sioux24/7

Bingo. Sure if you just look at the last 6 games you think things are great but is it extension worthy?

UND (KenPom 308) heads to Oral Roberts (KenPom 310) tonight looking to complete the season sweep, coming off what was arguably their best all around effort of the year in a convincing home win over South Dakota. Back in the first meeting at The Betty, UND controlled most of the game. ORU made a second half push, but UND steadied things and pulled away late. One of the big stories in that game was Yuto Yamanouchi-Williams (#27). He had his best performance of the season with 20 points. On the year he is averaging 8.9 points, but that jumps to 14.75 points in conference play, so he has clearly raised his level in league games. Ty Harper (#2), their leading scorer at 15.7 points per game, was mostly taken out of the game by UND’s defense. He went 2-11 from the field for 6 points and was later ejected after a flagrant 2 on a dirty play on Eli King. Connor Dow (#5) was probably their best all around player in that first matchup. He had 16 points, 4 steals, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds and was part of that second half push. He is averaging 12.7 points on the year but is up to 18 points per game in conference play, so he has been a problem lately. If I am being honest, ORU does not really do a whole lot well statistically under first year coach Kory Barnett. One thing that stands out is how much they shoot from deep. 46.3 percent of their attempts are threes, which ranks 40th in the country. They are 5-15 overall and 0-5 in Summit play, although they did push NDSU to double overtime after playing UND. UND sits at 4-2 in the Summit and in third place. If they want to keep this momentum and stay in that upper tier, this is a game they need to handle. The schedule does not get easier with Denver this weekend and then a trip to St. Thomas next Thursday. KenPom actually has ORU winning this one 77-74, while Vegas has UND favored by 1.5. Basically a coin flip. Tip is at 7PM on the Summit League Network. Good chance for UND to keep stacking wins before a tough stretch.

I thought you were a big Hutter guy….

Sure but there’s one major difference between us and those schools and we all know the answer to it and it’s something that’s not changing anytime soon.

Yeah basically. I don’t like admitting that this is tough place to coach in comparison to our peers but the more I think about it and the more I hear others opinions, it’s really hard to argue. I would have us above USD because Verm.

Suggest taking a listen to this latest pod. Listen to them all but this latest one they discuss best jobs in the Summit and I think that helps paint the story of how Sather’s done.

Figuring out what to do with Sather is one thing but there seems to be another problem on the women’s side. I get it’s year 1 for Hutter but they are horrific and no where near competitive. I guess thankfully Omaha is in the conference to prop us up slightly. Meanwhile, our neighbors to the south knocked off SDSU’s 67 game win streak and are on the verge of an at large bid if the don’t win the SLT.

They do charge less for beers but it’s in a Dixie cup. I don’t think that’s what you’re getting at though!

Has DuPont fallen off or something? I feel like I heard rumblings of him to UND a while ago but nothing now.

So what does a split for you do? NDSU may be the best team in the conference, would be surprised if we get both. What if we go 0-2 there but have success otherwise?

This has been in the back of my mind all year and I know we have the Next Head Coach thread but wanted to lay the situation out more. From just looking at the wins and losses, unless UND makes a run to the Summit League Tournament title game this year, it feels pretty easy to say it might be time to move on and see if the grass is greener. Sather’s career record at UND is 83-127 which is .395. That is without removing non D1 games. Prior to UND he had a .679 winning percentage at Northern State and a .603 mark at Black Hills State. The counter argument is that he walked into a pretty good situation at NSU, which may be fair. This year UND sits at 10-12 and 4-2 in the Summit. That is a nice turnaround after a rough non conference run and probably better than most expected. Sather is also in a contract year from everything that has been reported which makes the finish even more important. UND just went through coaching transitions in football, hockey, women’s basketball and volleyball. Sather is the last one standing. The part that keeps this tricky is that people seem to genuinely like him and he is well respected. Greg McDermott supposedly has said that for what UND can offer, there is not a better coach. Whether UND should be able to offer more is a totally fair debate, but that is a conversation for another thread. So the real question is what does UND need to accomplish to justify bringing Sather back. Is 9-7 in the league and at least one win in Sioux Falls enough? Is an extension coming no matter what just to keep things stable? Is it the opposite and anything short of a championship means they go in a different direction. Here is where the case gets interesting. I think Sather is a good coach and a good representative of UND. But the record during his time here is not good enough. Even if men’s basketball is no better than the third biggest sport at UND (which is a unique dynamic compared to our peers), the program should expect more. Roster wise, the future looks promising but also volatile. Sather has recruited plenty of talent but retaining it has been the challenge. The portal is not unique to UND so you can only lean on that excuse so much. The amount of talent that can return next year is pretty exciting. Greyson Uelmen, AS3, Zach Kraft, Wylee Delorme, Guga and Josh Jones all play real minutes and a few feel like players who can grow into All Summit level guys. Then comes the big question. The Curtis twins. One is out for the year. The other has seen his role decrease and was not dressed last game. I think most fans assume they are gone. If they go, Anthony Smith’s relationship with them and his connection with recruit Jayden Moore becomes a huge wildcard. Add Moore who might be UND’s highest rated incoming recruit ever and Carter Evanson and Sage Hanson who both look like they could be legit Summit players and there is something to build around. But does Sather’s status help keep this group together or does moving on send everything back into the washing machine. That is the tricky part for Bill Chaves and Erik Martinson to sort through. So it should be a fascinating finish. A decent final record and a win or two in Sioux Falls probably gets Sather extended. A fade to a bottom half finish or a one-and-done and the decision gets harder. And if UND wants to shoot higher, now might be the window. Either way the end of the season is going to tell us a lot.

