I'm not going to judge entire conferences based on an inconsistent UND basketball team doing what they do (losing non-conference on the road). I realize you're a hockey-only fan for UND, but you sure are quick to defend the school to the south against everything.....
NDSU got absolutely worked by the North Dakota team that got absolutely worked by the 6th place slummit team and the last place Big Sky team.
EDIT: Also, nobody is saying the slummit is an especially bad conference (talent-wise), just that the Big Sky is more competitive and a better overall conference.