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UND vs Utah (Utah Tournament Day #2)

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SWSiouxMN Grand Master

SWSiouxMN

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UND took care of business in Day 1, riding another dominating 1st half performance and weathering a Hornets storm to close out a 75-68 win.  The task gets difficult today, as they take on the host team the Utah Utes, who look to be one of the favorites in the Pac-12.

 

MVP from Alabama State: Jaron Nash (22 points, 10 rebounds)

Hard to pick against Nash in this case, who is playing at a 1st team Big Sky level right now.  Efficient night from the field, rebounding, and from the line gives him the honors once again.

 

MVP tracker

Nash (4 times)

De Rouen (1 time)

 

Utah Synopsis

The Utes have reason for optimism  this year, as they potentially have their best team since the late great Rick Majerus took a scrappy Utes team all the way to the title game in 1998.  Coach Krystkowiak is in his 4th year at Utah, but has build the program from scratch since its inclusion into the Pac-12.  They have gone from 6 wins in 2011, to 15 in 2012, and 21 last year. They also have improved in conference play in each year (from 11th, to 10th, to t-8th). Krystkowiak is not a stranger to Big Sky teams, he was the former Montana coach for 2 season (2004-2006) and lead the Griz to back to back NCAA appearances, including a NCAA win.  He also spent some time in the NBA, coaching the Bucks from 2006-2008. 

 

The reason for the optimism was the return of a great core of players, led by Delon Wright, an all Pac-12 1st team selection and a potential 1st round pick in the NBA.  But what has been apparent to the start of this year is the impact of the freshman class.  With a 7 footer from Austria and a 6'9 Forward that can stretch the floor, the Utes can add some solid depth to their lineup, which can not only challenge Arizona for Pac-12 rights, but could be setting themselves up for a nice run in March.

 

Players to Watch:

Delon Wright (11.5 ppg, 6.8rpg, 5.3apg)

6'5 Guard (SR)

 

One of the best guards we will play all year.  Can do it all and has the prototypical NBA guard body.  Hangs his hat on his defense, which he was an 1st team all defensive player.  Hasn't done much on the scoring end so far, but that is more on the depth of Utah than his play, he can go off at any time.

 

Kyle Kuzma

6'9 Forward (FR)

 

One of the freshman that has been stepping it up as of late. Kid can stretch the floor and hit from beyond the arc.  He has had some nice moments the last two games, so he will be a tough matchup for our defense. 

 

Keys to our game:

1) Hooker:

The game notes say he is expected to play.  How effective he will be is the question.  Its going to be a tough game regardless he plays or not, it is going to be more difficult if he isn't effective or is out.  Wonder if he comes off the bench tonight because of the injury.

 

2) 40 minutes

UND has gotten off to great starts in their d-1 games, but have yet to put together a full 40.  UND getting that effort will give them a great chance to win.  Keeping turnovers down, shooting around 50%, 50% from beyond the arc, around 75% free throw shoot minimum, while keep Utah chances to a minimum are the recipe for a potential upset.

 

My question:

Is Calcaterra's play a blip or a trend?

Hard to question that Calc's play the last 3 games has been decent to good.  Averaing 10.3 ppg and a shade under 4 rebounds and 2 blocks.  He already has the amount of double digit games in points as he did last year. Hope he can increase his rebound stats a little bit and keep the offense going.  It helps when he can get the ball in good situations and the offense looks to get the posts involved.  This will be a big test for Calc against this tall Utah team.  I felt this Utah tourney would be a good indication of what he could do.  He passed the first test last night, lets see how he does against a tougher task.

 

The Call:

 

Utah has been a ranked team and should be a top team in the Pac-12.  Its going to be a hard sledding for UND to pull the upset.  That being said, its not impossible for UND to do it if everything breaks correctly.  My gut says that UND will again start strong, but Utah will be too much.  Still, if they preform well, there is no reason they can't get by UTPA tomorrow. I see Nash pulling another double-double as well

 

Utah 75

UND 61

 

 

 

 

 

 

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NODAK13 Newbie

NODAK13

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Utah is a very talented team that took full advantage of their height and athleticism.  What I didn't like is that our starters only had one assist and our point guard had zero.  That is not a very good formula for success against anybody.  Didn't see the game but just looking at the stats.

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