UND got off to a slow start in the opener and looked like a team that had some new parts to it in their 81-67 loss to Miami (OH). UND stays on the road as they head on out to Utah to take on new D1 team Dixie State.
About Dixie State: WAC 2020-21 Preview — Three-Man-Weave (three-man-weave.com) The Three man weave does a great preview of Dixie State and you can check that here. This team is about to make its biggest jump in its programs history. In the past 15 years they have gone from the JUCO world to the D1 level. Last year, they put together their best season under head coach Jon Judkins. They won 23 games and won the RMAC for the first time and was ready to make a run in the D2 players.... then say it with me now: COVID. Now they start in a whole new world, the WACky WAC conference. Its not all bad, as they can start a new in-state rivalry with Utah Valley and given the usual state of the WAC with new D1 move ups, there is no reason why they can't make a splash in their first year in the league. Nobody really knows what to expect from this squad... well save one person. Mitchell Sueker has experience against this Dixie State team as he played against them as a member of the South Dakota School of Mines (they were in the same conferece). So any info that he can give will be very beneficial.
About Jon Judkins (16th year coaching at Dixie, 285-133 record, 569-261 overall coaching record)
Coach Judkins has been around for a while at Dixie and has a distinguished coaching career with stop at Snow College and a stop at a Juco before coming to Dixie State. He has done well for the Trailblazers. In the last 11 years, his teams have won no less than 18 games, took home 7 conference titles in the regular season, and a couple of trips to the regional finals. He is used to having his team move, from the JUCO world, to the Pacific West Conference (DII), to the RMAC for two years and now to the WAC. He faces his biggest challenge yet at the D1 level, but it wouldn't be surprising to see that he gets Dixie State up and running in the WAC sooner rather then later. You don't get to near 600 wins by being a slouch as a head coach.
Key Player: Darren Youngblood (6'2 Senior)
For a team transitioning to the next level, it certainly helps to have senior leadership. This guard is looking to take the next step as the leader of the team and will be hungry to show what he can do at the D1 level. What is interesting is that he hasn't shot very many 3's so he appears to do most of his damage at the rim and in the mid-range. Can get you 4-5 rebounds a game but has the ability to get more. Can also dish the rock and will be the focal point of the offense. I'm guessing that Nero will be on him and he will have his hands full with this one.
Series History: Like with Miami, this is the first time meeting between the two schools
What the Polls Say: Dixie State was picked 8th in the WAC out of 9 teams.
Keys
1) How does UND handle the zone: Dixie likes to throw a zone defense that can cause teams problems. UND needs to be ready for it and hit shots and have great ball movement around the zone. Make sure to attack the gaps.
2) Get off to a good start: UND didn't get off to a great start in the game against Miami. It will be important for them to get off to a better start on the road and take care of business. Dixie hasn't played a game yet (their game against Weber was called off due to... COVID) so they need to jump on them early.
The Call: On paper, UND should win this game. They should have better players against a team that is transitioning from D1. However, UND is still figuring things out as a team and while Dixie is a transition team, they have had a system in place for many years. It helps that Sueker has faced off against these guys so his insight will help. With that said, this will be a good bounce back game for UND as they improve from game 1 to game 2. However, a loss might start asking some early season questions. Look for Rebraca to notch his first double-double of the season
UND 81-71
Where to Watch: https://www.wacdigitalnetwork.com/?bfplayvid=208918
