SWSiouxMN

SDSU marches into Fargo and gets a big Summit road win. Already with wins against ORU at home and now NDSU on the road.

Time to see what UND can do tonight against the Yotes. https://goyotes.com/watch/?Live=1194&type=Live At least the stream is free!

Mark Chipman, whose daughter was on the team. Chairman of True North. He certainly would have had the money to do it I don't remember who said it on here (I am picturing @The Sicatoka saying this, but could have been someone else) that when the cuts happened he called Kennedy and gave the number needed and balked).

They did. It was a $60 million endowment, And 1 GUY could have easily funded it. He balked at the price.

To reinstate the program. Their scholarships were honored if they stayed, but I believe everyone left for other programs.

https://www.grandforksherald.com/news/local/federal-judge-once-again-dismisses-und-womens-hockey-lawsuit-lawyer-leaves-the-door-open-to-further-action So basically, they allow it to be dismissed because they agreed their original position is moot, only to plan to potentially refile claiming something else. Do I got all of that?

Agreed. It really sucks to lose those two games this week.

Levias, who has been out the entire year so far.

My guess is that (and I am making said guess because I have no insight) they have been keeping up the regular testing. The unfortunate problem for the mens team right now was that they have 8 available players currently because 3 are injured, 1 left the team, and 1 they are redshirting. It could certainly have been possible that it was only 1 or 2 players that tested positive, but that was enough given the circumstances.* *Again, this sentence is pure speculation and have no inside information, but the UND MBB team was already walking a tightrope only have 8 guys available as of right now. If UND was fully healthy or if the injured players were the ones who caught it, they might be playing still. The sucky thing is that it cost UND 2 home games against the South Dakota school and a very winnable one against USD.

Sather and company are just unlucky right now. Who walked under a goddamn ladder?

I'm not ready to go there yet... I saw some things against NDSU that made me think: Okay, there are some steps in the right direction again. Get healthy (I would love to at least get Nero back on Thursday, but don't know if that is plausible) and keep the good play from Bruns, T, and Norman going.

This. Right. Here. Get back to getting damn good setters to come here and develop them into all-stars.

I agree with this but want to add the following: Getting Nero and Sueker healthy and back to producing at a high level. I not only want to see T scoring at a high level but playing the post at a high level on both ends. Keep grabbing rebounds at playing great defense. I hope the Levias news is true and that he can play during the USD/SDSU weekend. I think they can beat USD at home, they will have to play very well to beat the Bunnies

If would be different if Ihenacho had stayed and if a certain grad program on campus was in-person, Rebraca wouldn't have left. Yes, if there is another massive departure of talent, it will be time to ask questions. I don't really count year 1 as that is a housecleaning of players that barely can get on the court at the D2 level (minus Hazekamp) and Moody (who has been a bench player at SUU, hasn't topped his stats from his freshman year.) He doesn't look like the same confident player. The guy that tore up USD when they had Umude and AJ and rolled into the Betty at 10-0 and send them back to Verm with 2 losses. That was an awesome display of: You know what I am going to do and you can't do a damn thing about it to stop me.

Have to keep building that depth. I think they have a decent enough starting lineup but the depth isn't quite there yet. Wonder how many of the current seniors will take advantage of their extra year? Is Wallace expected back at some point? It certainly has improved from last year, but curious to see how much better it will get. The class next year really excites me. That could be the one that really gets the program back.

Bruns needs to be the man going forward and yes, UND needs to hold on to him and the rest of this freshman class. Can't build the sandcastle if the waves keep knocking down your first layer. I think T has put together a couple of good games and that needs to continue. I'm impressed with his free throw shooting (around 82%, that pretty good for a big). He just needs to keep playing strong. I'm glad that Igbanugo is finding himself again but... is Panoam going to tap back into that magic he had during conference season last year? Nero and Sueker need to get back soon and hopefully Levias can actually get healthy enough to get into the lineup. What is his timeframe?

Get the team healthy. Hope to get Nero back soon (Omaha/DU?) and then Sueker (UST/WIU?) and hopefully Levias.

Danger time

It is time to see if UND can make THE plays down the stretch.

Give NDSU that free throw jumper make them make that shot.

Don't get out of this zone until NDSU figures it out CLOG. THE. LANES!

