Fighting Hawks vs AZ. Wildcats

[SiouxVolley]

The West Regional has an abnormal number of private and mostly elite schools:

#1 Gonzaga

#8 Northwestern

#9 Vanderbilt

#5 Notre Dame

#12 Princeton

#13 Bucknell

#11 Xavier

#7 St Marys

Whats lacking are basketball bluebloods.  Arizona and maybe Maryland are the closest to that description.

VCU, Florida St, FGCU and WVU make the bluebloods and the privates cringe and grimace, as they are counter cultural in a basketball sense.

UND and SDSU are the only "normal" schools in that region.  Strange that the Pac12, Big West and MWC didn't get more teams in that region.  It's more of an private invitational.

[moser53]

4 hours ago, Shawn-O said:

Let's hope the guys are looking past UA on their way to the sweet 16.  True or False: Sweet 16 would be the biggest story in ND athletics history.  I'd say true. Sorry UND hockey and NDSU football.  

Touchy subject.  It's like talking about Jesus in Israel. Sweet 16 would be hard to beat but a D1 National Championship is also hard to beat. Speaking of SU would being D1 champs in Wrestling be a bigger story than the FCS Football champs? 

[SWSiouxMN]

Wait, a game thread was started without me?  BOOOO!

I think they give them a scare.  Like a Zona pulling out a win at the last 2 minutes kind of scare

[homer]

8 hours ago, cowboys5xsbs said:

He will definitely be a matchup nightmare.  IDK how you guard a guy like that.  Reminds me of Dirk Nowitzki.  Looking at his stats he seems to be a pretty streaky shooter.  I guess we just have to hope for the best and not give him any good looks.  If he still makes a bunch of buckets there is not much else we can do.  

As tough as he will be to handle, their guards #0- Jackson-Cartwright and #5- Allen make me nervous.  Crandall will have everything he can handle with the speed of #0 but will also have a height advantage.  #5 and Hooker is as ideal as it can be for UND as they are both physical guards.   We just need to hope we are shooting well and gain confidence as the game goes along.  

[hoops44]

Shanks will probably need to play more....Avants at 6'6  has no chance do defend post against high quality NBA talent Bigs

[UNDBIZ]

It'll all come down to our 3-point shooting, IMO.  If Hooker, Baldwin, and Crandall are hot, we'll certainly put a scare into them and an upset is possible.  Seales needs to knock down his mid-range turnaround jumpers.  Drick, Avants, Shanks, and Collins..... rebound, defend, and make your free-throws and put-backs.

[Oxbow6]

10 hours ago, sioux24/7 said:

...the line is +17. 

I'll take the points.........UND will play well. NCAA tournament games are decide by backcourt play.

[Nodak78]

I wish I'm wrong but UND will struggle.  Unless we shoot lights out on 3's no chance.  We will not match up well with the bigs.  Fouls by the big will hurt is.  Defense and pressure by our guards will be a must to keep it close.

[Siouxperfan7]

Anyone else full out their bracket yet?!!

[geaux_sioux]

1 hour ago, homer said:

As tough as he will be to handle, their guards #0- Jackson-Cartwright and #5- Allen make me nervous.  Crandall will have everything he can handle with the speed of #0 but will also have a height advantage.  #5 and Hooker is as ideal as it can be for UND as they are both physical guards.   We just need to hope we are shooting well and gain confidence as the game goes along.  

I think Geno could eat Jackson-Cartwright alive. Get him in foul trouble by taking him to the rack over and over.

[homer]

7 minutes ago, geaux_sioux said:

I think Geno could eat Jackson-Cartwright alive. Get him in foul trouble by taking him to the rack over and over.

His speed could give Geno fits.  He played well Friday and Saturday vs UCLA and Oregon.  Makes a big play when they need it

[UNDBIZ]

8 minutes ago, geaux_sioux said:

I think Geno could eat Jackson-Cartwright alive. Get him in foul trouble by taking him to the rack over and over.

With the primary issue there being their bigs waiting at the hoop.  Would be nice to get them in foul trouble too, but UND will not be getting the calls in this game, even worse than against Weber.

[BarnWinterSportsEngelstad]

What a great Monday morning,11th in the Pairwise with the upcoming NCHC tournament and #15 SEED TO THE DANCE starting in Salt Lake City.    WOW!!

