UND gave the Gophers a tough test, but they just didn't have an answer for Both Gach and fell to the Gophers 76-67. Now they head on down to Sioux Falls to participate in a showcase tournament with the other 3 Dakota schools at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls! First up, the Yotes of South Dakota.
About South Dakota:
It was all there for the Yotes last year. A senior laden squad with 2 potential Summit POY candidates in the starting lineup. It was fully expected that this would be the breakthrough year. The year that USD would break the State School hold on the Summit League Crown. It didn't get off to a great start, and despite a rapid push, they ended up finishing 3rd in the league behind SDSU and NDSU. They still felt confident: They were healthy, they knew they could play with both teams, they would have a strong home court advantage in Sioux Falls, especially when SDSU was upset in Round 1 against Fort Wayne. The path was there.... all they had to do was take advantage of it
Marlon Stewart and UND had other ideas.
A dagger mid-range jumper and a failed desperation 3 lead USD to being upset by the upstart Hawks, who ended up being the ones that marched down to the finals. Now the Yotes turn the page, losing 4 starters from the lineup. The good news? They still have one of the better players in the Summit in Stanley Umude, who has the ability to win a game all by himself. This will be a retooled Yotes squad this year and how fast they can gel will determine just how far they can go in the Summit this year (sounds familiar?)
About Todd Lee: (3rd Year, 33-32 Overall, 17-15 Summit).
The Huron native enters Year 3 as the Yotes coach in a big retooling project after losing 4 seniors. While it help to have Umude, Lee needs to figure out how the rest of the pieces are going to fit around him. The Yotes boards are starting to get concerned about Lee and the future of this program after Umude leaves, as some feel that the level of players brought in haven't been up to the level that Craig Smith brought in. Others argue that his record has been better that Smith's was in the first two years and that this year shouldn't be held against Lee due to COVID throwing wrenches in everything. A solid season can go along way to quieting the concerns fans have. He did sign a 3 year extension with USD, so it will be seen if this was prudent or silly.
Key Player: Stanley Umude (6'6 Senior)
Umude enters his Senior season at USD and has been very impactful in his last two season. He is a tough matchup given his size and athleticism at the 3 spot in the lineup and does most of his damage inside of the arc, although he can shoot a little bit from outside. The volume has been increasing now that he is the focal point of the USD offense. While he is averaging 19 points a game and grabbing a shade below 8 rebounds, his shooting percentage has decreased so far (overall 31% including a shocking 11.5% from 3). I'm sure this percentage will continue to go up as we progress. He is one of more dangerous players in the Summit and has the capability of carrying a team to victory. If he can get some help around him, the Yotes are going to be tough. He should be on the short list for Summit POY when it is all said and done and will add another All-Summit team accolade to his great career. Also: He recently passed 1,000 career points and should pass 500 career rebound at some point this season. Averaging 12 ppg in 5 matchups against UND.
Series History
UND leads the all time series 100-92, but USD holds an 8-5 Advantage in D1 play. UND does hold an 9-8 advantage in neutral court matchups.
Milestone Watch:
Its time for our milestone watches for this year and Rebraca will be our first focus: He currently has 476 career rebounds and is 24 away from getting to 500 in his career. It is certainly possible for him to reach that mark during the showcase with a couple of good rebounding games. He hasn't grabbed double-digit rebounds yet, but he is definitely due. He still is far away from the top 10 in rebounding in UND history, but could get close (If there was a normal amount of games this year, I would believe it more)
Key Questions:
1) How does UND deal with Umude?
2) Who can build off of their performance against the Big 10?
3) Does DAE return?
The Call:
This is a coin flip game and to be honest is a good early test to see potentially how the middle of the Summit could play out. Both teams have shown flashes of good play and bad play this year and are quite similar in having to replace key places (with USD having to replace more than UND). Yotes will be out for revenge for last year. With that said, I am going to take the good guys in this one because I think that Rebraca and company will put together another good game and edge out the Yotes.
UND 81-77
Bonus Pick:
Bunnies thump the Bison 83-74
Games are on Midco and the TRES!
Looking at the stats, it was Sims. Team has looked better here to finish the half