SWSiouxMN

Rebraca with his first foul on a moving screen

Jones 7-4 UND

Sims 3! TO DU 7-2 UND

Rebraca makes 1 of 2 4-2 UND

Rebraca sticks with it and gets fouled. Will shoot 2 Foul on Jones

Panoam 3! 3-2 UND

Denver draws first blood 2-0 Pios

UND with their usual starting 5 Ihenacho Panoam Igbanugo Sims Rebraca

It was good to see that they found a way to win the game without Rebraca for the last 5 and in OT. Like that the offense is finally coming along and is starting hit 3 pointers. Last 6 games, the team is shooting 38.4% from 3, which is pretty decent. Like that Brady stepped up and knocked down some big 3 late in the game. Liked that Sueker was clutch at the free throw line... again. Ihenacho is continuing to grow. Want a scary though? Ihenacho with a consistent jump shot. What I don't like is that they have been fouling a LOT in the last 2 games. They let Townsend live off of the free throw line yesterday. I also didn't like that they needed OT to beat Denver. The finish of the first half wasn't that great either. If they had finished that half strong and had at least a 15 point halftime lead, Denver might have just tapped out. 16 turnovers... yuck. Streaky free throw shooting. They still haven't figured out how to play a full 40 yet.

UND managed to escape with an 85-82 win in overtime without the services of Rebraca for the last 5 minutes and OT. UND looks to go for the sweep today Other Summit Action Western Illinois win their 2nd road game in a row, taking down Omaha 85-77 NDSU used a great defensive effort to take down ORU, 61-54 The shocker of the night: USD goes into Frost and takes down SDSU 64-56 to move to 9-0 on the season. Current Standings USD 9-0 NDSU 9-2 SDSU 4-1 ORU 6-3 UND 5-6 KC 3-5 WIU 2-7 Omaha 0-7 DU 0-7 The Call: I would like to think that UND will finally do something they haven't done all season long, sweep a conference series and win a game by more than 7 points. It is a very similar situation to last week, so you know that Denver is going to play desperate to get that first D1 and conference win. UND needs to match their energy level. One thing to watch: 2nd game in the altitude... how will that effect the team? I don't think that Rebraca will foul out again and will have a big game this afternoon and UND finally gets that series sweep and a double digit win UND 81-71

He just really needs that 3 ball to start falling for him and then he can really take off as a player.

I didn't get to watch (probably will order the replay so I can watch tomorrow as well), so I'll save comments for later... They just aren't going to make this easy this year are they?

I'm planning my "sick" days for March.

Game is now a 1 PM start. Won’t be able to give as many updates today.

UND got a split from Western Illinois and to be honest, they were lucky to get that. UND looks to move on to Denver to take on a struggling Pioneers squad About Denver: There was reason for optimism for this DU squad this year. After almost upsetting NDSU in the first round of the Summit Tournament, the Pios were bringing back their entire squad, minus Murkey. They had a great guard in Townsend, a decent big man in Robert Jones, and a nice surrounding cast, perhaps it was time for DU to make their move. Um.... about that Its been more of the same for the Pios. They sit dead last in the conference and is ranked as one of the worst teams in the nation. Not having Jones has hurt but it just hasn't come together for the Pios. COVID has also bit them, missing their last games against SDSU. They have had their moments where they could have broken through, but so far they haven't delivered. The schedule has shifted towards the favor, with chances to get their first win in conference play. However, time is starting to run out. A few more sweeps and they would miss the tournament in Sioux Falls. Something that Coach Billups About Rodney Billups: (5th season, 47-87 overall, 22-46 Summit) The younger brother of Chauncy Billups and a Pio alum, Rodney has struggled to build off of his first two years at DU. In his first two years, he was 31-29 overall and 16-14 in conference play. He also had 4th and 3rd place finishes. Since then? 16-58 overall and 6-32 in the Summit. Its hard to imagine that his seat is very warm right now in Denver, and another miss in Sioux Falls could be enough, even in a COVID year, for a change to be made. Key Player: Jase Townsend (6'3 Jr Guard) If there is a bright spot for this Pios squad, it is this junior from Dallas. He is a guy that can win a game all by himself if teams allow him to do so. He averaged 31 points a game in the two games at home against ORU to prove that. He certainly is playing well at home, averaging almost 25 ppg in 8 home games. While the 3 point shot hasn't been falling as well as it did last year, he has improved his free throw percentage. UND is going to have to limit him throughout the weekend. Series History: UND leads the series 4-2, including a 4-0 mark so far in Summit play Key Questions: 1) Can the defense start to step back up? 2) Can the offense continue its solid play? Other games: USD (8-0) @ SDSU (4-0): If you want a titantic clash, we have two of them this weekend in Brookings. SDSU has had half of their schedule wiped due to COVID, but the time off should heal them up fully. The Yotes ran the table in the first half, but now we finally get to ask the question. Are the Yotes for real? Umude vs Friedel? Its hate week in Brookings! ORU (6-2) @ NDSU (8-2): If guard matchups aren't you thing, then do I have the big man matchup for you in Fargo. Rocky vs Obanor should be a great matchup in the post. Big road test here for Oral Roberts. They are good enough to win the league but have shown against KC and UND that they are vulnerable. NDSU dropped on down in Kansas City, which hurts considering they were down 3 of their best players. Winner should be in a great place for a top 3 spot. Anyone who gets swept are looking up the standings. WIU (1-7) @ Omaha (0-6) WIU are coming off their best weekend, where they should have swept UND. Omaha got swept by USD. This is a great opportunity for the Mavs to break through and get their first win and avoid a basement showdown in Denver. Western has a chance to get into the mix with UND and UMKC with a sweep in the mid-pack. Off: UMKC (3-5) If there ever was a team that needed an off week, it was the Roos. This team has been snakebit with injuries and COVID and to be honest, their record could be a lot better. (Biggest margin of defeat was 7 points). The mid-season addition of Arkel Lamar has been a godsend for the Roos. With their style of play, they will be a very tough matchup in Sioux Falls. The Call: This is the worst team in the Summit. UND needs to come away with two wins this weekend, no excuses. They need to come together and play their best two games of the season. Get Ihenacho back going again, keep Nero going with his scoring off of the bench. Keep hitting outside shots and start to step things up on the defensive side of the ball. Get home 6-6 and ready to take on USD. UND 80-73 No TV it appears, on the DU all-access.

If they got this for Stafford.... imaging what Houston is going to get for Watson

I'll take a sweep on the road any day of the week.

Oh yeah, it certainly has been intense. I'm sure they are sick of each other by the 2nd night, which add to it more. However, I will look forward to a normal schedule next season.

The rebounding thing has been really bugging me all year. UND should be a much better rebounding team than they are, with what they have on this squad this year.

You could hear the difference in the benches. WIU was into it. Not so much on our end. Yes... UND has been very lucky so far as to not getting bit or having their opponents get bit with COVID

One thing that sucked about last night about the foul trouble was that, and this is my opinion, it potentially robbed a chance or Nero having a big game. He looked locked in with his first 3 shots of the game.

The QB market is going to be stupid isn't it? Rams trade for Stafford, send Goff, 2 first round picks, and a third to the Lions.

Shot 11-23 from 3 around 48% from the field and lost.

Yup

WIU wants it way more than UND