bincitysioux

That Dykstra kid is killing us

You know things are going OK when both Allard and Archer make a 3 in the same game.............

Shooting well tonight...........

38 North Dakota 32 SDSU Half

29 North Dakota 21 SDSU 3:43 1H

Sioux up 3 with 7:00 left in the 1st

These slow starts really hurt. SDSU started on a 10-0 run. Now UND on a 12-4 run. Kind of reminds me of how this year's football team started many games.

Fargo has done surprisingly well in men's basketball since the move to DI. I wonder if they will be able to keep it up. They were a perennial also-ran in the NCC days. Losing Oral Roberts and potentially Oakland one day will help keep them in the top half of the Summit standings in the future.

I think the only North Dakota fans that really still pine for the Summit are those that still long for the Sioux-Bison rivalry. The only tangible advantage to a Summit/MVFC combo from a fan's perspective would be the ability for those living in the Dakotas and Minnesota would be more easily accessible road games. Personally, I think that's a relatively minor thing given the what the rest of the Big Sky has to offer. Aside from the perception that the Big Sky is a more prestigous league, I was an advocate of pursing membership in that league long before an invitation was ever extended to North Dakota for two main reasons: 1. Opponent continuity. I think it is much preferable to have the same opponents in football and basketball, especially in UND's case where where the marquee program is already in its own single-sport leauge. 2. Non-conference scheduling. This year's men's basketball schedule is a perfect example. Not only are we guaranteed annual games against prominent regional schools like Montana, Montana St., and soon Idaho; a perennial mid-major power in Weber St.; and a familiar foe in Northern Colorado; but also we are playing schools with regional appeal in NDSU, SDSU, and Northern Iowa. I think this is a great recipe for building interest in the basketball programs, which sorely need it.

Only way I see North Dakota leaving the Big Sky is if the Montana schools leave first. I can't imagine the MVFC, as it exists now, ever offering an invitation to UND and certainly not to UNC. One of the "power schools" in that conference, Southern Illinois, required travel concesseions to allow USD in. Maybe if multiple Eastern schools leave someday, but Youngstown is really the only one that ever gets mentioned about possibly moving on and I don't know how realistic that is. I wonder though if the Summit could look to UND and UNC both as baseball affiliates? Both schools need a conference for that sport, and the Summit only has 5 members which I believe jeopardizes their autobid. Denver doesn't help the Summit in this area. As a fan, I whole-heartedly prefer the Big Sky to the Summit.

Could you send me a memo outlining the criteria that I need to meet so I can become a "true UND FB fan" like you?

I'm not sure why Wilmer started. I assume it had something to do with attempting to limit fouls on our post players which has been a problem. Wilmer, Brekke, Archer, and Traylor all rotated in out quite often. Traylor did not play much if at all in the second half though, and I don't recall hearing Benton's name called once all night.

Hawaii just so much bigger and athletic down low. I sure do grow tired of getting called for illegal screens. You'd think after running this offense for over 2 years now, the players would be able to set a proper ball screen. Schuler playing well.

Based on how the NCAA operates, I am going to go ahead and assume that we will be without his services for the season. More than a week into the season now, and still no decision. The longer it takes, makes me think it means bad news.

At the end of the 2011 season, this program was one QB away from being a very good team. At the end of the 2012 season, it appears this program is an entire defense away from being a very good team. Got off to a fast start in 2012, but then sputtered. Depth is still a major issue as far as I can tell, specifically in the secondary. Not sure if the 3-4 is the right scheme in the Big Sky. Plenty of positives, but even more negatives, given the "turnaround" for the worse on the defensive side of the ball. Discuss................

Turnovers: UNC +2 Rush Yards: UNC 231 yds These are the two biggest contributing factors to this loss..................

Well, if you say so. A conservative, play-the-percentages, clueless, ignoramus like me would have preferred they attempt the FG at that point. There's a faction of posters here who criticize Mussman everytime he does the "smart" thing, or the conservative thing. Well he was certainly agressive at the end of the game today, so I figure anybody who's criticized the play-calling in these situations all season, should be giddy tonight..............

Aren't you one that hates it when he kicks and plays conservative? He went for it. That's awesome, right? Nothing conservative about that last offensive play. Only a pansy would kick it in that situation.

This just in: Greeley smells real bad..............

But he "coached to win today" and "showed balls" by going for it on 4th and 1. Tons of people here should be very happy with that...........

Ouch..................

Seems like a good place for him.................

Good post. Personally, I'm a bit disappointed with the way the season unfolded, but at the same time, there are alot of things that have impressed me. In a nut-shell, it has been up and down, but I've seen alot of positives to learn from and build upon going forward.

Based on last year's defense and the huge upgrade made at the QB position, my expectation heading into the season was that the Sioux would at worst win 7 games and be on the bubble for a playoff spot. The eternal optimist in me actually felt an 8 win season was attainable. I also did not expect the team to suffer two of its most lopsided losses in program history this season. Like I said, if they finish 6-5 overall with our only losses to 4 playoff teams and an FBS team, I'd consider that a very respectable showing in the first year of Big Sky play. 5-6 would obviously not be disastrous, but I expect more than that from this program regardless of any circumstances surrounding injury, transition, recruiting, nicknames, etc. A loss to Northern Colorado would really sting and set things up for an off-season of major negativity on this board.

I was just comparing stats between the two teams, in Big Sky play only: Scoring Offense #9 UNC #11 North Dakota Scoring Defense #9 UNC #12 North Dakota Total Offense #11 North Dakota #12 UNC Total Defense #11 UNC #12 North Dakota Rushing Offense #10 North Dakota #11 UNC Rushing Defense #11 UNC #12 North Dakota Pass Offense #3 UNC #5 North Dakota Pass Defense #9 UNC #10 Northern Colorado Unfortunately, this appears to be shaping up as a classic battle of ineptitude. Given the offensive fireworks that I've seen North Dakota light off throughout the season, I'm shocked that we are 11th in the conference in scoring offense and total offense. I expect this game to be close from start to finish. We (along with everybody who follows FCS football) like to rag on Northern Colorado's shortcomings. But in reality we're in the same place. 3 of their 4 conference losses are to 1st place Big Sky teams. All 4 of our conference losses are to 1st place Big Sky teams. This season has obviously been a disappointment. But as far as I'm concerned there is still alot to play for. A winning season and .500 record in our first season of the Big Sky is at stake, and while those numbers wouldn't meet my pre-season expectations, I could hardly call that a total failure either.