Jump to content
SiouxSports.com Forum

UND (7-12, 2-5) @ EWU (9-11, 4-3) 1/25 8:05 PM

SWSiouxMN

By SWSiouxMN
in Men's Basketball

 Share

Recommended Posts

SWSiouxMN Grand Master

SWSiouxMN

Posted
Posted

UND continued its improved play and got a big performance by Geno.  Unfortunately, that performance was trumped and by the basis of a buzzer beater dropped a close but winnable game on the road in Greely.  That gut punch needs to get over quickly, as they go onto their 2nd game of this 3 game road swing going up to Eastern Washington to take on the Eagles.  

The first matchup was not pretty for UND as the Eagles dominated them on both ends of the floor in Grand Forks.  Not only were the post players better, but the Eagles guards even outplayed UNDs!  This matchup is different, in the fact that UND is playing much better coming in, but EWU is coming off a smarting defeat down in Cedar City.  How bad was that loss?  If they had won, they would be a 3 way tied for 2nd behind Montana.  

UND leads the all time meeting at 7-4, but EWU holds a 3-2 lead in their house. 

Being that this is the 2nd time around, I'll skip the key player and go straight into the keys and other matchups

Keys to the game:

1) UND needs their guards to dominate:  In the first matchup this was not the case as UNDs Bigs had to carry the load.  That is not a winning formula for this team.  It needs to be guard dominate and supported by the bigs.  Geno, Marlon and Cortez combined for 21 points... that cannot happen

2) Pick your poison with EWU:  How will UND deal with Boggan?  Will they try and shut him down or will they let him go off and shut down the rest of the team?

3) Bench:  UND needs its bench players to continue its strong play, it didn't show as much against UNC but it needs to show up like it had against Weber, ISU and NDSU.

Other Matchups:

This is a repeat of the 1st week of conference games so Weber/ISU and SAC/PSU are taking on each other Saturday and will not play Thursday.

SUU (2-5) @ Griz (7-0)

The in-state rivalry game wasn't much of a contest, the Griz took down their arch-rivals and look to be in pretty good shape to finish the first half of the schedule undefeated (could they run the table?)  SUU finally got rewarded with a win at home verses EWU, but their task will be much taller this time around.  Its really hard to see the Griz not being the #1 seed in Reno when it is all said and done.

NAU (0-7) @ MSU (4-3) 

On the other side of the coin, will NAU break through this weekend with their first win?  Its been hard sledding for the Lumberjacks as they just can't break through despite some close calls, including in the first matchup of these teams in Flagstaff.  MSU needs to bounce back after dropping 3 in a row and suddenly find themselves in the slog of 4-3 teams. 

UNC (4-3) @ Idaho (5-2)

Game of the night will be in Moscow as this will be a big matchup for both squads.  UNC won the first one in Greely and a win in Moscow would give them a critical tiebreaker should the two teams be tied at the end of the year.  Idaho can't afford to drop further behind the Griz in the standings, so a must sweep at home is needed.

The call:

When you start out 0-4 in conference play, it can be very hard to dig yourself out of that hole.  The loss against UNC hurt majorly.  Instead of sitting at 3-4 and perhaps a split away from getting back to a respectable record, they are 2-5 and coming back to GF 2-7 would be perilous.  With that said, UND needs this one very badly.  I think with the improved play and a return to the bench scoring.  UND will do enough to get the win. Geno, Marlon and Cortez will NOT combine to score 21 points in this matchup

UND 77-73

 

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...