sioux24/7

Strinden

UND (KenPom 288) took care of business against Kansas City to pick up an important home win. The first half was sluggish and honestly tough to watch at times, but UND separated in the second half and did what good teams do against inferior opponents. The big headline from the night was Greyson Uelmen breaking UND’s freshman scoring record, surpassing Paul Bruns, who had previously passed Desean Allen-Eikens, who had passed Troy Huff. Both Bruns and DAE eventually transferred, so let’s hope history does not repeat itself here. Uelmen has been special and looks like the kind of player you build around. Now onto South Dakota State (KenPom 215). UND beat SDSU earlier this season at The Betty in an overtime thriller, but this is a completely different challenge going on the road. SDSU has not looked like the dominant version of themselves we have seen in past years, but they still have plenty of talent and are dangerous. There have been rumors of off court issues contributing to some inconsistency, but regardless, the talent is there. The biggest concern remains 6’10 center Damon Wilkinson. UND did a solid job limiting him in the first matchup, but not having Josh Jones available this time is going to hurt. His size and presence will be missed. Joe Sayler is another major threat. He is fully capable of taking over a game, even if his shot selection can be questionable at times. He will pull from NBA range early in the shot clock, and while he can make those, they can also swing momentum the other way. Jaden Jackson and Kalen Garry round out a strong guard group that can score in bunches. And then there is Frost Arena. It has been a house of horrors for UND. The last time UND won there was February 11, 1995. This is a huge opportunity to finally change that. A win would guarantee UND no worse than the 3 seed in Sioux Falls and would keep the door open for the 2 seed, which comes with the valuable extra day of rest. An Omaha loss would also lock UND into the 3 seed even if UND cannot pull this off. KenPom projects SDSU to win 79-71, and Vegas has UND as a 7.5 point underdog. Tip is set for Saturday and can be watched on the Summit League Network. Big opportunity to change history and build momentum heading into March.

I couldn’t believe we didn’t this year.

https://theperrynews.com/ames-man-allegedly-kicks-threatens-to-kill-waukee-police/

I guess I hope that wasn’t really part of the thought process. I think Moore will be good but I don’t really trust the ranking system and once upon a time reported offers. Remeber Jal Bijek?

I’m not sure it is too small but I do wish it was more of an on top of you environment. A bowl.

That’s what I was thinking. He’s playing against low level competition right now so hard to tell for sure but I was under the impression that if he would have stuck out at the prep school he went to for a bit last year, we likely wouldn’t have had a shot at him.

Well all those are beyond their control for the most part but preach brother!

I get it. He does have 4 SLT wins. Need the university to start properly funding a basketball program.

This. I mean you can’t solely blame the staff if the players aren’t happy. They should have been able to do some self reflection sometime in the last 3 years and realized they weren’t D1 players. I don’t know any of them personally so don’t know if they are happy or not.

UND (KenPom 290) hosts Kansas City (KenPom 354) on Thursday night in the regular season home finale and Senior Night for Eli King, Garrett Anderson, and Reggie Thomas. UND is coming off a disappointing loss to NDSU, specifically the second half where things completely unraveled. The first half was competitive, but after the break UND got throttled. Did that game expose some weaknesses? Maybe. Either way, there is no time to dwell on it now. Now it is Kansas City. This is a game UND simply cannot lose. KC has struggled all season and sits near the bottom of most metrics. They are in the middle of a transition as well, mutually parting ways with Marvin Menzies and making a splash hire by bringing in former Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon to lead the program going forward. But for this year’s team, it has been a grind. KenPom projects UND to win this one 78-68. A win moves UND to 10-4 in conference play and would all but lock up the 3 seed heading into Sioux Falls unless Omaha or USD run the table. The remaining schedule is no joke with road trips to SDSU and NDSU still ahead. Right now UND is projected as an 8 point underdog at SDSU and a 12 point underdog at NDSU, so taking care of business at home is critical. Get to The Betty on Thursday at 7PM to honor the seniors, especially Eli King, and help send this group out the right way on their home floor. Let’s finish strong heading into March.

I’m bored putting a kid to bed, so I started thinking about next year’s roster and wanted to type it out. Let’s assume everyone who can return next season does return, and the expected newcomers all arrive. That would give us something like: G: Uelmen, A3, Moore G: Kraft, Evanson, Doppler F: Delorme, Marlee, Ouse F: Guga, Micah, Bothun C - Jones, Erikson How would we feel about that group? If that’s how it plays out, there really wouldn’t be room for additional additions, since it would be three out and three in. That said, I would expect some level of attrition. Whether it’s Uelmen, A3, the Curtis twins, or one of the Bismarck kids, it feels inevitable that someone will move on. One thing that has been missing during Sather’s time is a truly physical big and a consistent low-post presence. Fil had his moments, Sueker showed flashes early, T had moments, Mathews had potential, Amar was solid, and Guga has had stretches, but it still feels like an area where we’ve come up short. It also doesn’t seem like we’ve taken a ton of swings at addressing it. Just my opinion, but it feels like that’s a key missing piece.

