SWSiouxMN

I like their chances against SMB in the Prep Bowl

I think 69 against Valpo

UND went down the Rupp Arena to mess with the Wildcat and for the first 10 minutes, they were right with them.... then reality struck and lead to UND's first loss. Now the team returns home to take on the first of their two non-d1 opponents. First up, Minnesota-Morris. The Cougars are off to a 1-1 start this year, getting the door blown off in Collegeville 95-54 and squeaking out an 81-80 win against Concordia-Moorhead at home. If we are to believe the UMAC preseason polls, they should be a better team then Northland was. Morris is coached by Paul Grove, who is in 17th season. Morris Players to watch: Noah Grove 6-4 Senior Forward If the last name is familiar, it is the coaches son. Had a good night up in Concordia, scoring 19 points, including going 10-11 from the line. Can knock down the 3 ball. Jeremy Halverson 6-7 Senior Forward This lanky forward has been very efficient in his scoring opportunities so far this year, especially from beyond the arc, shooting a blistering 63% from 3 so far. Things to watch: -Can UND repeat what they did against Northland against Morris? UND took it to Northland and the game was pretty much over at halftime. UND needs to repeat this type of performance -Lets get some confidence in Jal and Marko Out of the 4 newcomers who get significant minutes, Davids and Rebraca appear to be the most ready to make a solid impact for this squad. Jal and Marko are still looking to make an impact, so these next two games might be a good opportunity to see them show what they can do and let the college game slow down for them a little bit. Numbers: 917 - Career points for Conner Avants .846 - Current free throw percentage by Cortez Seales, which is well above his career average. Its early.. but it would be awesome if he could keep it around 80% 7 - Rebounds per game by Filip Rebraca The Call: This should be a good rebound game for this young team. Come home and pound an inferior opponent. I expect a similar performance to Northland, but I expect a little more pushback from Morris. UND 88-55 Game is on FSN North Plus, Fox Sports Go and ESPN+

THIS!

He will be fine, once he gets a little more experience on the court. I expect to see his impact more towards conference season. Should play at the 3 spot, but does have that flexibility to play multiple positions. Hope he and Marko can put some decent games together sooner though.

Looks like the only player who hasn't played is Schmidt. Otherwise the other 4 freshman have played.

From a perspective of a not too long former student. I remember in my first two year, the student tickets were the following: You were in lower one night, and then the next night you were in upper. I think in my junior year, that was switched so that it allowed for students to be in lower both nights, if they got there in time. While this was great for the die-hards, it did lead to a few new problems, such as the crush that happens whenever the doors open, the booing that happens when a group of students show up 20 minutes before and cutting ahead because two people saved their spot. There might be people who think, well I can't get lower... why bother going. I don't want to stand in line for 3 hours just to get lower and I really don't want to stand in upper. I don't know if they want to go back to that or how they can do that, but perhaps they need to explore going back to that idea. Priority line was a stroke of genius by UND, they need more of these type of ideas. Student section needs to be better organized, new traditions need to be created along with the old ones (or phase one or two out). No one wants to step up and be a leader in that department. I've been a firm advocate of moving the student section to the end where UND shoots twice. I'd rather chirp at the goalie for 40 minutes instead of the guy in the box for 2. Plus, they can stand and not have people whine when they do. I'm sure that if the people in power want to make it work, they can. *My last few games as a student were full of people in the next section whining that the students were standing too soon, or not sitting down soon enough after a goal, etc. I think people might be underestimating this: Might students not really care about Western Michigan and Miami? Omaha?

UND should have one the rowdiest student sections in the nation... but they don't. For a variety of factors.

3-23 from 3 that won't win many games

nearly perfect from the field. I agree, especially when the rest of the team shoots 13 of 56 from the field.

UK 46 UND 25 Half as expected, Kentucky is taking it to this very inexperienced squad.

Out of the three Euros so far, I think Davids and Rebraca appear the most ready to help out. Marko might need a little more seasoning

The more I watch Rebraca, the more I am impressed with him.

UK 39 UND 25 3:17 1st UND finally coming to life a little with a 5-0 run.

UK 32 UND 18 7:59 1st

now a 15-0 UK run

UK 27 UND 16 9:51 1st Kentucky went on a bit of a run in these last few minutes, they are shooting at a 76.9% clip (10-13). UND isn't shooting bad either (6-14) but have coughed up the ball 6 times already.

UK 12 UND 10 Travis has 7 points to pace UK Davids has hit 2 3's and has 6 points to pace UND

yes

Wishful thinking of the USF coach? LOL They say what they had planned with FB? Hope the NSIC doesn't get any bright ideas and replace Augie with another school (16 is too many for a conference, especially with the unbalance in the FB divisions) Guess I have to plan for the announcement coming soon.... sigh.

Despite a furious comeback in the last 5 minutes, aided by a few bad turnovers by the road team, UND was able to survive and get a nice road win against Milwaukee. They stay on the road for their next matchup against #10 ranked Kentucky. Kentucky is coached by John Calipari, who is known for getting as many one and done players as he possibly can, sending them to the NBA, and repeat the process. While this has lead to an NCAA Title in 2012, some have wondered if he has underachieved with all of that talent. The first two games haven't been the greatest for the Wildcats. First, they played Duke and got the breaks beat off them by their super freshman players. Their second game required more effort than they would have liked against an pesky Southern Illinois squad. If they have serious aspirations for an NCAA title this year, things need to start turning around and fast. They might look at an inexperienced UND squad as a good launching pad. UND has a weird stretch where after Kentucky, they have 2 non-d1 games before they finally jump back into competition against some low to mid-major teams. It might be hard to see what we have in this team until later in the month. Odds are they will be 4-1 when they take on UVU. The players to watch: Keldon Johnson 6'6 Guard Freshman This Freshman guard is the cream of the crop of the one-and-done incoming freshman. In a normal year, he might be in the consideration of the best player in the nation. With Zion and RJ at Duke, however, he does get lost a little bit in that shuffle. No doubt about it, this guy will be a lottery pick in the NBA this year and UND doesn't have anybody that can match up with his creative scoring ways. Reid Travis 6'8 Forward Senior The Stanford Grad Transfer was referred to as many experts as a coup for Kentucky and the missing piece for a potential NCAA Title run, an experienced player to go along with those talented freshman. He will be a tough task in the post, where he will do most of his damage, but he will not be afraid to put up a couple of 3's in a game. Key Questions 1) How will UND handle the environment? Rupp Arena is one of the cathedrals of college basketball, there might be a lot of wide eyes going into this game. UND needs to keep their heads on a swivel and not let the home team get off to a fast start. 2) Who will continue their growth? So I'll be honest, UND has 99.99999% chance of not winning this game, so I will be focused on the growth of this inexperienced team, which of our newcomers continues to take some steps forward, like Davids, Jal, and Rebraca. The Call: The players will have a great time, that's about it. Hope for some growth and no injuries and hey... maybe they can pull a shocker, but it should be a run away. Wildcats 90-65 Game will be on ESPN+ (their streaming pay service that charged $4.95 a month, althought they do offer a 7 day free trial)

Just win baby.

So lets talk turkey: What games do UND fans need to watch Brawl of the Wild for sure and the WIU/ISU Blue game But what else?

That's what I am thinking as well. UND has to be <shutters> Griz fans

We will see, they will be a fun team to watch. If they can stick together and keep improving, maybe this team can make some noise in the future. Right now, lets see who can grow up the fastest.