 

[Hambone]

So I think someone may have brought it up somewhere else, but we do have a common opponent in Northern Colorado that Zona beat early in the year by 16 and UND beat by 10 and 3.  Additionally, both UND and Arizona played Cal State Bakersfield, who Arizona beat by 10 and UND beat by 2.  I hate comparable scoring, but this gives me a little bit of hope that we can play with these guys.  As with everyone, their bigs scare me and we'll need to be shooting the lights out to keep it close.  

EDIT:  It should also be noted that Allonzo Trier didn't play in those early season games.......

[cowboys5xsbs]

http://www.undsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=13500&ATCLID=211518762

[SiouxVolley]

7 hours ago, SWSiouxMN said:

Wait, a game thread was started without me?  BOOOO!

I think they give them a scare.  Like a Zona pulling out a win at the last 2 minutes kind of scare

You'll have to start a game day thread, because you seem to bring them luck!

[zonadub]

Living southeast of Tucson, our 'local' news coverage is the Tucson market. Brian Jones may have met his match in Sean Miller. He gets some of the nation's best talent but can't win the big games. The Wildcats have really struggled in the NCAA tournament since Miller took over. Have not been a Jones fan in the past, but he has put it together this year and I do think he can out coach Miller. Arizona may have too much talent for the Hawks to overcome, but I think Jones can keep the Hawks in the game. 

[Siouxperfan7]

Our up tempo offense along with our transition game is going to be what keeps us in the game.  If we have to settle for a half court offense, it's gonna be a long night.  Kepp the ball moving and get the ball down the floor right away like we have been doing all year.  Go with what has been working.  

[BarnWinterSportsEngelstad]

On 3/13/2017 at 8:29 AM, SWSiouxMN said:

Wait, a game thread was started without me?  BOOOO!

I think they give them a scare.  Like a Zona pulling out a win at the last 2 minutes kind of scare

 

23 hours ago, SiouxVolley said:

You'll have to start a game day thread, because you seem to bring them luck!

And seriously, SWSiouxMN, luck is what they may need! Jones and the Horses have a full wagon and their going up hill. Even getn the wind in the right direction might help. Every little advantage that can be imagined, must be used. 

Arizona's horses could gallop astray.

[homer]

55 minutes ago, Siouxperfan7 said:

Our up tempo offense along with our transition game is going to be what keeps us in the game.  If we have to settle for a half court offense, it's gonna be a long night.  Kepp the ball moving and get the ball down the floor right away like we have been doing all year.  Go with what has been working.  

Our up tempo offense could also be what lets the game get out of hand.  The thing I love and hate about our team is they know one speed.  

[MafiaMan]

http://rivertownhoops.com/

Fill out your "Fighting Hawks" national championship bracket here!

[WildcatGuest]

Just wanted to say friendly hello and gain some more info on your team.

Other than random threads, the only info we seem to have is this
http://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2017/3/13/14902182/ncaa-tournament-in-depth-look-analysis-arizona-wildcats-first-round-matchup-north-dakota-bracket
Would you say this is pretty accurate?

Will Fighting Hawks utilize a zone?  Arizona's offense looks confused and constipated for a good few minutes when even a simple zone is implemented.

Our 7'0 Serbian center Ristic actually does worse against smaller athletic  4s than traditional bigs.  How athletic is your smaller front line?  

How deep does your bench run?  Arizona will try to wear down as teams can go 8-9 deep depending on opponent.  

 No one in the tourney is to be overlooked, but I'm interested to see how the low post size difference is compensated for.  Wichita State cut us off at the knees last year, by completely shutting down our guards which starved our much bigger and stronger frontline.   Though, Arizona's has a 15 seed loss in history, I believe it took a certain Steve Nash to accomplish that task.

Regardless, I look forward to watching the game.  From my reading of his style of play, I expect at least Hooker to go off.    Thank you for allowing me to post on your forum. 

[hoops44]

2 minutes ago, WildcatGuest said:

Just wanted to say friendly hello and gain some more info on your team.

Other than random threads, the only info we seem to have is this
http://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2017/3/13/14902182/ncaa-tournament-in-depth-look-analysis-arizona-wildcats-first-round-matchup-north-dakota-bracket
Would you say this is pretty accurate?

Will Fighting Hawks utilize a zone?  Arizona's offense looks confused and constipated for a good few minutes when even a simple zone is implemented.

Our 7'0 Serbian center Ristic actually does worse against smaller athletic  4s than traditional bigs.  How athletic is your smaller front line?  

How deep does your bench run?  Arizona will try to wear down as we go 8-9 deep depending on opponent.  