Must have been a package deal with his brother.

Wow that is crazy. He gets to the line a lot where sometimes he score a quiet 16+. Needs to clean up the TOs but his game yesterday was a real nice game.

I guess I don’t think a coach should necessarily be extended because of the potential future roster especially with the turnover we see every year now with the portal.

Obviously the focus needs to stay on this season, but I always like looking ahead even though the portal makes it tough. I really think UND could have a legit core going forward. We know Eli, Reggie and Anderson are gone. Everyone else technically can return. I would be pretty surprised if the twins come back at this point. If they head out, Smith feels like a 50/50 call but hopefully his connection with Moore keeps him here. You then add Jayden Moore, Carter Evanson and Sage Hanson which is two guards and a forward. With the assumption the twins are the only portal exits, that leaves two scholarships open. The dream would be convincing BJ to return and landing a true big. That group starts looking pretty strong. Guards have Greyson, AS3, Moore, Evanson and Kraft. Wings would be Wylee and a transfer. Bigs would be Guga, Jones, Hanson and a transfer. Depending on who comes in, that is a really intriguing roster with a lot of pieces. Just some late night roster thoughts but I like where things could land. Also, this is assuming Sather is back.

Big road stretch here. If they can win 2/3, I would say extension is very likely.

I want to say 6 or 7.

UND is back at The Betty on Saturday at 1pm to take on South Dakota. The St. Thomas game went pretty much how most of us expected. They blitzed UND early, UND responded well to get within one at halftime, and then the Tommies blitzed again after the break and pulled away. Janowski and Minessale were just too much. I also remain baffled by some of the substitution patterns, especially with Wylee and Marley, but at the end of the day it is time to move on to the next opportunity. UND sits at 315 in KenPom and hosts a South Dakota squad at 270. USD opened Summit play depleted with injuries and shorthanded depth, but that roster has started to stabilize. They have now won two straight at home, knocking off Denver and then putting up a 99-83 win over Kansas City. Paul Bruns is gone after finishing his senior year last season, but his younger brother Isaac (#12) is still very much a problem. He is averaging 20.7 points and 5.2 rebounds and is clearly their go-to scoring option. The other major concern is 7-foot center Cameron Fens. He is averaging 12.8 points and 7.7 rebounds for the year, but his last two games were 23 points against Denver and 31 against UMKC. If UND’s bigs are not ready for a battle, Fens can dominate a game on his own. Some quick style numbers to watch. USD is turnover prone which should be a welcome matchup if UND’s trap and pressure defense is locked in. On the flip side USD is doing a strong job on the offensive glass while UND is just OK there so boxing out will matter. USD also gets to the free throw line at a high rate and UND is sending teams there way too often so discipline and verticality need to show up. USD has used a full court press in the past that led to up and down shootouts, but it sounds like they have dialed that back a bit especially when they were short handed. We will see if they bring it back on the road. KenPom projects this one as a 82-81 USD win, so it is basically a tossup. This feels like a big game for the trajectory of the season. Get to The Betty Saturday at 1pm and help the guys get a W.

Wouldn’t say Jeff has done enough at Pitt State to make me want him. Craig Smith, Kyan Brown or even take the home run swing at Ty. I’m sure there’s other names but Boschee hasn’t exactly killed it there.

Hype video.

Random but anyone know the song that plays before the UND intro?

Good for him I guess? Was committed to UConn earlier this week.

I am not discounting him and saying he’s not D1 but I think we are pretty full on that body type.

Ben Kamara in.

I just watched it back. Dufault was next to him and Guga had Bjerke on the other side. Wylee had Dufault easy but Bjerke got a bit of leverage on Guga over to the side where the ball landed and Wylee was too far back and had to jump forward where it then went off his foot. Idk still think he was given a fair shake.