More games against better competition? Yes, UND had a weaker schedule and that is part of the reason why their Sagarin ratings are so low, but:
UND went 2-3 against teams in the NCAA tournament (SDSU, Montana / SDSU, Kansas, New Mexico).
If I'm not mistaken NDSU was 0-2 against teams in the NCAA tournament (SDSU x2).
NDSU was terrible after their loss to UND. The players weren't even around Fargo to practice this week, a couple of them are meeting the rest of the team on the way to Wyoming. No one expected them to get an invite to any kind of tournament, including the players and coaches.