SWSiouxMN

I look for UND to come out swinging here in the 2nd half

Strings leads all scorers with 10, Drick leads UND with 8 points

SAC 24 UND 23 Half Credit Sac for dictating the tempo so far, UND ice cold from downtown and its not because they aren't getting good looks

here we go, pace is picking up (the right way)

there we go, a little jolt to get the crowd into it, SAC calls TO UND 19 SAC 19 3:34 1st

cold, cold, cold

Strings likes to play against UND, he has 10 so far

UFFDA UND 13 SAC 13 6:46 1st definitely being played at Sac States pace, UND wants to speed it up but playing a little out of control in doing so. Hornets doing a good job getting back on D too

Q for 3 11-7 UND

fancy pass by Drick to find his buddy Shanks down low

sluggish start for both squads UND 4 SAC 4 15:50 1ST

Anybody else not have volume on eversport?

I appreciate the nice comments, I don't think a blog is within my future (I know another poster here does one, if he is looking for a contributor to it its not that hard to find me). More than happy to keep doing this and looking for ways to make them better. I enjoyed Jon's blog as well on the Big Sky and was disappointed to see it end. Wish that ISU guy was able to keep doing it from the end of last year. He did alright as well

http://millersports.areavoices.com/2017/03/02/und-rbs-coach-recruiting-coordinator-taking-job-elsewhere/

uh oh.

Congrats on getting a share of the conference tonight. Now be selfish and take it outright on Friday

Under, they can't be as bad as they were last year. I'm not hitting the panic button on the 4th game of spring training

Right now? No But when has logic ever apply to conference moves

The problem I have is that I don't see how they can come out of this with all 20 sports. You can't keep "crying wolf" on this I don't see how you can find that much $$$ just in trimming budgets unrelated to the conference move. Speaking of: Is Douple really going to hold UND to the Summit penalty of cutting sports? Or will he not? Or will he kinda "hint" to UND, if you cut x you will pay, but if you cut y you won't.

My selection is other, my prediction M/W Swim and Dive gets the axe W Hockey stays... but the budget gets hemmed by about $500,000 so a combo platter of program cuts and budget cuts

wonder how much interest there is in any of the MN QBs in this class outside of the kid from Willmar Sproles would be a nice get for the secondary.

Is this the week we find out what the recommendations are or is it next week?

