UND had a 1 point lead on Western Illnois and was a rebound away from getting a big road sweep. Unforunately, that inability to get that rebound ended up being the difference as Western made two free throws and the end and UND was unable to get the winning bucket on the last two possessions. Now UND looks to head home for the last 4 games of the season, trying to get in to the conference tournament. First up: The Roos
Since we last left KC:
The Roos continue to have a solid 3rd year under Billy Donlon as the Roos continue to take care of business so far, minus a 69-68 slip up against Omaha. They recently dropped a game to Oral Roberts, but they find themselves in 4th place in the Summit and again playing the role of "no one wants to see these guys in round 1". The biggest news? The return of their best player from injury: Josh Allick. Still working his way back of course, but with another week to knock the rust off and UND suspect in the post, he might be licking his chops.
Roos still have an outside chance of getting into the top 3, but they need to find a way to get two road wins in North Dakota to do so.
Other games:
ORU (11-4) @ NDSU (11-5): The big game of the night is in Fargo. Oral Roberts brings their high octane offense and hoping to grab the 2nd seed in the conference tournament. NDSU has won 8 out of their last 9, getting healthy and getting dangerous. They also already beat the Eagles in Tulsa, so a win in Fargo could put a stranglehold on the 2 seed. Should be a fun one.
WIU (6-8) @ SDSU (14-0): The perfect season rolls on for the Bunnies with 4 more games to go. A win and a ORU loss will seal up the top seed and the regular season conference title, but they want more. Western is looking to hold off the Pios for the 6th seed and a win against SDSU could do that.
UST (2-11) @ USD (8-6): Yotes still have an outside shot at the 4 seed and holding serve at home could help with that goal. Impressive job by Coach Lee once again. UST might be running out of gas and are just looking to play spoiler at this point.
The Call:
4 home games: UND needs to find a way to win at least 2 of these games if they want a chance to get the last spot. Going to be a tougher task with Allick back, however... they are at home. UND is playing better and has brought that desparate edge they need to keep their season alive. The biggest question is this: After the heartbreak in Malcomb, can they pick themselves up off of the mat one more time? UND needs to get to the free throw line like they did in their first matchup and hit their open shots. If they can do both of those things... they will have a great shot. However, I think the Roos will be too tough and will squeak out a win
KC 77-73
Game is on Bally Sports North