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UND (11-13, 5-5) vs USD (17-8, 7-3) 2/8 2 PM


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Despite having their 2nd best player and best post player sitting out with an injury (Rebraca) UND managed to scrap together a gritty win against a tough ORU squad behind 2 20 point performances by Marlon and DAE, and a 19 point performance by Walter.  It doesn't get any easier for UND as they take on a surging Yotes squad, who is looking more like the one of the preseason favorites than ever before. 

About South Dakota:

If we are to talk about USD, we need to discuss their offseason.  They got two great pieces of news.  The first was the return of Tyler Hagedorn from injury, who was a Summit POY candidate before his injury.  Then, after flirting with transferring, Stanley Umude decided to stay at USD, giving them another potential Summit POY candidate on the squad.  With this information, it is no surprise that the Yotes were tagged as one of the favorites in the Summit.  The season started off with bang with several non-conference victories... but then their lost their PG Triston Simpson to injury, which set them back a bit, especially in Summit League play.  They started off league play 0-2 and things didn't look great.  However, with his return and getting his form back, the Yotes have charged back to the title scene, winning 7 out of the last 8 and their only loss was a buzzer beater.  There is no doubt that they are trying to break through this year to finally make the NCAA tournament and they have the team to do it.  They will have a tough task to get past NDSU and a surprising SDSU squad to do so.  

About Todd Lee:

The Huron native and USD alumni is in his 2nd year of coaching (30-25, 14-12 Summit).  The first year was a bit of a struggle with losing Hagedorn but found a star in Umude.  Then got the stars to align with Hagedorn's return and Umude not transferring.  They got all the horses that they need to win the Summit, can he put the Yotes to a place where they have never been before?  We are going to find out.

Key Player: Tyler Hagedorn (6'10 Senior Forward)

The senior forward is making the most of his final season and ending it on his terms.  He couldn't play last year due to injury and has come back strong.  He was a player of the year candidate before his injury and is a player of the year candidate now.  He is averaging nearly 20 points a game and he can do it all.  He can definitely shoot it from 3 (57% from 3) and can do damage from the inside as well.  He can also shoot it well from the line as well (85% from the line).  Averaging nearly 7 rebounds a game.  He was the missing piece from this team last year and now hopes to end his career with some hardware before turning towards a professional career.  UND is going to have to figure out how slow him down. 

Series History:

UND holds a 99-90 all time advantage, but USD has the advantage in the D1 level, going 6-4, including winning the first two conference meetings last year. 

Milestone Watch:

De'Sean Allen-Eikens currently has scored 335 points this season.  The freshman record was set by Troy Huff in the 2010-11 season with 452.  With 6 conference games to go plus at least one conference tournament game, he needs to score 118 points to break it.  He would need to average around 17 points a game to do it, which is doable.  If they can get another game in the conference tournament or perhaps get to a postseason tournament (unlikely) it would increase his chances of doing so.  

Other Games:

ORU (5-5) @ NDSU (8-2): The Bison are sitting pretty at the top of the Summit, but they are looking for revenge against ORU for their loss in Tulsa.  They are trying to hold off SDSU and a charging USD squad.  Oral Roberts is trying to keep their chances of a top 2 seed alive, but they cannot take anymore losses.

Omaha (5-4) @ SDSU (8-2): The Bunnies are starting a 3 game home stand with Omaha being first up.  This would be a great chance for SDSU to get three straight before finishing against the other two teams competing for the crown.  The Mavs are in a must win situation if they want a top 2 seed.  Otherwise, they might be stuck in the midpack with ORU, UND and Fort Wayne.

Fort Wayne (4-6) @ DU (1-9): If DU is going to make it to Sioux Falls, they need to start getting wins and the game against Fort Wayne would be a good place to start.   The Dons used their homestand wisely, but as their schedule picks up, if they want to finish in the top 4 again, they need to take advantage of these two matchups against DU.

Keys:

1) Status of Rebraca:  This will be the big story going into the game tomorrow as to whether he can go or not.  Without him, they will have a hard time slowing down Hagedorn.  At least with Rebraca they would have a fighting chance. 

2) Whose Bench emerges:  UND and USD have great starting lineups, but their benches are lacking.  Whoever's bench can step up in this one would have a great chance of coming away with the win.

3) Simpson vs Stewart:  This will be a great battle of PGs. 

The Call:

0-13… That is an important number right now for UND.  That is the record that UND has put up against the I-29 schools since joining the Summit.  They are 11-4 against the other schools, which is great!  Now if UND is going to climb the Summit standings, this cannot continue and they need to start getting wins.  The Yotes are charging and acting like the team that might represent the Summit in the NCAA tournament.  This is going to be a tough matchup for UND, even with Rebraca.  They Yotes have a great starting 5, but if there is one area where they are struggling: it is their bench.  If this could be the game for UND's bench to have a surprise showing, it could be enough.  There should be some great battles (Hagedorn vs Rebraca, Umude vs DAE, Simpson vs Stewart)  However... I think the Yotes will be too much with Hagedorn, Umude, and Simpson. 

USD 84-76

Game is on ESPN3 and Midco

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