Sorry guys, had to poke a little fun about the Chinese Spam conundrum. It was a typical UND/UNC game, close down the stretch, it goes to OT. With a solid performance by Cortez Seales off the bench, especially in OT, UND was able to survive a scrappy UNC squad with nothing to lose. Now UND returns home with a chance to grab the #1 seed in Reno and a share of the Big Sky Conference. Standing in their way is the Sac State Hornets, who are looking for all the help they can get to avoid playing in Round 1 in Reno. Sac State is an enigma. That is the nicest way to put it. They can come up with the biggest wins at home and on the road and then turn around and drop some head scratchers. Take a couple of weeks ago, they just got down beating the Griz in Missoula, and look like they can sneak into a 1st round bye situation. Then they dropped their next two against MSU (understandable) and NAU (huh?). They do have some solid talent. Justin Strings is a very good small forward in the league with the ability to knock down shots. They also have one of the best big man in the conference in Eric Stuteville, who shoots a solid percentage in the paint and bring a unique free throw style (he jumps on his free throws). Decent rebounder. Graves is a craft little guard that can pile up assists and not afraid to drive and shoot. Last time out, which was wayyyy back in December (sad that it is almost March and the season is about over), UND stormed out to a big lead, only to see Sac State storm back and force OT. UND did manage to take the overtime session and get out of a disastrous road stretch 1-1. Wow, how much has changed since then. Its real simple for UND going forward, win 1 more game and you take the number 1 seed and at least a share of the conference title. Sweep the home stand and you don't get to share it. If Eastern were to stub its toe going forward, UND can clinch it that way too. Other games: EWU (12-4) @ SUU (3-13) The only real scoreboard watching UND fans will be looking at is down in Cedar City. An EWU loss gives UND the 1 seed and part of the conference title. SUU is hoping to not finish in last place in the leauge, although if they win out and NAU loses out SUU can be as high as a 9 seed... but that's isn't very likely. Eastern is trying to keep its 1 game advantage over Weber in the critical 2 seed. A win for the Eagles can clinch a top 3 seed. Eastern can only get the one if they win out and UND loses out. This should be an Eastern Win Montana (9-7) @ Weber (11-5) Hey, remember when I say Weber had nothing to worry about.... Weber fans should be in panic mode right now. Losers of 3 straight and now holding a 1 game advantage over Idaho and MSU. Good news for Weber currently? Still hold the tiebreaker over Idaho. How bad could it get? If Weber loses out and the Griz, Cats and Vandals win out, Weber is playing Round 1 as a 6 seed. Griz are on the outside looking in and need to win out and get a little help to get a bye. This is usually a battle for conference supremacy, not this year. This could be a preview of the BSC quarters. Both teams need a win here... badly. Weber win clinches a first round bye, but would need an MSU loss to clinch a top 3 seed MSU (10-6) @ ISU (3-13) Congrats to the Cats, you slayed the Griz... FINALLY! Not only that, you sit in 4th current and are only 1 game back of Weber. Heck, if things break correctly for you, you could end up a 3rd seed! First thing is first though, you need to take care of business against ISU, who cannot get anything going and would like to end their disappointing season with at lease some momentum. Simple math. Win at ISU + cheer for fellow feline to beat Griz = first round bye Idaho (10-6) @ NAU (5-11) I think Idaho needs to scrap the whole foul when up 3 strategy, it nearly bit them in the butt against Weber. Nevertheless, the Vandals have done a good job this season overcoming a blow to a key cog in their lineup to put themselves in a first round bye situation. Now they need to finish. They can still get a top 3 seed, but need a lot of help to get there. But a Vandal win + Griz loss locks up a first round bye. NAU is being a pest and has shown some improvement, but they have no ceiling and could drop a couple more if things break wrong. PSU (7-9) @ UNC (5-11) PSU can still finish at .500 in conference play and perhaps can improve 1 more position, but they can't go any lower. UNC is playing their 2nd to last home game of the season and will look to try and finish their long season on a high note with a weekend sweep. Helpful results: SUU upsets EWU (could give UND a share and the #1 seed if they stumble or the outright title and #1 seed if UND wins) The call: There is nothing sweeter than winning the conference on your home court, and I am speaking on personal experience on this one (high school counts right? ). In all seriousness, Sac State is more than capable of going into a tough environment and play well. They can come into Grand Forks and come up with a win, spoiling the fun. With that said, UND is going to have to be disciplined on both sides of the ball, this is no walk in the part coronation. There is history to be made on Thursday Night for this program. There are some players who know a thing or two about making history for their schools in Hooker (Park Center), Geno and Josh (DeLaSalle). With Seales red hot from the bench, Q and Geno both bouncing back with strong performance at home, and strong rebounding on both ends, history shall be made. UND 83-72 *Editors note: If you have any opportunity to get out and support this team at the Betty, take it. You won't regret it.

The attendance for women's hockey for the season was an average of 808. This was the first year since 2009-10 that it didn't get over an average of a 1000 and this is the 5th straight year attendance has dropped. The 3 playoff games were a big negative to attendance, usually they are a slight negative to neutral effect.

Your standings with tiebreakers applied (to the best of my knowledge) UND 13-3* EWU 12-4* Weber 11-5 MSU 10-6 Idaho 10-6 Griz 9-7 SAC 8-8 PSU 7-9 NAU 5-11 UNC 5-11** SUU 3-13 ISU 3-13 MSU wins tiebreaker over Idaho due to record against EWU (1-1 vs 0-2) SUU wins tiebreaker over ISU due to record against NAU (2-0 vs 1-1) *Clinched 1st round bye **ineligible for Reno