wins against Utah of the Pac-12, Big Sky preseason favorite Idaho St., and rival NDSU were really the only highlights of an otherwise dismal season.

The Bad: An injury to perhaps the best player, Alyssa Wall, and poor guard play that led to an embarrassing rate of turnovers all season. Players were defecting from the team before the season even concluded. For the most part, were not competitive against the teams that qualified for the Big Sky Tournament.

Summary: This was perhaps the most disappointing team in the UND Athletic Department this season. Picked to finish as high as 5th in the conference in preseason polls, I felt the ladies could have done even better than that. Wall’s injury changed a lot, but there turned out to be other major glaring deficiencies thoughout. The Big Sky is a legitimate Mid-Major Conference in DI basketball, that actually had a bit of a down year this season as a league. North Dakota has a lot of ground to make up to be competitive on an annual basis in the Big Sky.

Grade: F

Soccer

Record: 2-13-1 (0-9)

Conference Standing: 10th

The Good: Not much. A win against South Dakota St. and a tie against South Dakota.

The Bad: Zero conference wins. Outscored on the season by a margin 45-15.

Summary: This program has been bad for a number of years now. Hopefully the new coach can breathe a little life into this program, because there was nothing about the 2012 season that would suggest that improvement is on the horizon.

Grade: F

Women’s Tennis

Record: 3-16 (0-10)

Conference Standing: 11th

The Good: Not much. Their lone win against a DI opponent came against South Dakota in a DII tournament. Their other two wins were against NSIC schools. To their credit, they suffered narrow 3-4 defeats to SDSU, UNO, and Drake, so they were competitive at times in the non-conference season. Fairly competitive in doubles competition.

The Bad: No Big Sky wins. Were “out-scored” 62-8 in conference matches.

Summary: North Dakota was quite competitive in NCC tennis. Unfortunately a significant investment into the recruiting budget will need to be made in the sport if it is to move up the food chain in the Big Sky which places a certain amount of emphasis on tennis.

Grade: D-

Men’s Tennis

Record: 4-12 (2-8)

Conference Standing: 9th

The Good: Wins against UNO, Northern Arizona, and Southern Utah.

The Bad: Non-competetive against everyone that finished higher in the standings.

Summary: Given the fact that Coach Wynne basically assembled this team from the student body, I was actually impressed that UND managed to stay out of the Big Sky cellar. Like women’s tennis, funding is going to be the biggest obstacle standing in the way of North Dakota being competitive in Big Sky tennis. With a great new facility, the tennis programs could actually possibly become factors in the conference if the University offered more, or any, scholarships.

Grade: D+

Men’s Basketball

Record: 16-17 (12-8)

Conference Standing: 3rd

The Good: Qualified for Big Sky tournament. Received 3rd consecutive berth to CIT Postseason tournament. Advanced to Big Sky semifinals, suffering 2 point defeat to perennial power Weber St. One of just 3 teams to have a winning road record in Big Sky play.

The Bad: Dismal 1-7 non-conference record against DI opponents that included very winnable games against SDSU, UMKC, and UNO. Embarrassing losses @ UNI, @ Weber St., @ UM, and @ rival NDSU.

Summary: It was an injury plagued season for the Sioux. With a fully healthy roster, this team could have won 20 games this season. With the majority of the offensive ouput returning, the upcoming season holds much promise. Focus and consistency were problems at times, but under the circumstances, Coach Jones did a remarkable job this season. The team should be in the hunt for a Big Sky Championship next season.

Grade: A

Softball

Season still in progress…………………..

Excellent analysis. A good deal of thought put into it. Will be interesting to see how things play out down the road.

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