UND92,96

Could be a pretty favorable matchup for the Griz. Badgers always tough defensively, but I don't see them having enough offensive firepower to blow anybody out. If Montana shoots well, upset not out of the question.

SDSU is a 14 seed and will play Baylor. Montana gets 13 seed and will play Wisco.

Congrats to RR for winning state. Arvidson played really well. I don't think I've seen a high school kid who gets more elevation on his jump shot.

Sounds like there may be a chance for UND to host a first round CIT game. According to a Tom Miller tweet, UND is at least pursuing it.

UND really needs to get some production off the bench today, which essentially means Schuler and Antwi both need to score at least six points each. Anything received from the other bench players is gravy.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/231690/

Here's a link with tournament history, appearances, titles by school, etc.: http://www.metrotournament.com/2012SuperABasketball/BoysTourneyHistory.html#appearances

UND rolls to an 88-48 win.

UND is up 50-27 with just under 16 minutes to play in the second half.

Congrats to the Red River boys for making it to the state title game tomorrow. First time since 1970!

I'm pretty sure closely monitoring 500 message boards and sports-related sites every hour of every day doesn't leave time for such trivial endeavors as a job.

Per a Nate Baukol tweet, Ross Brenneman and Romon Bridges are the 2012 Beefmaster award winners. I'm not surprised by Brenneman, but Bridges seems surprising, at least to me.

Here's the writeup: http://siouxfb.areavoices.com/

I would just be satisifed if we could find a couple more players in the Mitchell/Brekke mode. Finding a 6'8"-plus kid from the juco ranks who can really play is probably a longshot given the number of dI schools in the market for such players. Finding a versatile 6'6" or 6'7" kid from the upper midwest who can shoot a little bit should be quite realistic. There are players like that in the NSIC right now.

I don't want to make any predictions with regard to the fate of any individual player, but my feeling is that in most cases, it only makes sense to bring somebody back on scholarship for a fifth year if that player is likely going to be a part of the regular rotation. I think it comes down to what really is the purpose of red shirting? It's supposed to be beneficial to both the program and the player. But if the player isn't contributing on the court, then the benefit of the red shirt becomes fairly one-sided in favor of the player if he's brought back for a fifth year on scholarship with little hope of actually playing more than mop-up minutes. I know some disagree, but IMO when you recruit a kid, you should commit to a four-year scholarship (just like the non-red shirts get). The fifth year should not necessarily be guaranteed.

Bracket: http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/gwfc/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2011-12/schedule/schedule.pdf

Bracket: http://grfx.cstv.com...le/schedule.pdf

Wish there was a jumbotron at the Betty. I was at the game, but was watching the play and not the clock so I have no idea if Mitchell really got the shot off in time or not. I must say that although Hunsaker is clearly a good coach, he's a bit too whiny for my taste. He's had more than his share of good fortune against UND. Today the shoe was on the other foot, so deal with it.

I find it pretty amazing what today's opponent Utah Valley has accomplished the past two seasons, despite 1) still facing an uphill battle to gain admission into an autobid conference; 2) being probably the least prominent of Utah's six dI schools; and 3) having to deal with the challenge of trying to recruit at least some non-Mormons to an area which is very much Mormon. Hunsaker deserves a lot of credit for winning roughly 40 games the past two seasons.

What's the reasoning behind having the state B so early this year? It seems weird not having it be the last tournament of the winter sports season.

I agree that if Huff won't grow up, be coachable and learn to play within a team concept at all times, he may need to go. The problem is, losing any of the top five underclassmen would be potentially disastrous considering how little depth there is right now. Yes, Schuler could very well slide into Huff's starting spot, and maybe Antwi can develop into an 8-10 ppg scorer off the bench, but that would still result in one fewer scorer on the team next year compared to this year, as the impending loss of Mitchell was already going to be difficult to overcome. Is it too late to sign impact players for next year? I'm sure at least one juco will be brought in, but I don't know how likely it is that a juco will make much of an impact. Webb was kind of an under-the-radar player found in a prep school, and he stepped right in and was effective immediately. Maybe another prep schooler is the answer?

I mentioned only Kroeplin and Hagler because they're juniors, and appear to play the same position (point guard), whereas Arvidson is a senior and probably a 2. I believe Arvidson does have a legit shot at playing dI, although he may need to start off as a walk-on. No inside info there, just a gut feeling.

I have no idea whether either is considered a true dI prospect, but I'm curious who is considered to be the better college prospect between Mac Kroeplin and Jake Hagler?

This team is really difficult to figure out. On the one hand, the home record is as good as it's been in many years. And the talent level of the top six players is good. But then you start factoring in the terrible road record, the extreme lack of quality depth, the erratic free throw shooting, periodic turnover problems, dumb fouls and questionable shot selection, and it becomes difficult to be overly optimistic about next season. I can't comment on leadership issues as I have no knowledge of them one way or the other, but I certainly trust UND Fan's assessment. Bottom line--despite three or four very good wins and a good home record, I can't help but feel that this season has been something of a disappointment overall. But that opinion is subject to change should UND beat Utah Valley next week, and win the GW tournament.

Not sure which thread to post this in, but according to a tweet by Tom Dienhart of the Big Ten Network, Brooks Bollinger is expected to be named quarterbacks coach for Paul Chryst at Pittsburgh.