UND vs UTPA (Utah Tournament Day #3)

[SWSiouxMN]

Day 2 was about as rough at it could be for UND, as Utah overwhelmed UND in the 2nd half.  UND can finish 2nd in the Utah tourney with a win against old Great West Conference opponent UPTA.

 

MVP from Utah: Lenny Antwi (10 points, 3 assists, 0 turnovers)

Could have gone with De Rouen, but felt Antwi was more efficient.  Back to back nice games for Lenny, hope that this can be the start of something

 

Total MVPs

Nash (3 times)

De Rouen (1 time)

Antwi (1 time)

 

About UTPA Broncos (3-2)

UTPA has some major struggles competing in the WAC last year, finishing tied for last with UMKC last year.  UTPA is still in a rebuild mode, but they have some decent pieces that came back, plus with the addition of some transfers, the Broncos are looking to move up the standings in the wacky, wacky WAC.  So far this year they are off to a nice start, however 2 of their 3 wins are against lower competition and the other was a 1 point squeaker over UTSA.  In the Utah Tournament, they were blasted by Utah and fell 91-79 to Alabama State. 

 

Key Players:

Janari Joesarr (20.6 ppg, 10.8 rpg)

6'6 F SO

 

The big Estonian transfer from Ole Miss has been a bright spot for the Broncs this year.  Stretches the floor and can knock down the 3 point shot.  Had a big night last night against the Hornets dropping 28 points and snagging 11 boards. Also had a 17-18-4-6 night against UTSA with that 6 being blocks.  He is very solid from the free throw line and finds the open man, but if there is a weakness he can cough up the ball.  Has another 2 full seasons plus this one left and will be a great building block for the Broncs.

 

Shaquille Boga (15.0 ppg, 3.8 apg)

5'11 G SR

 

Point guard that can stuff the stat sheet in a number of different ways.  Typically can hang his hat on taking care of the ball, but has struggled in that department this year so far.  Has improved on his scoring from last year and is an excellent free throw shooter.  Hooker and De Rouen are going to need to play solid defense on this kid and needs to attack, attack, attack.

 

Keys to the game:

 

1) Offensive Efficiency:  UND has had its struggles shooting in the last two nights.  Last night could have been due to the pure length and athleticism of the Utes, but with a slightly smaller team in UTPA, I can see UND having a better night.  Also just to make sure to keep finding that open man in the offense.  Had 14 assists against the Hornets, but only 8 against the Utes

 

2) Who will step up as our #2 consistent scorer:  We know who usually will be our top guy when it comes to scoring.  It will usually be Nash.  But who will step up and be that one consistent guy. Is it Hooker? De Rouen? Tyler? Antwi? Calc?  Someone needs to fill that role with more consistency as we get closer to conference play.

 

Question of the Day:

UND at full strength, what will the lineup consist of now?

With Salmonson returning last night, UND is finally back at full strength for the 1st time this year, so now the question is what will the lineup consist of.  With Salmonson back do they go with him starting again or do they run with Calc?  Will Tyler take over either Hooker or De Rouen spot eventually?  With Salmonson back, what will that do with Cashman's minutes and wonder why Shields shirt was lifted?  However, its at least good to have some depth now then it was a few days ago.

 

The Call:

 

UND is a 6 point favorite in this game, and they should be favored to win this one.  UND needs to get back to what they were doing against Alabama State and still look to get that first complete game of the year.  UND moves closer to getting that complete game with a solid showing on both the offensive and defensive end.  UND moves back to .500 and matches their non-conferences wins from last year.

 

UND 76

UTPA 66

 

 

 

[SWSiouxMN]

UND 21

UTPA 13

 

6:39 1st

[MoSiouxFan]

Anyone know why DeRouen hasn't played yet?  Hurt?

[SiouxFan100]

UND getting beat by 20 in the second half again after leading by 2 at half time. Something isn't right with this team.

[MoSiouxFan]

UND getting beat by 20 in the second half again after leading by 2 at half time. Something isn't right with this team.

And UND lead by 10 in the first half.

[sioux2013]

Very bad loss.  We only had 6 assists for the game and our point guards only had 1 assist each.  Hooker and Tyler need to get others involved by finding the open player and dishing the ball. Thats back to back games that obviously team play was missing and I thought they did such a good job the games prior to that.  

[UND-FB-FAN]

Another bad loss on the road against non-conference competition. It's these kinds of losses that make me question Jones' ability.

[MafiaMan]

UND getting beat by 20 in the second half again after leading by 2 at half time. Something isn't right with this team.

Brutal.