SWSiouxMN

Igbanugo is back. 7-5 FAU

Panoam gets the charge

Norman 3 7-3 FAU

FAU off to a 7-0 start in the game

Usual suspects Nero Panoam Norman T Sueker

The two teams that won the large classes in MN would beat this squad

Nero had 12 points, but he grabbed 4 board, have 4 assists and ZERO turnovers. 3 games 10 assists, 3 turnovers. You can win with that. Sueker had 25 points, but the biggest thing was the 3-5 shooting from 3. If he is back to his high 30% 3 point shooting... look out.

That to me, is a bigger deal that the shooting right now. I haven't seen a UND team do that well on the boards in a while.

UND used some clutch free throw shooting to hold off of a charging Troy squad to get their first win at the Paradise Classic. They look to move to 2-0 on the tournament as they take on the host Owls of Florida Atlantic About Florida Atlantic: The Owls have been a D1 program for about 30 years now, and in that 30 years, success has not come very easy for FAU. Outside of an NCAA tournament appearance in 2002 and an NIT appearance in 2011, there hasn't been much to talk about. They certainly have had some names try and turn the program around (former UNC head coach Matt Doherty and former St. John's coach Mike Jarvis made stops at FAU), but none have either stuck around or have developed the success. Now in a tougher C-USA, they still are looking to make that first great run in the conference. Preseason polls have them 9th out of 14 teams in the C-USA, a place where they have finished the last couple of seasons. So far this year, they sit at 2-2, but the 2 losses were a combined 9 points, including a 2 point loss to Miami (FL), so they certainly have some talent to push the P5 schools. They took down UT Martin in the first game of the Paradise Classic. They do have some good guards that can fill it up, but do they have the big men to help out and give them a change to rise in the C-USA? About Dusty May: (49-43 overall record, 23-25 C-USA record) The former EMU, Murray State, UAB, La Tech, and Florida assistant is in his 4th year at the helm at Florida Atlantic and he has been steady .500 record in his first three years but still hasn't had the breakthrough season. He hopes to have that team this year. Key Player: Michael Forrest (6'1 Junior Guard) Forrest has been the guy for FAU this season, building off his 12.5 ppg from last season. Right now is currently averaging 18 points per game. He shoots at a high percentage from the field, from 3, and from the free throw line. He also is someone that is not afraid to mix it up and grab rebounds (averaging just under 6 rebounds a game). Had 26 points against New Mexico and 21 points against Miami. He has turned over the ball a lot, so UND needs to be ready for it. Nero and Panoam need to be ready to take him on and slow him down. Keys: 1) Keep the shots falling 2) Slow the pace 3) Hit the boards hard The Call: This will be the toughest matchup of the 3, Florida Atlantic has some talent in their guards that can make live difficult for UND. UND needs to lean on their bigs and get just enough from their guards to pull this one out. If UND can get this one, they will more than likely go 3-0 this weekend. They are playing well right now, but I think the Owls will be just a little bit tougher on their home court. I think it will be another close game, but the guard play from FAU will be too much. FAU 74-72 Game is once again on CUSA-TV

2-17

UND stormed back from a 14 point deficit in the 2nd half to get a 2 point win against a solid Griz squad to get win number 1 on the season. Now they head down to Boca to play in a 3 day tournament. First up, Troy University of the Sun Belt Conference About Troy: It has been a while since there has been success from the Troy basketball program. The last time they had a big season was in 2016-17, where they won the Sun Belt and went to the NCAA tournament. After that season, things haven't gone very well. The coach that led the team to the NCAA tournament is gone and now is trying to be rebuild under coach Cross. So far it hasn't gone very well, with finishes in the bottom of the conference. This season is a season of change, with adding some talented transfers and the extra year of seasoning from their returners, Troy hopes to climb the conference standings and be an impact player in the Sun Belt. If another rough season to occur.... well questions might have to be asked. As of now? An 11 point loss to Butler (not too bad of a loss) and a 4 point OT win against Jacksonville State, (and a non D1 win) is a decent start so far. About Scott Cross (15th season as head coach, 3rd season at Troy. 247-201 overall record, 22-40 at Troy. Cross is entering his 3rd season at the helm for Troy. He spent 12 years as a head coach at UT-Arlington, where he had some modest success (1 NCAA tournament appearance, 2 trips to the NIT, 2 conferences titles). After two years as a TCU assistant, he got his 2nd chance of leading a program. Unlike at his 1st stop, he is still trying to find his footing. A 9-27 Sun Belt record doesn't look too good after the first couple of years. The good news? He might have a roster to finally make a move. The bad news? He might have to make a move soon. Key Player: Efe Odigie (6'9 Junior Forward) The transfer from UTEP is looking for a fresh start after 3 years in the Miner program. He is looking to regain the form he had as a freshman where he was averaging a double-double. He is a load down low, 6'9 and 240 pounds. Right now is averaging 13 points and 4 rebounds for Troy. He will be a tough matchup for the UND post players. Keys: 1) Handle the size down low 2) Bring the shooting performance from Montana 3) Avoid the long droughts 4) Rebound, Rebound, Rebound! The call: If UND is ready to take the next step, they should come away with this weekend with a couple of wins. If they can shoot like they did against Montana and rebound like they did against Milwaukee, they should come away with another win. Sueker, T, Mathews, and Howard are going to have to play well against the Troy bigs and the UND guards are going to have to dominate. I think UND builds off of the performance from the Griz and get another win UND 81-76 Game is on CUSA-TV *Note: You guys are on your own tomorrow as I will be watching some MN State FB.

UND women's basketball trying to learn about new roster while dealing with unavailable players | Grand Forks Herald

Great grit last night in coming back to beat Montana. -This is a game that UND would lose by 20+ with last years team at this time -UND needs the version of Nero that closed out the Griz game going forward. -Important development for Sueker: Going 2-4 from 3. He struggled last year but historically was a high 30% 3 point shooter. 18 and 6 isn't a bad nights work -Howard is just a basketball player. There is no other way to describe him. He put up some big numbers off of the bench. -Loved that they outrebounded the Griz, even though they had moments where they allow the Griz to get multiple offensive rebounds in the 2nd half. I don't remember UND ever doing that against them. -Norman stroking it from 3. Nice -They were not afraid to be physical with the Griz. This will be important come conference season. -Bruns had his moments, also had some rough ones as well. I can't wait to see what he can do when he puts it all together. -Defense was pretty good, minus the guards against Whitney. Too many times he just scorched the guards, although when Nero got on him late, he was able to handle him. -Mathews had a tough night, so did T. Panoam also had a rough night. -Still need to work through the lean moments and make them less and less. -15-17 from the line in the 2nd half. 23-30 overall in the game. That will work going forward. This is a good win, now go get a few wins down in Boca. Keep building off of this win. This was something that the team last year was unable to do. Too much see saw action. There still will be some bumps in the road, but more reasons to be encourage than discouraged.

He did play a little FB in HS, but he was a QB. Didn't play a whole lot because some other guy was a little bit better (some dude with the last name of Lance).

UND has shown that they can build a championship team by recruiting a majority of their players from those 3 states. It can happen again.

I'll have more to say later but... go take this momentum and win a couple of games down in Boca.

and a big time block on Whitney

UND WINS! 79-77

NERO!!!!!!!!!!! AND 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would get Nero driving and a kickout to a shooter.

Whitney tied at 77 UND can hold for final TO UND

TO GRIZ 77-75 UND 39.7 2ND

Nero! 77-75 UND

BRUNS BLOCK!