jdub27

Couple of their shooters got hot in the second half and got them back in the game, wouldn't be surprised to see that confidence carry over to Friday. However Jacobson was still cold but they seemed to play better when he wasn't on the floor, which is interesting. They didn't start Werner, instead bringing him off the bench. Not sure of the rationale on that, he's quite a bit better than the guy that started over him.

Disagree. Werner is solid and fun to watch but I don't think he's the kind of guy that's going to beat you by himself if no one else is contributing. Let him do his thing, as long you prevent the other guys from getting going.

I wouldn't go that far. Q knew his shot was off, started distributing and ended up with 9 assists which is basically twice as many as FargoU had as a team. Much better reaction than continuing to chuck it up there and pout about it.

For the game UND shot 45.8%, NDSU shot 41.4%, hardly a huge disparity. NDSU's cold outside shooting was offset by Werner shooting 12-13, which I'm not sure you can count on again either. I'm sure UND could have sent more doubles to slow him down, but why give the outside shooters a chance to get going? I expect a closer game, but I also expect Q to provide some scoring and Seales being on the court to help make a difference. Hoping Shanks has some confidence from the UNI game because NDSU has zero answer for him. The only thing that seems to be for sure is that one team will run the weave being 6 feet behind the 3point line for 20 seconds and have to try to force a shot on multiple possessions.

He's working with an even bigger dumpster fire than what is going on in Philly. The whole LA organization is a mess. At least Philly has a few respectable pieces in place. Both show examples of why rebuilding teams should hesitate to give up a ton of draft picks when they need to fill a lot of holes. At least Philly got a couple back for Bradford.

Yet you still manage to continue to find your way here. Lucky us!

9 first half turnovers and 15 total is too many, especially against a team as good as UNI, with more than a few "dumb" ones mixed in that were just sloppy play. Seemed to be a similar game plan in the second half against Morgan/UNI as they used against Werner/NDSU: Don't let their shooters get going and hope he cools off. Morgan didn't and on top of that, was able to get to the line. It feels like a better showing than last year, but almost as frustrating because it felt like they let this one go. Learn from it and take care of business Friday night. #OwnTheState #OwnTheFarm

McGovern?

Well that is different because they recruited Frazier out of high school and were familiar with him. Oh wait....

The date of the Winnipeg game was announced a year ahead of time (though the opponent changed), so there was more than enough lead time to get a passport. The schedule with the actual opponent was announced 5-6 months ahead of time, so even then, there was more than enough time. My point was that a destination game, played in an NHL arena, 3-4 hours from the main part of UND's fan base barely drew 7,000 and that number actually includes a fair amount of fans that weren't necessarily supporters of either team because Canadians love hockey (unlike MSG which appeared to have very few neutral observers). But your point about passports is what I was alluding to, obstacles lessen demand. For Winnipeg, it was a passport. For Sioux Falls vs. Fargo it is having to commit a whole weekend (including travel/lodging/etc) instead of a just an afternoon or evening for people. I'm sure it would still be successful and probably the best attended regional. I just doubt you'd sell out the place because the overall demand would be lower than Fargo is due to proximity and convenience. And again, other than being able to offer more tickets (which UND gets little to none of the proceeds), are there any other advantages for UND to hosting in Sioux Falls vs. Fargo?

Not a real apples to apples comparison comparing an outdoor game or one at MSG. Those are pretty special "one-off" type games. The Winnipeg game only drew 7,000 and that is a smaller commitment of time and money than the other two. I don't think the demand for Sioux Falls would be as strong as it is be for Fargo because it is closer for a huge portion of the fan base and doesn't require the time commitment or dollars to attend. Minneapolis/St. Paul is a huge alumni base for UND but the crowds for regionals there always seem to be lacking (even if it is only a week's notice). That's not saying it wouldn't be better attended than most regionals but I don't think it would sell-out. Fargo was a slam-dunk for me because it is easy. Not as certain I'd go to Sioux Falls. Other than more UND fans getting a chance to go, what benefits would Sioux Falls have over Fargo? The atmosphere wouldn't be any better. The team would spend more time away from home/normal routines. Did they even stay in Fargo two years ago or did they drive home and sleep in their own beds? It doesn't bother the FargoU fans as much (which is just an added side bonus). As for getting tickets for Fargo, if you were above #400 in the Champions Club, you had the exact same chance of getting tickets as everyone else above, whether you give $1,000+ or $100/year.

I was told that UND more or less sold out their allotment of 7,000 assigned tickets and then started selling BC's portion, which was obvious due to the amount of green in prime seats on the other side of the arena. Then add in people who bought tickets outside of those two areas. Knowing that info, I'm finding it hard to see how something 8,000 or a little more is a wild overestimate.

Suites were sold out long before the tickets were. Good effort though. Though the guy at Scheels Arena said that some suite holders will sell their extra tickets for around $300/seat.

Looked like UND made a conscious decision to not double Werner for the majority of the game even after he started rolling. Guessing the thought process was that it was better to take your chances on Werner cooling down than sending a double team down on him and leaving one of their shooters open, giving them a chance to start rolling which would have given NDSU a much better chance to get back in the game.

I asked someone involved with the process about the potential conflict before the brackets were announced and was told that UND made it known to the NCAA. Apparently they didn't care. As for what you heard on the radio, just like the rest of the self-important BS, take it with a large grain of salt.

Game time change was announced a couple months ago, so nothing new there (TV reasons I believe). MSG has free WiFi, guessing there will be at least a few ESPN3 streams running through it.

It isn't a rationalization, it is reality: There is a large contingent of the fan base going to NYC that would otherwise definitely be at the football game. That doesn't have anything to do with the rest of your post, because it isn't an either/or thing. Building the fan base remains true regardless of other things effecting attendance and I don't think you'll find anyone disagreeing with the need to continue to work on that.

If you win enough and do it consistently, it does eventually. It isn't an overnight switch though. Relatively speaking, the mighty FargoU had terrible attendance for their first ever home playoff game (the dome was 2/3's full). And spare me the Thanksgiving weekend excuse, it effects every school but the bandwagon wasn't full yet. And while they got close, they didn't sell out their first playoff game the following season either (~95% full). Will be interesting to see how many student and visitor tickets they release tonight.

UND has an All-American kick returner (also the starting RB), so that bodes well. However, UND fair catches the majority of punts, which is honestly a good thing considering how many close-calls they've had when they don't. Hospitality will be top notch as it always is. Might be a little cold, but there will still be a good amount of people out in the tailgating lots prior to the game.

The squeakiest wheel gets the grease. If you wouldn't have felt the need to come in and take an unnecessary cheap shot after the team actually pulls out a nice win, I wouldn't have said a word. Did you watch a single minute of any of the games this weekend?

You're correct, for some reason I had it in my mind that CSU-B was hosting, not Wright State. Regardless, they don't have enough OOC wins, this was a good one and my overall point stands.

UND gets the elusive OOC road win you always complain about and that's the kind of response you come up with? Can't even give a little credit where it might be due. Hell of an effort by the team not to give up and score 16 straight to end the game and pull out the W.

Hopefully not Kalen DeBoer again

Well, on a positive note, there is a decent amount of good seats available for those who waited. Hopefully that will help get people to the game.

That's an interesting take on the situation. Not sure I'd agree with it though.