sioux2013

When are we going to stop trying to shoot over their bigs. How many blocks do they have?

You nailed it. This is almost a must win even though it is the first Big Sky Game. We need to play this road game like we played against SDSU with the exception of the last shot of course. Who would have thought going into our 9th game based on what the pre-season looked like the list of names above is what we have for our playing roster right now. Basically only 9 players since Stockdale is a walk on and rarely plays. I agree we still have plenty of talent to get the job done and need to get it done.

UND wins big and Traylor had a huge night. This is definately one player we need to pick it up, hopefully this game will carry over for him against a real team.

28-10 und at half. Just an ugly game with Presentation holding the ball until the last second of the 35 second shot to shoot. Should never schedule a team like this, it does nothing at all. Webb with 4 turnovers already. Out rebounded them only 15-13.

This game is a waste of effort. Webb already has 3 turnovers in about 9 possessions.

A stat that I always find interesting is "Points Per Shot." Otherwords, how many points do you generate each time you shoot it. Usually the bigs are at the top of this stat due to higher field goal percentage cause their shots are mostly under 5'. This is how we stand after 7 games with our key players from best to worst. Wilmer 1.4, Archer 1.37, Schuler 1.33, Anderson 1.27, Antwi 1.25 , Brekke 1.22 , Traylor 1.04, Webb .98, Allard .96 , and Huff .8 (only 1 game). So take Wilmer, he averages scoring 1.4 points everytime he shoots the ball and Allard averages less than 1 point everytime he shoots the ball. What really helps a guy like Anderson out in this stat is free throws count as points but not as a shot, he has made more than double anybody else in FT's made. Compared to last year this is how it looked in order: Brekke 1.62, Anderson 1.52 ,Archer 1.5 Webb 1.21, Schuler 1.20 , Mitchell 1.18, Huff 1.11, Allard 1.07 and Antwi 1.06.

DII yes but not DIII. Not a good way to get home attendance up. Bright side we get a WIN that doesnt count for anything.

Who scedules DIII schools when you are a D1 team. This is the best we can get for our non conference home games. A joke and who is going to come watch this game?

Thats exactly who I was thinking. Dont really see anybody else contributing to this team this year. Alot was said about Benton pre-season but after watching him try to defend NDSU he is slow and got crossed up many times in the minutes he played. Allard might get the minutes for Traylor if Traylor doesnt toughen up but I believe we need to settle on about 8 guys and figure things out with only 8 like every other team in the nation does. Go with our absolute best and win or lose with these guys. I also believe we can be very strong at the 1,2 and 3 positions we just need to figure things out at the 4 and 5. That's why I think Huff at the 4 would by far be our best lineup. Many mid level teams go with a 4 guard set and Huff is more than a guard with his athletic ability to rebound and jump. Huff would no doubt be getting more rebounds than our current 4 position players and scroing more also. Webb, Anderson, Schuler, Huff and Brekke would be 5 double digit scorers and they have all scored more than 20 in a game with the exception of Brekke I believe. This would be a quick and a good scoring and defensive team. Antwi would sub in for the 1 and 2 spot with Huff moving to the 3 to rest Schuler and Traylor or Allard for Huff and Wilmer for Brekke. In my opion the most solid we would be.

It is early but there are still issues that need to be resolved. Will be interesting when Huff comes back and what our lineup and subs will be and if he will be a team player and not try to catch up on time missed. We need to settle down with about 8 players and no more. Our bigs need to learn how to box out and set screens. Its been too long since the appeal that I would think Nash's year is over. When UCLA and Indiana appealed the decision was made within a few days. Granted once we enter into the Big Sky our schedule will be easier and I still believe we have a chance.

I agree with Brekke being gone after 3 minutes that killed our rebounding and inside game. Have to disagree with nobody matching up with Braun cause when Schuler was guarding Braun he rarely scored. When Schuler got into foul trouble and Webb and others guarded Braun is when he did all his scoring. Atmosphere was dead with a less than half full dome and once again offensive rebounds was a major factor is this game. When is this team going to learn to box out and when are they going to learn how to set a screen without being called for a foul. I notice game after game the teams we play do it so unselfish and I dont see that from us. Other teams find the open guys and have a nice inside out game and we dont even know how to do the basics of this. Guards penetrate and continue to draw the defense and hardly ever dish it to the open guys, so why do we always have players just standing in the corners waiting for a pass but never pass it to them.

