SWSiouxMN Posted January 15, 2021 Posted January 15, 2021 UND went down to Tulsa and came away with a split on the road, winning a close one on Friday and then losing on Saturday by double digits. Now UND heads back home for 2 against the rival: NDSU Since we last saw NDSU: Things have gone pretty well for the Bison since the Dakota Showcase. After a close loss to TCU, they have been on a tear in the Summit League, starting league play with a 4-0 record. They already have two road wins and are looking for more. Rocky and Griesel have been very solid during this stretch and the young sophomore Harden-Hayes has really stepped up to a solid 3rd option. Eady has also been a solid contributor from time to time, giving NDSU 4 players in their starting lineup that can consistently get you double figures. They have reason to be excited, as very soon, as JUCO guard Donald Carter III will finally be ready to play, giving them a legit point guard that they need. The schedule really favors the Bison. After UND is home against DU and a trip to Kansas City. Oh, and they get both SDSU and ORU at home in February. It might be time to start thinking that the Bison might have another team that could win the league.... again. Key Player: Rocky Kreuser (6'10 Senior) This was a tough one to pick because I could have gone a couple of different direction here on the player to focus. I could have picked Eady or Griesel or even the emerging Harden-Hayes. I went with the big man in the middle because the matchup with Rebraca is going to be a good one with a little taller and heavier big on both ends. Certainly playing the best ball of his career right now. 4 double figure games in a row. Aggressive shot blocker and can stretch the floor from 3. Series History: While UND leads the all time series 162-139, but NDSU leads the series at the D1 level 11-5. Milestone Watch: Rebraca is now 10th all time in blocks with 70, he is 3 away from being 9th all time on the list. Rebraca has 909 career points, 91 points away from being the 39th player all time to get to 1000 career points. He would also become the 24th player in UND history to have 1000 career points and 500 career rebounds (If my count is accurate). If he maintains his current average, he should get that sometime during the Western Illinois games at home in late January. Other Game: Omaha/SDSU and WIU/KC has been called due to COVID. So there is only one other game to preview ORU (3-1) @ Denver (0-2): The Pios host their first home conference games of the season as they take on a Oral Roberts squad that is looking to bounce back after splitting at home against North Dakota. Denver is looking for win #1 and quite honestly to show some better performances after losing twice in Vermillion. Oral Roberts should be heavy favorites to sweep, they are the better team. Since they are playing twice in Denver, you have to wonder if the altitude might effect teams the 2nd night. We will find out Off: USD (4-0): The Yotes are the early season surprise so far, storming out to a 4-0 record. They are coming off a sweep of Kansas City on the road, winning two close games. They appear to have a few more pieces that are stepping up to go around Umude. Do they have a chance to finish at the top 3? Well we will be finding out soon enough, the schedule for the rest of the month (@ Western, home against Omaha) could give them a shot at getting to 7-1, 8-0... but February gets brutal quick. However... with a big game player in Umude, they will have a shot in every game. Key Questions: 1) Status of Ihenacho: Sather seemed optimistic that he would be able to go this weekend, but without him would cause UND a few issues. First, he did a solid job in guarding Griesel. Without him, UND will have to try and use Panoam in some parts of this game.... that is a definition of a mismatch. 2) Secondary Scoring for UND: Rebraca has played very well against NDSU, with 3 20+ scoring games in the last 4 matchups. The question will be can UND get more secondary scoring? So far, there hasn't been a consistent secondary scorer that has stepped up, it has been different guys every game. This would be the perfect time for a few in this group of: Nero, Sims, Sueker, Ihenacho, G, and Igbanugo to step into that role. 3) Avoid the droughts: What has gotten UND in trouble against NDSU in recent times is they go on these very long scoring droughts (see Dakota Showcase). They need to avoid these droughts. Be efficient on the offensive end. Find ways to attack the hoop, keep moving off the ball, cut to the middle, make your shots. The call: This is a big series for both team, for different reasons. An NDSU sweep will give them a 6-0 record and 4-0 on the road and would really give Bison fans some thoughts of: hey we can win this league again. A UND sweep would put them at 4-2 on the season and with 3 win against the preseason top 3 teams and would guaranteed that UND will be at least .500 through the tough part of their schedule. The Bison are certainly playing better than UND right now, but with rivarly, anything can happen. I look for UND to come out firing to try and keep up their Friday Win streak. The defense will be tough on both ends of the floor, per usual. I predict that Ihenacho will go and slow Griesel enough, UND gets another big game from Rebraca and gets enough secondary scoring to sneak out another win. UND 69-65 Game is on ESPN3, MidcoSports+ and Midco And... per usual: Keep it clean everybody. Quote
majormid Posted January 15, 2021 Posted January 15, 2021 just an FYI we did a 30 minute preview podcast on the NDSU/UND matchup this weekend if you want to go check it out reachingthesummitpodcast.com or wherever you find podcasts Quote
SWSiouxMN Posted January 15, 2021 Author Posted January 15, 2021 1 hour ago, SIOUXFAN97 said: espn3 for sure? I had to do a double check but yes Quote
SWSiouxMN Posted January 16, 2021 Author Posted January 16, 2021 Starting Lineup No Ihenacho again in the starting lineup Nero Igbanugo Sims Sueker Rebraca Quote
SWSiouxMN Posted January 16, 2021 Author Posted January 16, 2021 In the other game: Oral Roberts edges out Denver 88-84 Quote
SWSiouxMN Posted January 16, 2021 Author Posted January 16, 2021 Ihenacho is dressed and perhaps will come off of the bench. Quote
SWSiouxMN Posted January 16, 2021 Author Posted January 16, 2021 8-4 after the Harden-Hayes free throw Quote
SWSiouxMN Posted January 16, 2021 Author Posted January 16, 2021 that's a good call on the block. Quote
SWSiouxMN Posted January 16, 2021 Author Posted January 16, 2021 Ihenacho with the take 12-8 NDSU Quote
SWSiouxMN Posted January 16, 2021 Author Posted January 16, 2021 Nero can't do much more than that against Cook 14-8 NDSU Quote
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