sioux24/7

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.

Terrible. Jones knew he was going to do it too and was saying slow it down stop.

Jeez Wylee had a quick leash tonight. Guy has a bad box out or something (didn't really catch it tbh) on a FT and gets yanked. Probably didn’t even record a second there. But then you have Marley chucking 3s like he is Curry and Sather letting him run for a while. Idk. Bigger complaints than that but that really bugged me.

I don’t think he’s a dummy but he’s without a doubt a Snake.

Remind me of that again? I know they’ve always been a vocal bunch.

If Wiltshire got another year, holy crap that’s awesome.

Agreed on all this. Tauer built a culture through the D3 days and has done a great job transitioning that to D1.

Gordie as run game coordinator I see.

Assume this is his dad? Finally found some stuff after sifting through all sorts of politics.

I just feel like nothing is truly binding in today’s NCAA but yeah I suppose his NLI would make it pretty locked in, unless coaching change.

I agree they shouldn’t have to worry a ton about transfers but you never know. I would be pretty surprised if the Curtis twins are back, although they haven’t really been a key. If they’re not back, I do worry that’s a domino effect with AS3 and Jayden Moore. I guess we will see. Micah’s absence from the team just worries me.

UND returns home after splitting the road trip, dropping one to Omaha before hanging on to beat UMKC in a game they did everything possible to give away late. Now the Hawks (KenPom 318) get one of the hottest teams in the Summit when St. Thomas (KenPom 128) comes to The Betty on Thursday at 7PM. Time for some fun and not so fun KenPom nuggets. Turnovers have been a real strength for UND so far. Offensively, UND turns the ball over on just 15.5 percent of possessions which ranks 73rd nationally (Division I average is 17.3 percent). Defensively, UND forces a turnover on 20.5 percent of possessions which ranks 34th in the country. For perspective, under Sather this is easily the best turnover defense he has put together. The next closest was back in 2021 when UND forced turnovers on 16.9 percent of possessions and that ranked 285th. Massive improvement and can thank Ty Danielson for that. On the flip side, when teams do get shots up they are making them. UND is allowing an effective field goal percentage of 56.6 percent which ranks 344th out of 365 DI teams. That has to tighten up but is also in part to the defensive scheme Danielson has in place. Zooming out, KenPom currently only has UND favored in two remaining Summit League games (Saturday vs USD and then Kansas City at home in February). Even with that, the projection has UND finishing conference play at a respectable 7-9. So every night is going to matter and upsets are baked into the math. Now onto St. Thomas. The Tommies are 14-4 overall, 3-0 in the Summit, and riding an eight game winning streak. They do not beat themselves. They turn it over only 13.4 percent of the time, ranking 8th nationally, and they force turnovers on 19.1 percent of possessions, good for 77th. Pair that with elite shooting at 57.3 percent effective FG (23rd nationally) and you see why they are dangerous. They have also beaten UND three straight times. They are led by Summit League POTY favorite Nolan Minessale (#4), a 6’5 sophomore averaging 20.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.6 assists. Even if his minutes are limited due to a nagging injury, they have plenty of options behind him. Freshman guard and Nebraska transfer Nick Janowski (#23) is averaging 15.8 points and 5.3 rebounds and has started Summit play hot. Forward Carter Bjerke (#32) is a familiar 6’9 problem who has hurt UND before and is averaging 9.3 points, 3.2 rebounds while shooting 38.9 percent from deep. Then you throw in #0 Isaiah Johnson-Arigu (transferred from Iowa and Miami), #12 Ryan Dufault who is the annoying winning-player type, #11 Austin Herro (Tyler Herro’s younger brother, came from South Carolina), and #34 Ben Oosterbaan who has started every game. They are deep, balanced, and do not fall off when they go to the bench. KenPom projects this one to go St. Thomas’s way with a predicted score of 81-72. UND is going to need all hands on deck and a loud crowd to make this one tight. It is dollar dog night at The Betty so get in the doors early and hope they do not run out in the first 10 minutes. If you cannot make it, catch it on the Summit League Network. Big opportunity here to make a statement and keep pace in what is already looking like a chaotic Summit race.

I don’t think Young is with the team.