 No one in the tourney is to be overlooked, but I'm interested to see how the low post size difference is compensated for.  Wichita State cut us off at the knees last year, by completely shutting down our guards which starved our much bigger and stronger frontline.   Though, Arizona's has a 15 seed loss in history, I believe it took a certain Steve Nash to accomplish that task.

Regardless, I look forward to watching the game.  From my reading of his style of play, I expect at least Hooker to go off.    Thank you for allowing me to post on your forum. 

mostly man to man ,some zone, UND plays 2 star recruits only player to ever hold high major offer is Shanks off the bench...Front line is not very athletic...blue collar grinders. Wichita state does get some higher rated kids....Nash was a 15th pick in NBA draft...  Nothing like that at UND...classic David vs Goliath

[UNDBIZ]

35 minutes ago, WildcatGuest said:

Just wanted to say friendly hello and gain some more info on your team.

Other than random threads, the only info we seem to have is this
http://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2017/3/13/14902182/ncaa-tournament-in-depth-look-analysis-arizona-wildcats-first-round-matchup-north-dakota-bracket
Would you say this is pretty accurate?

Will Fighting Hawks utilize a zone?  Arizona's offense looks confused and constipated for a good few minutes when even a simple zone is implemented.

Our 7'0 Serbian center Ristic actually does worse against smaller athletic  4s than traditional bigs.  How athletic is your smaller front line?  

How deep does your bench run?  Arizona will try to wear down as teams can go 8-9 deep depending on opponent.  

 No one in the tourney is to be overlooked, but I'm interested to see how the low post size difference is compensated for.  Wichita State cut us off at the knees last year, by completely shutting down our guards which starved our much bigger and stronger frontline.   Though, Arizona's has a 15 seed loss in history, I believe it took a certain Steve Nash to accomplish that task.

Regardless, I look forward to watching the game.  From my reading of his style of play, I expect at least Hooker to go off.    Thank you for allowing me to post on your forum. 

UND has primarily played man defense this year. If we play any zone at all, I would expect to just mix it in on occasion trying to catch AZ off-guard. 

Starting bigs include Bernstine, a 6'8" forward who is fairly athletic and Avants, a 6'7" forward who plays bigger than he is, though that's not saying a lot. Avants is more athletic than most expect looking at him, though again, he won't be much compared to what AZ is probably used to. We have Shanks usually coming off the bench at 7'0", but he isn't real athletic and usually gets in foul trouble pretty quickly. Also a 6'6" forward in Collins off the bench who is decent on D, but minimal threat on O.

Our guards, Hooker, Baldwin, Crandall, and Seales, are the real threat to you guys. If they're hot from 3, we'll give you a scare.

Those 8 are likely the only ones who will see the court, barring foul trouble or a major blowout. Will usually have 3 guards and 2 bigs playing at a time. 

Edit: And welcome to the board! 

[WildcatGuest]

Yeah I figure the realistic strategy for the Hawks would be for the guards to hit the three and slash to the hoop, while limiting touches for the Cats down low.    We play your Big Sky mates NAU every other year or so.  The times they've come close is with a slow, guard dominated, low possession game,  shooting 3s and running a zone.  But the fast tempo is what both schools seem to want.  Many programs that don't normally run zones have tried it. No matter level of opponent, it usually causes about 4-5 plays of bricks and confusion for the Cats, before adjustments happen.  We have no idea why the zone confuses even temporarily.     The guard play could be a draw, but unless fouls are called oddly, the bigs will be UND's critical weakness I don't think they'll be overcoming, unless Bernstine and Avants really come of age. Players like Shanks are usually eaten alive, and as stated more of a liability as a foul magnet.    

Defensively, if you haven't seen Arizona play much, there is really no single defensive super stopper (Kadeem Allen at 2 is the closest).  Taken individually the front line isn't that dominant defensively, but the packline defense is very much a system and team effort. 

A few school cultural questions:  Who is your arch rival?  I notice a sudden upswing the past few years in all the Dakota schools regarding basketball.  Do you normally refer to yourselves as the Fighting Hawks?  Other fans tend to refer to us as Zona, which is fine and liked, but the vast majority of our own find it awkward to call ourselves Zona. 

Thanks for the welcome.  I normally am not a "opposing board visitor" except during tourney time.  I notice non-conf visitors on boards are always greeted warmly, but I am likely to get glib comments and slights on another Pac-12 board.