10 "Memorable" Losses of the Jones Era

[bincitysioux]

The last 9+ years of North Dakota basketball have provided some good moments and some bad moments.  Unfortunately, through my eyes, the bad have outnumbered the good by a pretty wide margin.  Despite some wonderfully talented and entertaining players that have come through the program in the last decade, when I look back on the last 10 years most of the memorable games to me seem to be the ones that got away and in many cases the ones that ran away.  I find myself stuck in a state of pessimism regarding the program, so I came up with what I think amount to the 10 worst losses of the Brian Jones Era.  Later, I'll do some looking back on the 10 best performances.

#10:  12-8-14 at Minnesota

UND was expected to be down last year after graduating Huff, Anderson, and Webb.  Nobody including myself expected a win in the Barn, but a competetive effort would have been nice.  The Gophers were a so-so team last year, the game was on national television, and outside of games at NDSU, this was probably the best attended away game for our fans in years since the Twin Cities are huge alumni base.  Those in attendance and those watching around the country were treated to a 36 point loss that was over by halftime.

#9:  11-29-13 vs Cal Poly (neutral floor)

This was a Thanksgiving tournament game two seasons ago.  Cal Poly was an OK team that year.  They finished that year with 208 RPI and 11 DI wins.  They ran us out of a nearly empty neutral court by 27 points.

#8:  12-13-14 @‌ NDSU    

NDSU was a superb team last season.  This game was played right after the arse-kicking that the Gophers laid down.  It wasn't even on their home floor, it was in a rather sterile Scheels Arena.  The final score was 71-42, and again it was pretty much over by halftime.  Again, NDSU was very good, but the effort was seemingly missing from this game.

#7:  12-10-11 @‌ SDSU      

Again, SDSU was very good this year, probably one of the better teams we've played in the DI era.  UND went into Brookings and lost by 38.  No real surprise by the loss.  Nobody probably expected it to be so lopsided.  What makes this loss such a headscratcher is that just 5 days later, the Jacks came to Grand Forks and North Dakota beat them.  Obviously they were not well prepared for the first game because they played well enough to beat the same team that drilled them in less than a week.

#6:  12-10-10 @‌ NDSU    

This was the first Sioux-Bison basketball game of the DI era, the first meeting in a major sport in 7 years.  It was played at the Fargodome in front of the second largest crowd to ever watch a basketball game in the state of North Dakota.  UND again seemed ill-prepared as they lost by 26 to an average at best NDSU team that would go on to win 12 DI games on the season.

#5:  2-16-13 vs Northern Arizona in Grand Forks

Just a 2 point overtime loss to a conference foe, this is a game that will probably be remembered for many years by North Dakota basketball fans.  UND controlled the game throughout most of it before costly errors and missed free throws allowed NAU to force OT and eventually escape GF with the win.  The most memorable part was the post game interview when radio announcer Paul Ralston dropped the infamous "choke job" phrase, sending Coach Jones into a tizzy that resulted in a two game suspension for the radio guy!

#4:  11-29-14 vs Texas Pan-Am (neutral floor)

This was another Thanksgiving tournament in an empty building.  It was an 18 point loss to a Great West team that finished the year with 7 wins against DI teams and and a final RPI ranking of 334.

#3:  3-6-14 @‌ Southern Utah  

This was the final regular season game for our senior laden team that I believe was picked 3rd or maybe even 2nd in the Big Sky preseason polls.  We lost by 6 to the Thunderbirds who were arguably the worst team in the nation, finishing the season with an RPI of 348.  The only Division I team that they beat all season was North Dakota.

#2:  11-28-15 vs Northern Iowa in Grand Forks

Fresh in everyones mind, this was a 46 point home loss.  UNI is easily the best team to come to GF in the DI era, a homecoming for their coach, a nice crowd of potential "new fans" on hand, and nationally televised.  A great opportunity to at least compete with one of college basketball's "name" programs.  The result was the worst loss in the history of the Sioux Center, and the worst loss at home overall since the 1940's.  The game was all but over by the second media timeout.  The end of the day included the head coach throwing the team under the bus and accepting no responsibility for the poor performance.

#1:  12-8-09 vs Mayville St. in Grand Forks

A 12 point loss to NAIA Mayville.  I think that is about all that needs to be said.

 

[SWSiouxMN]

That poly loss should be higher. 

1 glaring omission: 2013 Big sky semis verses Weber State.

[UNDBIZ]

All the Omaha losses could probably make the list, but I'm not sure which other terrible loss they'd replace. 

[Oxbow6]

You were kind to limit it to just 10 games.

[UND-FB-FAN]

Upsetting part is there are more losses that could arguably be top 10, as well. Jones has worn out his welcome. 

I would love to get excited about UND men's basketball again...

[The Sicatoka]

You could create a list of (dis)honorable mentions for the Omaha and other losses. 

[Siouxphan27]

Next you should do a list of his program defining 10 Most Memorable Wins...   oh wait, never mind...

[sioux24/7]

The good wins are going to be difficult to come by. The ones that come to mind are two NDSU games and a Montana win. Cannot think of any others. 

[UNDBIZ]

The good wins are going to be difficult to come by. The ones that come to mind are two NDSU games and a Montana win. Cannot think of any others. 

South Dakota State?  And we must've had a few moral victories. Wisconsin 2 years ago comes to mind.....

[nodak651]

Next you should do a list of his program defining 10 Most Memorable Wins...   oh wait, never mind...

This is actually a great idea.  I think it would hammer the point home even better - Jones is worthless.

[sioux24/7]

South Dakota State?  And we must've had a few moral victories. Wisconsin 2 years ago comes to mind.....

True and that was with Wolters. 

[geaux_sioux]

I request to change the title to 10 "Quality" Losses of the Jones Era

[MafiaMan]

You were kind to limit it to just 10 games.

well, the committee in charge of this assignment spent countless hours narrowing it down from 50 to 10, so I give them a lot of credit.  It was not an easy task assigned to them.

[cpa_guy]

I had the misfortune to attend two of these games: vs.(#4) Texas Pan-Am and (#3) @ SUU and the honorable mention of the 2013 Big Sky semis loss to Weber State. That Thursday night in Cedar City really sucked as the women lost lethargically in the first game of the double-header. The men played with even less emotion, with one exception: Quinton Hooker. I gained a lot of respect for Quinton that night. Even as a true freshman, he was attempting to inspire his teammates at every time out, but the rest of the team had already checked out early in the first half.