sioux24/7

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.

This would be great.

UND is coming off one of the biggest wins in recent memory, going into St. Thomas and snapping the nation’s longest home win streak at 28 games. Even crazier, UND was the last team to beat them at home before the streak started and then ended it last Thursday. Huge win and a massive confidence boost. Unfortunately, it came with a cost. Garrett Anderson went down in that game, and it really felt like he was just starting to hit his stride. The early word sounds like there is some good news and that he should be back later this season, but he will not be available Thursday. Now UND (KenPom 272) turns its attention to last year’s Summit League champion, Omaha (KenPom 255). Historically, this has not been a friendly matchup for UND. Since 2008, UND has won just 4 of 22 meetings and has lost four straight to the Mavericks. A lot of fans will still remember the 2023-24 Summit League Tournament loss where that UND team with Omot, Eaglestaff, Ihenacho, Amar and others let one slip away. Frankie Fidler was a problem that night. This year’s Omaha team took some time to find its footing but may be rounding into form. They have won three straight over Kansas City, South Dakota State, and Denver. They are 5-4 in league play with losses to Kansas City (KC’s lone Division I win), SDSU, NDSU, and USD. UND dropped the road meeting in Omaha 90-79. Their best player is #11 Paul Djobet, who became eligible late in non conference play and has been excellent. He is averaging 20 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. Once the ball hits his hands it tends to stick, which can be frustrating to watch, but there is no denying the talent. Beyond him, #32 Tony Osburn always seems to hurt UND. He dropped 27 in the January matchup and is averaging 13.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists. #7 Lance Waddles, the NDSU transfer, is another guy who can get hot quickly and is averaging 13.3 points and 5 rebounds. UND really needs to protect home court here. The final seven games are brutal, with two against NDSU and road trips to SDSU and USD still looming. This feels like a swing game for where UND ends up in the standings. KenPom projects UND to pull this one out 76-75 in what should be a grinder. Please get to The Betty on Thursday and help create a tough environment. If you cannot make it, the game will be on the Summit League Network as usual.

What I heard as well. Probably earliest return of NDSU.

That Winthrop atmosphere was special.

You’re not wrong it doesn’t ultimately matter but it’s a decent way to see where we stand against other D1 universities. Also, helps determine approx where we’d fall if we do happen to win the SLT, which we would be destined for a 16.

That home loss to WIU has to just be killing us. We are their only D1 win. They sit at 356.

You’re not wrong when you say the Summit is down. But I don’t think it’s fair to discredit Sather because of it. That’s the league they play in. That’s the most important thing is winning within that league. Winning in the non-con is fun, especially winning some of those buy games, but in a 1 bid league it ultimately doesn’t really matter. I don’t know I think we just have to enjoy it, they are fun to watch.

Yeah didn’t look good. Anderson was finding his stride too. Sucks. I hope Wylee takes more of his minutes than Marley.

Bjerke hook and hold play.

I don’t like the seating on the ends as much as the next guy, I think a simple not fix but addition that could help people forget about it would be seats on the wood, courtside. They used to have it, I can vividly remember it. Could be an ADA issue though with the walk way behind the seats?

UND (KenPom 280) is rolling after a great road swing, crushing Oral Roberts and then getting one in Denver. The Denver win was highlighted by a monster 30-point night from Greyson Uelmen, who hit some massive shots down the stretch to carry UND to the finish line. Now the Hawks head to St. Paul to take on St. Thomas (KenPom 129). UND is currently riding a four game losing streak against the Tommies, but interestingly has fared slightly better on the road (2-2) than at home (1-4) in this series. Since we just saw UST in Grand Forks, most people are familiar with how good and disciplined this team is. Johnny Tauer has them playing extremely clean, efficient basketball and they rarely beat themselves. You have to start with freshman guard Nick Janowski (#23). He absolutely torched UND at The Betty, scoring 32 points on 11-16 shooting and an absurd 7-9 from three. Super fun player to watch unless he is doing that to your team. He is the clear favorite for Summit League Freshman of the Year (with Uelmen probably second) and is in the Conference Player of the Year discussion already. He is averaging 21.7 points per game in Summit play. Then there is Nolan Minessale (#4), who also wrecked UND in Grand Forks with 27 points on 8-13 shooting and 7-12 from three. He got into foul trouble, but Janowski handled things just fine while he sat. Minessale came into the season as the POTY favorite and still has a strong case. He brings more defensively than Janowski and is a complete player. Beyond those two, UST still has a deep rotation with Carter Bjerke, Ben Oosterbaan, Ryan Dufault, and Austin Herro. Plenty of options, but realistically Janowski and Minessale are the guys you have to slow down if you want to win. KenPom projects St. Thomas to take this one 83-71. If you are in the Minneapolis or St. Paul area, this is a great one to catch in person. UST built a fantastic new facility, Lee and Penny Anderson Arena, which hosts both basketball and hockey. We will be seeing a lot more of it once UST joins the NCHC. Tip is Thursday at 7PM and, as always, you can watch on the Summit League Network.

I’m a big Ty Danielson fan and I’ve really enjoyed what he’s brought defensively. But it’s funny looking at the numbers. In Summit League play, we have the No. 2 offense behind NDSU, while our defense is No. 5. We do force a lot of turnovers, which fuels the offense, but we also have the worst effective FG% defense, the worst 3P% defense, and give up the highest free throw rate in the league, per KenPom. Bart Torvik is similar: No. 3 offense and No. 6 defense.

I do wonder if we flip the results in some of the UC Riverside, CSUN, Montana and WIU games, where we would be in KenPom. Regardless, in a 1 bid league all that really matters is the SLT in March.

Purely KenPom. So big hole from the non-con.

There’s been a lot of talk about how down the Summit is this year and I don’t think it’s necessarily wrong but just wanted to take a look so this chart is based off KenPom. Only one year since being in the league have we been “above average”.

401k loans exist. Usually max at 50% of your value. Some plans don’t allow you to continue contributing though until you pay the loan off.

12-12 and 6-2 in the conference, about as good of a start as you could have expected. The back half of the schedule begins Thursday at St. Thomas and would say it’s a tougher half then the first. Looking at it, I would say there are 3 or 4 that I fully expect to win (@ USD is the questionable), otherwise will need to steal a game or 3. 9-7 conference finish is the minimum, in my opinion.

After the block?