Another game, another slow 2nd half start. UND could not overcome that and only playing 8 guys in a loss to Dixie State to close out non-conference play. Now the conference season starts in earnest, with a trip to Fargo to take on arch rival NDSU. About NDSU: They were THAT close. All they needed was 1 more bucket to finish a furious comeback in the Summit League Championship. 1 more bucket that could have prevented the ORU magic in March. However, it wasn't meant to be for NDSU. However, things weren't all bad for them in the offseason. Rocky decided to come back for one last shot at glory. They returned a stud in Grant Nelson, a salty backcourt of Cook, Griesel, and Eady. They felt they addressed their one weakness at the point guard spot with Guy III. They added to their strength by stealing Andrew Morgan out of Waseca. They also added some shooting in NSU transfer Kallman Everything pointed to a return to the top with ORU losing Obanor and questions about SDSU. So far, you might look at the record and go: hey, they are right where they need to be. It hasn't been that easy for them. The point guard spot? Still an issue. Rocky and Grant have been solid but when you have issues at the point guard position, its hard to get them even more involved. Andrew Morgan showed promised but then got hurt. However, the scariest moment came with Sam Griesel, who was out a month with an unknown injury, which turned out to be a bleeding stomach ulcer. https://www.kvrr.com/2021/12/18/ndsus-griesel-journey-back-from-injury-comes-full-circle/. We are argue about many things UND and NDSU fans, but lets take off our shades of green glasses for just a moment. We are all happy to see Sam healthy and back on the court playing. That was a situation that could have gone much differently if not for some fast action by his teammates. No one wishes to see what Sam went through, happen to anyone, any athlete, at any time. No easy way to transition back into this topic, but since his return, NDSU has looked like the team many expected with 3 wins in a row. Now it is time to see if it can translate to conference play, against a short handed UND squad. About Dave Richman (144-92 record, 69-41 Summit) The Wahpeton native has done quite well for himself as the head coach of NDSU. 3 trips to the NCAA tournament in 8 years, 2 Summit League titles. Outside of two 5th place finishes, has always had his teams in the top 3? What more could you want? Well, there certainly has been some groans from the fan base about style and usage of players, the results speak for themselves. The question will be, how much longer will Dave stay at NDSU? Will any program woo him away? Perhaps another Summit League title and NCAA tournament appearance might be enough to entice another program. Key Player: Sam Griesel You might be surprised by my pick but allow me to explain. He is the guy that NDSU needs at the guard spot to accomplish what they want to do this year. Rocky and Grant will do their damage inside, no question about it. However, without the guard play to match it, it has been a struggle in non-conference and will be in conference play. Coming back from a life threatening situation, Griesel looks to return back to his old form. He showed flashes of it against Indiana State, but still trying to come around. His size will be a problem for UNDs guards. Series History: While UND leads the all time series 163-140, but NDSU leads the series at the D1 level 12-6. Keys: 1) Make NDSU beat you on the outside (or: How to slow down the Rocky and Grant show) 2) Can Bentiu find the magic again? 3) T and Mathews: Who decides to play "BIG" Other Summit Action: UST (1-0) @ Denver (0-1): How was this for a statement, UST went down to Omaha and just unloaded on them in the first half. The Mavs tried to come back but UST captured their 1st Summit Win. DU gave WIU all they could handle in a foul fest, but couldn't close the deal in OT. This will be a tougher test for UST, but... I wouldn't be shocked if they started 2-0. ORU (1-0) @ SDSU (1-0): The matchup of the night will be in Brookings, no question about it. Two contenders ready to clash. The high flying guards vs the bigs. ORU survived a tough game against USD, SDSU smashed UMKC in a statement game to the rest of the Summit. I hope you like high scoring affairs because that is what this one is going to be. WIU (1-0) @ Omaha (0-1): Western got a bit of a scare against Denver, but manage to come away with the win. Omaha looked awful before coming back in the 2nd half against St. Thomas. I expect a better performance for WIU. The vultures might be starting to circle in Omaha. UMKC (0-1) @ USD (0-1): Both teams here are trying to avoid an 0-2 start. UMKC looking to lick their wounds after getting blasted in Brookings without Allick. USD gave ORU all it could handle, but couldn't quite get to the end. The Call: NDSU is figuring themselves out after a rough start. UND is trying to figure themselves out and missing 2 key pieces of the lineup. I know that in rivalry games that you should throw out the record book and UND under Sather seems to have one game where they beat a team that has a massive advantage (see ORU in GF without Rebraca in Year 1, ORU in Tulsa without Ihenacho). I just don't see it this time. I would love to be wrong but I see the Bison starting strong and making this a laugher by halftime NDSU 82-62 Game is on ESPN+ *PER REQUEST: Keep it clean. It is the holidays after all

I think the women would be closer to a pick 'em. They have really turned it around since getting everyone healthy and back into the flow of things (won 6 out of their last 8).

I'd like to see what happens this offseason before asking questions about the program. I don't count the first offseason due to usual house cleaning after a new staff takes over. Sims went from playing 20-25 minutes a night in a key role to just barely getting 10 minutes a night. JMU is better, but Ihenacho would have been better served being the guy at UND and tearing up the Summit League vs a reserve role. DAE... He hasn't come close to matching what he did his freshman year at UND at UNO. These three could have easily stayed and have done more for UND than they ever probably will at the programs they are currently at. I think they honestly were expecting to go to bigger schools than they ended up at. Didn't mean to hijack the thread to bring other sports into it. We can go back to discussing Football Only.

JMU. Got hurt, played 4 games and averaging 3 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists in about 18 minutes of play.