UND (2-1) vs Minnesota-Morris (1-1) 11/17 3PM

[SWSiouxMN]

UND went down the Rupp Arena to mess with the Wildcat and for the first 10 minutes, they were right with them.... then reality struck and lead to UND's first loss.  Now the team returns home to take on the first of their two non-d1 opponents.   First up, Minnesota-Morris.

The Cougars are off to a 1-1 start this year, getting the door blown off in Collegeville 95-54 and squeaking out an 81-80 win against Concordia-Moorhead at home. If we are to believe the UMAC preseason polls, they should be a better team then Northland was.  

Morris is coached by Paul Grove, who is in 17th season.   

Morris Players to watch:

Noah Grove 6-4 Senior Forward

If the last name is familiar, it is the coaches son.  Had a good night up in Concordia, scoring 19 points, including going 10-11 from the line.  Can knock down the 3 ball.  

Jeremy Halverson 6-7 Senior Forward

This lanky forward has been very efficient in his scoring opportunities so far this year, especially from beyond the arc, shooting a blistering 63% from 3 so far.  

Things to watch:

-Can UND repeat what they did against Northland against Morris?

UND took it to Northland and the game was pretty much over at halftime.  UND needs to repeat this type of performance

-Lets get some confidence in Jal and Marko

Out of the 4 newcomers who get significant minutes, Davids and Rebraca appear to be the most ready to make a solid impact for this squad.  Jal and Marko are still looking to make an impact, so these  next two games might be a good opportunity to see them show what they can do and let the college game slow down for them a little bit. 

Numbers:

917 - Career points for Conner Avants

.846 - Current free throw percentage by Cortez Seales, which is well above his career average.  Its early.. but it would be awesome if he could keep it around 80%

7 - Rebounds per game by Filip Rebraca

The Call:

This should be a good rebound game for this young team.  Come home and pound an inferior opponent.  I expect a similar performance to Northland, but I expect a little more pushback from Morris.

UND 88-55

Game is on FSN North Plus, Fox Sports Go and ESPN+

 

 

 

[SiouxFan100]

Thanks SW

Yes - we should and have to impose our will early and often.

[SWSiouxMN]

A little late start 

UND 16

Morris 11

11:40 1st

[SWSiouxMN]

Walter must be out today, Rebraca actually started today

[SWSiouxMN]

speaking of, I am loving his game more and more.

 

[SWSiouxMN]

UND 29

Morris 20

7:13 1st

 

[SWSiouxMN]

Now UND is stepping on the gas a little.  7-0 run to get it to 36-20

[SWSiouxMN]

UND 40

Morris 20

3:37 1st

White unis today... night and day difference from the greys. 

[SWSiouxMN]

We go to the half

UND 47

Morris 27

 

[SWSiouxMN]

Last 8 minutes looked pretty good.  Offense looks like they are flowing pretty good.  

Seales leads the team with 11 points.  He also has 4 boards and 3 assists.

Moody, Rebraca, and Avants each have 6 points

 

[SWSiouxMN]

UND 61

Morris 32

15:01 2nd

[SWSiouxMN]

There we got Marko!

[SWSiouxMN]

UND 73

Morris 39

11:19 2nd

[SWSiouxMN]

UND 85

Morris 46

7:33 2nd

[SWSiouxMN]

lot of the reserves getting time now

[SWSiouxMN]

I know its Morris

but I love this team

 

[SWSiouxMN]

UND 102

Morris 51

2:54 2ND

[SWSiouxMN]

OMG! JAL!

WITH NO REGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE!

[SWSiouxMN]

If was 205 pounds, he would have brought the basket down. I kid you not

[SWSiouxMN]

UND 112

Morris 58

Final

 

[SiouxVolley]

Feels so weird thinking that this team might be the highlight of the UND sports year.

[SWSiouxMN]

7 minutes ago, SiouxVolley said:

Feels so weird thinking that this team might be the highlight of the UND sports year.

I'll wait until they get into their actual d-1 schedule a little more before saying that.  We will find that out later in the month. 

I definitely think they could improve their record from last year

[geaux_sioux]

21 hours ago, SWSiouxMN said:

I'll wait until they get into their actual d-1 schedule a little more before saying that.  We will find that out later in the month. 

I definitely think they could improve their record from last year

If the outside shooting stays as it is we could be much improved from last year. The extra length is noticeable as well. Jal is VERY raw, but just seeing him flush on the break is worth the price of admission alone.

[SWSiouxMN]

15 hours ago, geaux_sioux said:

If the outside shooting stays as it is we could be much improved from last year. The extra length is noticeable as well. Jal is VERY raw, but just seeing him flush on the break is worth the price of admission alone.

I agree, he is so raw.  Once he figures it out, especially on the defensive end of things, the sky is the limit for him.  He threw one down in the Morris game, where if he was 40 pounds heavier, he might have brought the rim down. I'm not sure about anybody else, but he might the most athletic person UND has ever brought in. 

The shooting will be interesting and will be something to watch throughout the year, I would like to see someone else step up, outside of Moody, to fill that (even if it is an overall team effort). 

They should be better, but by how much, we still don't know.  We will find out more about this team in the next three weeks when they start to play some like competition consistently.  

 

[tnt]

16 hours ago, geaux_sioux said:

If the outside shooting stays as it is we could be much improved from last year. The extra length is noticeable as well. Jal is VERY raw, but just seeing him flush on the break is worth the price of admission alone.

It looks like if he came down on someone's ankle, his legs would just snap like a twig!