This is going to be another tough one. One advantage we have being on the road this time is it's almost like a road game for them also, less the favorable crowd. Playing in the dome for them will not be an advantage for them cause I dont know if they will get a chance to practice there. Shooting will be difficult for both teams in this type of setup. Hopefully Braun has an off night just like last year cause he is a beast to cover. Our guys will also need to have their track shoes on and depending on how good of shape our starters are in they are going to be running alot. NDSU offense has alot of players moving constantly which may tire our boys out. We cannot let Felt get into rythem at all. He shoots almost nothing but 3's and rarely every penetrates for a pull up so I hope our guards do not leave him to help on defense, if so he will kill us. Last year Brekke killed them down low so we will need a big game from him again. Last year I believe Huff only scored 2 points in this game so compared to last year we dont lose much from his offense but I know he played very good defense on Braun. Just trying to compare things with Huff from this year to last as I know he would bring alot more offense than 2 points if he played this year, he will be missed. Lets just hope our boys fight and claw like they always do and we should be there at the end. Go Sioux

Thanks once again. Spot on with your analysis.

Good point with your last paragraph. This team is 1-5 and at worst should be 3-3 and probably with Huff and Traylor at full strength this team could be 4-2 with just alittle bit of luck. The last 3 games could have easily been won but lost. Did not include Nash cause I have not seen him play yet or know much about him outside his stats. This team has definately been hit by the bad luck bug but hopefully once league play begins we are at full strength and doing what we know this team and players are capable of. Go Sioux

If you told me we would shoot 50% from the field and only have 9 turnovers I would have thought we won this game easily. 14-30 from the line you've got to be kidding me. Webb scored 20 but his turnovers and free throw shooting are killing us. Webb has got to be averaging a league lead in turnovers. Jones maybe needs to rest Webb more cause his minutes are around 34-35 game which is too much. 6-16 from three is not bad either with Schuler having an off night from 3 but we need him to keep shooting. Many shots appeared in and then rimmed out. No idea what is wrong with Traylor but I still like how hard this team plays even when things are not going well. They always seem to fight back. Lets get healthy with Huff and Traylor and I like our chances in the Big Sky. We were highly ranked in FT% until tonight.

Who would ever think our highest ranked stat in the nation is free throw percentage after last year. Thats so strange.

I dont know if I would say they are having a down year. They are 3-4 with losses to Seton Hall, Ohio State, Western Illinois and Albany. They return 4 starters from a 10-21 season so you'd expect the win total to go way up from last year with 4 returning starters playing basically the same competition. They are a very dangerous team in my opionion.

Keep it up, its awesome to read and gives us great info on our competition. Much appreciated.

I'm sure once Huff is cleared to play it will take a couple of games to get back into shape and the flow of the game. I'd say the coaches will bring him along at a pace based on how he feels and what kind of shape he is in both physically and his contribution to the team until he is full strength. I would think he has got to be weak sucking out of a straw for several weeks. I'm sure he is dying for a fat juicy cheeseburger or pizza.

I feel very good about our chances in the Big Sky this year and next.

Excellent post. We do have players that get upset if they aren't scoring their points or sitting on the bench. I do understand your frustration at times watching the games. The reckless shots are the ones that upset me the most which in turn cases us to lose 3-5 point games.

This may not be the best class ever but based on numbers alone its got to be very high. Remember, this was the highest scoring freshman class in the nation (d1) their freshman year. Third highest sophomore scoring class in the nation last year. There have only been 31 1,000 point scoreres in the history of UND and this 5 man class all have a chance at 1,000 points. Huff will surpass this mark this year and Anderson and Webb will be close. Schuler and Brekke have an excellent shot at it with a good junior and senior year. That would be un heard of to have an entire recruiting class exceed 1,000 points. Dont think any class in history of this size has ever matched that. Back to back conference championships their first 2 years also isnt bad either. There wont be any NBA players but they aren't too bad.

Thanks and a huge road win against a very good team out of the A-10, expecially on the road. Looking forward to having your team at our place.

The confidence should now be there with the 2nd half of the Hawii game and this game. They are looking more and more solid with each outing and the players are starting to work together. Wilmer and Archer were huge last night and if we can even get close to that kind of effort out of them the rest of the year with the addition of Huff and Traylor this team could be a tough out in the Big Sky tournament. I expected us to be 1-4 at this point when I first saw the schedule but we are getting better fast.

You always get so upset when anybody says something even remotely negative about Huff. I wish I knew what your connection to him is. Huff is no doubt our most athletic player and arguably our best. My issues have always been with him and everyone else is he is not a team player most of the time. Look at the stats and our balance in last nights game against one of the best teams in the summit on the road. The most shots any of our starters took was 9 and the least 5, what great balance. We shot 51% from the field, 50% from 3 and 83% from the line. Huff has to realize he does not have to shot 15-20 times a game at a very marginal percent for us to win. We have other players that can play the game and shoot. Thats always been my issue with Huff, too many bad shots while others are standing wide open. If he ever realizes this, with him back we will be a top contender in the Big Sky because he can be one of the best in the Big Sky. He has to make the committment to the team and not himself. One more note from last nights game, Webb has got to limit his turnovers. Again I believe he had 6 and that is again way too many. Tough loss and what a lucky shot at the end but I was impressed with how we played.