UND92,96

What more can you say about Ben Jacobson? You really have to respect what he's built at UNI. Sometimes I wonder what might have been for UND had Greg McDermott decided to remain at UNI long-term...

One-time UND recruiting target Wes Washpun of UNI is playing really well today.

It's too bad Paul Ralston isn't the voice of Baylor basketball. That would have been an interesting post-game interview.

Normally I love it when a big upset happens, but part of me doesn't really want to see anything good happen to the UAB athletic department after the way they dropped their football program. I realize that's not the fault of the players or coaches.

Although it's not an exhaustive list, here's an interesting compilation of coaches' pay and incentives for reaching and winning games in the NCAA tournament: http://sports.newsday.com/long-island/data/college/college-basketball/march-madness-coach-incentives/?currentRecord=1

Sometimes division II success isn't necessarily all that impressive, if the successful team is comprised largely of transfers, many of whom are only playing division II due to being non-qualifiers. But Moorhead's top four scorers are high school recruits from the likes of Moorhead, Staples, Red Wing and Braham. The job Walthall has done at a school where it's not exactly easy to win is nothing short of incredible.

Anybody but Kentucky is fine with me.

You are probably correct with regard to it being a pool. I was basing my theory in large part on Bubba's pay as SIU's associate head coach compared to Lennon's. Whether or not that is similar almost everywhere, or in basketball compared to football, I'm not 100% certain.

I've been wondering about this for awhile. I suppose the issue is that generally speaking, whatever a head coach is paid dictates the maximum assistants' pay, i.e. an assistant won't get more than x% of whatever the head coach gets (probably somewhere under 50%). And obviously by division I standards, Jones' pay is about as low as it can be. Unfortunately, this situation has been allowed to drag out for far too long, due to the fact that Jones has not done well enough to force Faison to pay him more (or get himself a better-paying job elsewhere), and in Faison's opinion, Jones hasn't done poorly enough to replace him. One way or the other, this has to change by no later than after next season.

I couldn't think of a better candidate. Of course, like Craig Smith last year, if you wait you likely lose your opportunity...

I definitely agree that Jones is paid what he is for a reason. And the fact that Jones agreed to his most recent contract extension, which kept him among the lowest paid coaches in the Big Sky, tells me even Jones doesn't think he's worth much, if any more. The frustrating thing is that Faison is sending mixed messages. On the one hand, he's clearly not confident enough in Jones' ability to pay him at least what Brewster gets--and we pretty much know Jones' successor will have to get as much or more than Brew. But on the other hand, he WAS confident enough in Jones to have extended his contract four years into the future after the modest success of the 2012-13 season, almost guaranteeing that the UND's men's basketball budget would remain quite low for several more years, and resulting in a serious lack of continuity on the staff since assistants routinely leave for higher-paying jobs.

Tom Miller season review, and 2015-16 preview: http://millersports.areavoices.com/2015/03/16/und-mbb-2014-15-season-wrap/

For the most part, if anybody does transfer I'd expect it would be to a division II or NAIA school, so that they would be immediately eligible.

I think Collins fills a role this year's team was really lacking, and that's a strong and athletic 3. Not that I think he's going to start, but I do think he will play a fair amount.

Good tweet today from Travis Brewster:

DeLaSalle wins big, Collins finishes with 17 points and 13 boards, and he makes the all tournament team.

Letter to the editor in today's Herald: http://www.grandforksherald.com/opinion/letters/3699544-letter-get-und-mens-basketball-out-cellar

Collins and DeLaSalle are playing on midco sports net right now, and he's been impressive in the first half. He's got 10 points and 8 rebounds, and is doing a very nice job on the offensive boards. There's no question Collins is a division I caliber athlete.

It turns out the guy who ran onto the court was actually a player. An academically ineligible player. Insert your own punch line here.

Here's the UM-NAU finish:

Well, that pretty much brings me back to my point of comparing UND to UNC and UNO, since they went through a transition, also. And the head-to-head comparison is not favorable for Coach Jones.

Greg McDermott is 6'8". Dave Gunther was about 6'7".

What's worse--a division I transition, or having to play your home games here: http://www.hornetsports.com/information/facilities/The_Nest It reminds me of Grand Forks Central's old gym.

Here is a list of each Big Sky coach, including their record at their current school, and the number of years at their current job: Brian Jones--9 years--127-152 (.455) Randy Rahe (Weber St.)--9 years--180-103 (.636) Don Verlin (Idaho)--7 years--110-113 (.493) Brian Katz (Sac. St.)--7 years--76-128 (.372) Tyler Geving (Portland St.)--6 years--84-98 (.462) B.J. Hill (UNC)--5 years--76-77 (.497) Jim Hayford (EWU)--4 years--64-62 (.508) Bill Evans (Idaho St.)--3 years--24-65 (.270) Nick Robinson (SUU)--3 years--23-66 (.258) Jack Murphy (NAU)--3 years--45-51 (.469) Travis DeCuire (Montana)--1 year--19-11 (.633) Brian Fish (MSU)--1 year--7-20 (.259)