UND started the Paul Sather Era with a bang, taking an early lead and never letting go against D3 Crown College. The competition steps up in a big way however, as they head on out to Spokane to take on perirenal WCC and National Power, Gonzaga.
About the Zags:
If you look what the Zags have done since 2015, you would have to be impressed. 5 straight Sweet 16s, 3 Elite 8's, a Final 4 and a National Runner Up. Not too bad from the original mid-major cinderella. For Mark Few, he pretty much as done it all. Expect one thing eludes him, the big one. The ultimate validation, a national title. He came so close in 2017, but fell against the <title redacted due to academic.... oh wait, they didn't> Tar Heels. Had a great team last year but fell to a tough Texas Tech team. They lost quite a bit of talent that went off to the Pros or graduate, but like other top teams... they just reload. This Zags team is young and talented and will look to challenge for National Supremacy once again. However, there will be some growing pains and a veteran St. Mary's team looks to knock them off the perch in the WCC.
Last time out: Home at Crown
Rebraca picked up his 3rd career double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds and Desean Allen-Eikens opened his UND career with 22 points, which lead UND to an 86-61 victory over D3 Crown College
Series History:
The Zags lead the all-time series 5-0, with 4 of the matchups back in the DII days. The only matchup was 2 years ago when UND almost did the unthinkable and with a solid performance behind Geno Crandall (who ironically transferred to Gonzaga the following year) nearly upset them. They lost in OT 89-83
Player to Watch: Filip Petrusev (6'11 Sophomore, 20 ppg, 6 rpg, 73.7% fg)
If you are looking for your next star at Gonzaga, this guy is it. Played a reserve role last year for a star studded team, but now he the big Serb is ready to make a name for himself. He is going to make like difficult for Rebraca with his size. In fact, we are going to have a big Serbian battle in the middle in this one. High percentage in the paint.
Keys:
1) Get the Seniors going
The seniors are going to be important if UND wants to have any serious chances at the Summit this year. While Marlon showed some promise in game 1, Brown and Walter were average at best. That is not going to cut it. This would be a good game for them to step up and get their games going.
2) Keep getting better
It is Game 2 under a new coach and a new system against a national power. It will be important to see the growth both individually and the team in the systems that Sather runs. Go play your best and see what happens.
3) Cut down the turnovers
Sather wasn't too happy with the high number of turnovers against Crown and I'm sure will be a point of emphasis. Obviously with a talented team, they will need to take much better care of the ball if they want a chance of pulling the upset.
The Call:
Once again, this will be a tough game to really put the measuring stick on where this team is at. It might not be until their trip to Valpo and Milwaukee before we can accurately measure this team. To me, lets keep seeing some growth from the youth and lets get Brown and Walter going. Anything can happen and in fact, I'll say it stays closer than the experts think, but I think the Zags talent carries the day.
Zags 84-67
Game is on ROOT sports, for those who have that channel.
