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UND (2-4) @ FGCU (2-5) 11/29 630 (Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic Day 1)


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UND did what they needed to do against an inferior lower division opponent, pound them into a fine dust, which they pretty much did in a 115-50 victory.   UND takes its show back onto the road... well for quite a while actually.  First stop is Fort Meyers, Florida for a 3 day tournament.  Their first matchup is against the hosts, Florida Gulf Coast University.

About FGCU:  Hard to believe this, but the Eagles have only been full time D-1 members since 2011, and they have put a stamp in both the Atlantic Sun and in the NCAA Tournament.  In this time, they have made the 3 NCAA tournament appearances and 2 NIT tournaments.  They also have been a consistent contender in the A-Sun on a yearly basis.  What FGCU is well known for is 2013 and Dunk City.  Under head coach Andy Enfield and a bunch of high flying athletes, they became the first and only 15 seed to make it all the way to the Sweet 16.  That tradition continued after Enfield left, as Joe Dooley took FGCU to their other two NCAA tournament appearances, getting another NCAA tournament win in a play-in game.   Last year however, was a bit of a dud, from their standards.  Yes they still finished t-3rd in the conference, but it was a disappointing 14-18 overall record.  Predicted 3rd in the conference this year, they hope that they can get back to what they know best, getting back to the NCAA tournament and making some noise, and putting Dunk City back into the national spotlight.  One thing that is noticeable is that they don't have a lot of senior contributors, so this could be a team that could be making some noise in the next couple of years. 

About the Coach: The Eagle's head coach is Michael Fly, who is now in his 2nd year (16-23 record, 9-7 in A-Sun).  The longtime FGCU assistant was handed the reins last year after Dooley left to go back to East Carolina to be their head coach.  Being in the program for as long as he has,  he knows the high expectations that the program has set and now he gets to be the man that has to meet them.  He knows that he needs to keep his team competition for A-Sun titles and getting to the NCAA tournament and being Cinderella.  

Key Player:  Caleb Catto (Sophomore Guard, 6'5 190)

One of the two Super Sophomores at the Guard position, Catto has been pretty steady all year long,  has scored in double figures in 5 out of 7 contests and has shot the ball well from 3 point land (40% from 3) and when he does get to the line, you might has well put the points on the board.  Has been prone to turnovers and is someone who is capable of having a sneaky good rebounding game.  Grown up a coaches kid, will be a very solid player in the A-Sun for the next three years.   Whoever gets this defensive assignment will have their hands full.

Series History:  These two teams met back in 2015 playing in this same tournament with FGCU coming away with a 13 point victory.  This is the 2nd all time meeting here at the Division 1 level.

Keys:

1) Carry over the shooting effort from NCU

2) Take care of the ball

3) Slow down the FGCU offense

The Call:  This will be a good weekend for UND to pick up a few wins, but they could just as easily get shut out.  This is a very winnable game if they can take care of the ball and make some shots.  Get Moody and Rebraca going early and have Marlon close it out.  They do need to start making some noise here and cannot go with 0 D1 wins for much longer.  This would be a nice start to take down the hosts.  I think this is the game where Moody has one of his HOT nights and Rebraca gets another double-double and UND gets by in a squeaker.

UND 77-76

How to Watch:  The Plus!  ESPN+ has the game

 

 

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It was a classy tweet from Brad Berry to call out Sather and his team for the win over FGCU with the “Win the Day” motto.  Berry had just completed a sweep.  Sather seems to be getting support from other UND coaches.

A sweep over the Gophers.

A win over Nichols St.

A sweep of the Florida series.

A sweep of the s Colima teams. 

is that possible?

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