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UND (6-7) @ UST (9-4) 12/19 7 PM


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UND did exactly what you needed to do with a non-d1 opponent and matched their win total from last year.  Now they turn their attention to the Summit league portion of the schedule and travel down to St. Paul to take on the young and talented Tommies of UST.

About St. Thomas:

As many of you know, UST is in the middle of a transition from D3 to D1.  In Year 1, the Tommies showed some promising moments in the non-conference but got beat down in the conference part of the schedule.  Nevertheless, they managed to squeeze out 4 wins in the conference and 10 wins overall in their first year.  Not a bad showing for a squad who was playing the likes of St. John's and St. Olaf not too long ago.

During the offseason, two important pieces of information dropped down to help them.  1) The Summit League decided, hey:  We are going to let you play in the post-season tournament, so you have something to play for since you can't make the NCAA tournament.  Super cool.

2) They have recruiting a monster freshman class.  

The Twin Cities is fertile ground for basketball recruits and they snagged 3 of the better players in the state in Ahjany Lee of Totino, Kendall Blue of East Ridge, and Carter Bjerke of Wayzata.  Then went across the Mississippi to Wisconsin to steal Andrew Rohde away. In doing so, the Tommies made a statement to the rest of the Summit... we are coming, and coming soon.

So far, the Tommies have made another big statement, almost matching their win total already from last year. They knocked off a good Troy and Milwaukee squad on the way to going 9-4 in the non-conference part of the schedule.

Now... they have moved onto conference play, where they look to make yet another statement to the league that if is a when, not if, they win the Summit League Crown.

About Johnny Tauer: (12th season, 237-74 overall, 4-14 Summit)

Coach Tauer is a Tommy lifer, he played there, he is a professor there, and he is a coach there for the last 12 season.  He lead a dominate Tommy squad in the D3 world and now is looking to make the charge in the D1 world.  He has really taken advantage of the fertile Twin Cities recruting to bring in some talented players and brought come some former talented players to come home and play.  It is clear to see that the transition so far has been going well for UST and it only seems to be a matter of time before they reach the top of the Summit.  

Key Player: Riley Miller (6'3 Senior Guard)

While the Tommies have gotten a lot of press with their incoming freshman, this guy here still runs the show for the Tommies.  This guy has proven to be one of the better 3 point shooters in the conference and is absolutely automatic from the free throw line.  Right now he is averaging around 15 points a game and his shooting 45% from 3.  A vast majority of his shots will come from the 3 point line and can definitely go get 30 when he is on, so UND needs to be very careful about to not let him get hot.

Fun Stat:

UND is 3-7 in their last 10 conference openers.  They are 2-2 in Summit League openers. 

Other Summit Action:

SDSU (5-7) @ ORU (9-3):  If you want a big time matchup with big time implications, how about this one on opening tonight.  The two preseason favorites are ready to clash down in Tulsa.  ORU is rounding into form recently with Max Abmas getting ready for his Last Dance tour in the Summit League.  SDSU hasn't really put it all together yet as they have dealt with some injuries and the group not quite jelling yet.  They still have Zeke Mayo and he is still one of the better young players in the Summit.   Tulsa will be bumping for this one as the winner of this matchup will already have an early advantage for the 1 seed.

DU (9-3) @ Omaha (4-8): The Pioneers have gotten off to a great start in non-conference but the big question is how real are the Pios?  We are going to find out soon as they head down to Omaha to take on a Mavs squad looking to make an early statement under 1st year coach Chris Crutchfield.  It will be the balance of the Pios scoring attack verses Frankie Fidler, a guy who has proven that can get 30+ points when he is on.  

USD (5-7) @ KC (4-9): It hasn't been an easy non-conference for the Yotes as inconsistent play as prevented them from living up to the preseason hype.  The unforunate accident that Coach Peterson suffered hasn't helped matters.  This is a team that still is dangerous and has the ultimate nuclear weapon in AJ, who can go get you 40 when he is on.  They head down to KC to take on the 1-2 scoring punch of Shemarri Allen and RayQuawndis Mitchell, who are both in the top 5 in scoring in the Summit. 

NDSU (3-9) @ WIU (7-4): NDSU heads down to Malcomb to take on a Western Illinois squad who is really start to put things together as Massner has returned from injury.  Rob Jeter looking to take his Western team up the Summit rankings in his 3rd year.  It has been a mess for NDSU to start the season.  The good news is that all of that can be wiped away with a good start to conference play.  They still have Grant Nelson and Andrew Morgan in the post, so if they can get any decent guard play, they still will be dangerous.  

Keys:

1) Can UND avoid the offensive lulls?

2) Will the Tommies Youth show up in their first conference game?

3) Can UND periemeter defense hold?

The Call:

The Tommies can shoot it well from 3 and how UND handles this will go along way from them winning this game.  The Tommy defense appears to be vulnerable and they don't have a lot of height, so if UND can establish their offense in the half-court, they will be able to score a lot of points.  UND can't get into a 3 point shooting contest with these guys, but they need to shoot it decently from outside.   The odds makers and many feel that the Tommies are favored in this game but I am not necessily buying this.  I think UND surprises them early on in the game and by the time the Tommies figure it out, it will be too late.  UND starts the conference season 1-0 with big games from Norman, T, and Omot.

UND 81-76

Game is on ESPN+

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Great writeup! I am a little nervous that the talent of St. Thomas will be too much for UND. Not allowing them to shoot the 3 should be a big focal point of this game. So far this season UND allows teams to shoot 34% from 3. With how St. Thomas can shoot it, they can't let them get hot.

As you mentioned, the extended offensive lulls need to be cut down as well. If we go on a lull and St. Thomas hits a couple 3's it could get out of reach quick. Big game from the young guys in their first conference game would be awesome! Looking forward to watching!

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5 hours ago, HoopsFan03 said:

Great writeup! I am a little nervous that the talent of St. Thomas will be too much for UND. Not allowing them to shoot the 3 should be a big focal point of this game. So far this season UND allows teams to shoot 34% from 3. With how St. Thomas can shoot it, they can't let them get hot.

As you mentioned, the extended offensive lulls need to be cut down as well. If we go on a lull and St. Thomas hits a couple 3's it could get out of reach quick. Big game from the young guys in their first conference game would be awesome! Looking forward to watching!

I’m kind of surprised by the 34% mark. I would have thought it was much higher. Feels like it at times at least. 

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49 minutes ago, sioux24/7 said:

I’m kind of surprised by the 34% mark. I would have thought it was much higher. Feels like it at times at least. 

That's what I thought too. That ranks them 216th in the nation for that stat. However, UND shoots 36.5% as a team from three. That ranks them 84th in the nation for that stat. That surprises me as well. 

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