He certainly should.

NCAA transfer portal opens April 7th. Would imagine if we have players enter, they would announce their intentions prior to that. If Uelmen, A3 and the Curtis twins all enter, we are just starting from scratch again basically. I guess the Curtis twins don’t really matter in terms of this years roster but if they figure out their want to compete, they could be good. We would return Kraft, Wylee, Guga and Jones for players that play now. Bring in Moore, Evanson and Hanson. Some decent pieces but far from the top of the Summit. That is what brings me to the bigger question. If we are essentially starting over from a roster standpoint anyway, does it make sense to also start fresh with the coaching staff? I do not know what the right answer is, but it is something worth thinking about.

UND is 361st in assists/FGM, not great.

If we weren’t a complete laughing stock, she should have been booed into oblivion but beings the product that we have this year, really hard to blame her.

Get up, it’s gameday!

UND pulled off a big road win in Vermillion, overcoming a rough first half to beat USD and move to 15-13 overall and 9-3 in the Summit. That win essentially locks UND into the top three of the conference standings, which is a great spot to be heading into the final stretch. Despite the win, UND actually dropped to 285 in KenPom and now sits behind USD even after sweeping them. Make it make sense. Metrics are going to metric, I guess. Now it’s onto NDSU (KenPom 131). The Bison are loaded as usual. They are led by #0 Trevian Carson, who is averaging 13.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. He is probably the third best defender in the league behind Eli King and Austin Herro and impacts the game on both ends. Then you have #1 Demari Wheeler-Thomas, back after missing last season due to injury. He is averaging 13.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists and gives them another dynamic scoring option. It doesn’t stop there. #30 Markhi Strickland, a Western Michigan transfer, is putting up 13.3 points and 3.7 rebounds and will throw down some violent dunks if you lose him in transition. #44 Treyson Anderson, #5 Andy Stefonowicz (Greyson Uelmen’s high school teammate), and #34 Noah Feddersen round out a deep and versatile group. There are a lot of ways they can hurt you. Dave Richman is still running the show. It feels like he has a lifetime contract in Fargo. Their fans love to complain about him, but he wins a lot of games and always has them prepared. UND is going to need a full 40 minute effort to win this one. No slow starts, no extended droughts. Hopefully Garrett Anderson is back and healthy and maybe Josh Jones can give some needed minutes inside. KenPom projects NDSU to win 77-71. Get to The Betty on Saturday. It’s a white out, so wear white and let’s beat the Bison.

I wish these freshman would just put their heads down and work. I guess idk what he did yesterday but multiple times him (and his parents), and the Curtis twins just seem to get too self absorbed rather than being about the team.

Awesome, report back!

UND (KenPom 284) heads to Vermillion on Wednesday night to take on South Dakota (KenPom 276), with USD coming off an emotional rivalry win over South Dakota State. UND is also coming off a split weekend at home, but it was not the cleanest stretch of basketball. The Omaha game resulted in a win, but the Denver game was rough most of the night, and overall it felt like UND really only played one strong half across the two games. The offense in particular looked out of rhythm at times. A lot of this matchup may come down to health. Garrett Anderson’s availability will be a big storyline. Even though UND has shown it can compete either way, the offense clearly runs smoother when he is on the floor. Not having Jones also continues to hurt, especially with the lack of a true backup 5. Marley Curtis stepped in and gave some solid minutes, so it will be interesting to see if he can continue to build on that and provide needed depth inside. USD is always a tough out at home, and coming in with momentum after the SDSU win makes this an important road test for UND. With the standings tightening up, every road opportunity matters down the stretch. KenPom projects USD to win this one 81-77, so another tight Summit League battle is expected. Tip is set for Wednesday at 7PM and, as usual, the game can be found on the Summit League Network.

Apologies. Was on a guys trip to the Duluth series and never got to it. I blame myself for that L.

I guess I didn’t get a full look at what he was wearing. But sat front row at half court and video’d every time A3 was on the court.

Awesome win. Gutsy and had to find a way without Anderson. Marley played some nice minutes, loved it. AS3 is a dog! Uelmen finally found a way in the 2nd to get to the bucket. Eli is Eli. Side note: sat behind what I believe is AS3’s parents or at least relative and man that was a bit insufferable. Sather took him out when he had 3 fouls midway through the 2nd and they were pissed. Came back in and picked up his 4th around 5 mins or so and he got pulled again and they were livid. Yelling at the coaches to sub. Embarrassing.