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UND (8-3,13-8) vs EWU (8-3,16-8) 2/9 7 PM


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Posted
7 minutes ago, SWSiouxMN said:

For 35 minutes, it didn't look good at home for UND.  However a strong 4 minutes and an dominate overtime period led to a home victory over UNC.  Now the real test begins as EWU comes into town.

EWU is the surprise team of the league by far.  They were picked around the 5-7 range in the preseason polls and have become a serious threat for Reno. Their 3 losses were by a combined total of 10 points. Hayford has developed a nice program out there, starting to turn EWU into that perennial power in the Big Sky.  They have by two of the better big men in the conference in  Potential POY in Jacob Wiley, (averaging nearly 20 a game and 8 rebounds, shooting 65% from the field), the senior transfer from Lewis and Clark and the big Ukrainian Bogdan Bliznyuk (averaging 19 points and 6 boards).  Felix Von Hofe is their marksman from outside (and he's got some size at 6'5). 

UND all time is 4-3 against EWU and 2-1 at home in Big Sky play.  However, they are on a 3 game losing streak to the Eagles since starting 4-0, including being swept last year.

UND will have to rely on their strength at guard and strong team defensive effort (particulary from Drick, Avants, Collins, Shanks and heck even Walter if he gets time) in this critical matchup.

Other Games:

Idaho (7-4) @ UNC (4-7): Rumors of the Vandals demise have been greatly exaggerated, they have won 6 out of their last 7 and have stormed back into contention for a coveted top 3 spot.  This weekend will go a long way in potentially deciding their fate.  First thing is first, they have to avoid the trap game in Greely against a UNC squad who at this point would love to play spoiler

ISU (3-7) @ PSU (4-6):  Idaho State got a much needed sweep to get out of the basement and look to continue to climb up the standings.  PSU is going the wrong direction and missed an opportunity on the road to get back on track.  Can ISU make it 3 in a row? Can PSU stop the bleeding

Weber (9-1) @ SAC (4-6): Weber is up a game and a half on both UND and EWU and wants it to stay that way.  SAC has managed to beat Weber in recent memory at home, can they spring the upset and make the race for the #1 more interesting?

MSU (6-5) @ NAU (3-8): The win streak is over for the Cats, dropping one in Missoula against their arch rival.  They want to avoid making it two in a row and suffering a bad loss against NAU.  They are improving, these Lumberjacks, but it MSU has serious aspirations for a top 3 seed, they cannot afford to drop this one

Mont (6-5) @ SUU (2-9): The Griz finally stopped the bleeding against the arch rival, can they get it going again and get to a top 3 seed?  The good news for the Griz, softer schedule.  Bad news? Finish with Weber/ISU.  SUU would love to send the Griz back on a losing spell

The Call:

This is without question the biggest game since Weber.  Being the only matchup of the year means that whoever wins get the all critical tiebreaker.  EWU is capable of beating any team, anywhere in the Big Sky and they have proven it.  UND has won 10 in a row at home in conference play.  POY candidates Q and Wiley will put up big numbers in this matchup.  UNDs bigs are going to have to play their best matchup of the season.  It would not surprise me if EWU is favored in this matchup.  But UND is at home, this is a big game, I think Q and Geno play well and the bigs do just enough to get the win at home.

UND 79-77

 

Didn't UND win 79-71 at the Betty last season, and split the season series?  I don't think the Fighting Hawks have lost 3 straight EWU coming into this meeting.  I could be wrong maybe I'm thinking of a different team.

Posted
19 minutes ago, the green team said:

Didn't UND win 79-71 at the Betty last season, and split the season series?  I don't think the Fighting Hawks have lost 3 straight EWU coming into this meeting.  I could be wrong maybe I'm thinking of a different team.

No your right, I was on EWU ESPN site and was doing the addition, forgot I was using it and saw the loss and thought it was UNDs page (its Monday people!). Made the correction

Posted
3 hours ago, siouxfan512 said:

Can't help but wonder just how good this team could have been if Wheeler Baker was playing.

Very good point. Forgot about him. I wonder what exactly happened there. 

Posted
5 hours ago, siouxfan512 said:

Can't help but wonder just how good this team could have been if Wheeler Baker was playing.

Sometimes there is addition by subtraction.

  • Upvote 1
Posted
26 minutes ago, jdub27 said:

Sometimes there is addition by subtraction.

Can't know for sure. Could have been big numbers off the bench. Maybe he would have done nothing, but there was certainly a lot of excitement about his experience and potential.

Posted
13 minutes ago, siouxfan512 said:

Can't know for sure. Could have been big numbers off the bench. Maybe he would have done nothing, but there was certainly a lot of excitement about his experience and potential.

Won't argue his talent and I don't think that has nothing to do with why he isn't on the team. We've definitely seen bad team chemistry hold back teams in the past, possibly a lesson learned by the staff to try to prevent that in the future. Not sure if he caught on at another program or not, I wish the kid well and hope he finds success.

  • Upvote 1
Posted
4 minutes ago, siouxfan512 said:

Can't know for sure. Could have been big numbers off the bench. Maybe he would have done nothing, but there was certainly a lot of excitement about his experience and potential.

Don't think you understand what he said.  The team got better by him leaving.  That is how I interpreted it.  

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