After a split down in Tulsa, UND went back home to take on their in-state rival, NDSU. What was already going to be a big showdown between these two historic rivals was a bit overshadowed by the news that De’Sean Allen-Eikens announced his opt-out and transfer from the program (I will touch on that more in the overall thoughts section).
Game 1: NDSU 62, UND 45
Sigh… lets discuss Game 1. To be honest, this might have been the worst offensive performance in a half that UND has put out this season. They didn’t get off to a good start and things just snowballed from there. UND spent a lot of time standing around and not being aggressive on the offensive side of the ball. This year, UND has gotten into major trouble when they get into these scoring droughts. Scoring 4 points in the last 8:45 of the half is a problem, especially against a good team in NDSU. What Grant Nelson did to Urbonavicius reminds me of when your big brother would always swat your shot when playing one on one. Nelson blocked G’s shot 3 times in the first half and that really got into his head.
The 2nd half start was much better for UND and what they should have came out with to start the game. Sims was a mad man on the defensive end, blocking shots, forcing turnovers and playing tough D. UND held NDSU scoreless for 5 minutes. Did UND take full advantage of it? Well…. they did a little. They manage to score 6 points but they missed several opportunities to cut into the margin more. Once the media was over, NDSU managed to push the margin back out again. UND did manage to cut it one more time before the Bison put it away for good. Overall it wasn’t a good night for UND. Far too much standing around on the offensive end and to be honest, they were timid.
NDSU was well balanced in their scoring, as 4 Bison players had double figures. Jaruis Cook stepped up and had 13 points. Grant Nelson chipped in 13 off of the bench to go along with his ownage of G on the block. NDSU did an excellent job on the defensive end, which caused UND problems. UND was led by Rebraca, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds, his 1st double-double of the season, and Panoam, who had 12 points on 4-6 shooting from 3.
Oh, did I mentioned that UND didn’t even attempt a free throw in this game? ZERO, NONE, ZILTCH. Do you know how hard it is, in this day and age and the way the game is called, to not even attempt a free throw? No wonder Sather seemed annoyed in the post game presser.
Game 2: UND 82, NDSU 78 OT
Remember how I mentioned about Sather seemed annoyed? You could tell by his body language that he wasn’t very happy with the performance. So he decided to make a statement on Saturday night: 3 changes to the starting lineup (Ihenacho back to the starting lineup, Panoam replaced Nero in the lineup, Igbanugo started at the 3, which slid Sims to the 4 spot, replacing Sueker). The statement got louder as the first person off of the bench was Nate Shockey, who hasn’t gotten significant play since the Drake game. G didn’t even see the floor in this game and Nero played a grand total of 4 minutes, all in the first half.
Whatever message was sent by Sather… it was well received by the team. UND came out with better energy, better flow, more aggressiveness on the offensive end. Panoam stepped up and nailed some 3’s. Ihenacho and Igbanugo were aggressive in taking it to the basket in the first half. The change in the lineup caused one issue for UND: rebounding. They were outrebounded 22-12 in the first half and 44-28 in the game. NDSU never went away, as they used a big 1st half by Rocky and Cook to stick with UND in the first half.
2nd half turned into a slugfest. Each team going back and forth, blow for blow. UND extended their lead to 8 early in the 2nd period. Then the Bison came back, lead by Rocky Kreuser, who had his best game in a NDSU uniform, scoring 17 of his 32 points in the 2nd half. While the guards started to cool down for UND, they needed players to step up. In steps up Rebraca and Sueker. The big men answered the bell combining to score 26 points in the 2nd half and they were important in the last two minutes. Bison had a 6 point lead with 1:54 to go, it looked like they were going to pull it out. Sueker had other ideas. He camly stepped up and scored the last 6 points (4 of them at the free throw line). The Bison had a few chances to close it out at the end. Griesel missed a front end of a free throw, then missed a shot with 3 seconds to go. Nelson NEARLY put one back at the buzzer, but to OT we go.
In the OT, Rebraca and Sueker continued their strong play but Igbanugo got his 2nd wind, scoring a old fashion 3 point play after the Bison scored on their first possession. Both teams traded the lead for a little while before UND took it for good with 2:15 to go. Rebraca knocked down some free throws to take a 74-72 lead to do that. UND forced a turnover on the other end and then Sueker, once again, led UND in the finishing minutes with a floater in the lane and then some free throws, expanding the lead to 6 with 21 seconds to go. Then things got nervy at the end for UND. Rocky stepped into a 3 with 15 seconds left to cut the lead to 3. Then Griesel made a great defensive play to steal and bounce the ball off of Sueker. NDSU couldn’t tie it up as Rocky’s 3 was off the mark and then secured by UND. Igbanugo, who short ended 2 free throws in the 2nd half, calmly knocked both free throws down to give UND a 5 point lead with 9 seconds to go. A NDSU layup and one more UND free throw gave UND an empathic 82-78 win against the rivals from the South. A win for the Flagship!
Overall Thoughts
Obviously, the big news before the games was the transfer of DAE. It certainly was a surprise to see that news last Monday morning. I don’t know the reason why he decided to do it now, but that is between him and coach Sather. UND has played a vast majority of the season without him, so going forward it wouldn’t be too much of an adjustment, but that scoring is going to be missed. You don’t break the freshman scoring record without having any talent. I wish DAE the best wherever he lands. Maybe he will reunite with coach Jones down in Illinois State.
The person who should get the most praise this weekend is Senior Guard Bentiu Panoam. He was the guy who played the best on Friday night, stepping up and hitting outside shots in the 2nd half. He earned a starting spot on Saturday night and nailed 3 more 3’s in the first half and gave UND a boost. He cooled off in the 2nd half but his defense was solid in forcing some turnovers. He was a guy who mostly spent his time on the bench in his 3 years and has gone through lots of changes. Nevertheless, when his number was called, he answered the bell. No matter what level of basketball you play at, this is an important lesson here. Always be ready, you never know when your number is going to be called. Will be interesting to see if he gets more of a run here going forward.
Rebraca finally recorded his first double-double on Friday night, but he put together a better performance on Saturday. He went blow for blow with Rocky in the post and had another 20+ point performance against NDSU. Most important to me… he nailed all 3 of his free throws, which I am sure is a great relief to him. Keep doing that.
Sims didn’t score in either of the games this weekend, but his impact was on the defensive side of the ball where he continues to get better and better at after each game. He blocked 6 shots, 4 of them on Saturday, and grabbed 5 rebounds on Saturday night as well. His offense will come along eventually but has brought a solid presence on the defensive side of the ball.
It was great to have Ihenacho back in the lineup. He was definitely a difference maker in the 2nd game, scoring 11 points in his return to the starting lineup. He needs to continue to be aggressive on the offensive side of the ball and take it to the rack. He made a great hustle play in the 1st half to get to a loose ball, corral it, make the basket, draw the foul, and convert the 3 point play. It was also great to have his defense back as well.
Lets talk about the two players who stepped up on Saturday Night: Igbanugo and Sueker. They both had their best games in a UND uniform. Igbanugo scored 18 points on 6-12 shooting, including going 3-8 from downtown. Also dished out 4 assists and grabbed 4 rebounds and also played some tough defense. He has had a decent conference season so far, scoring in double figures in 4 out of the 6 conference games so far. He has developed into an option, either off of the bench or in the starting lineup, that UND didn’t have last year.
Sueker scored 22 points, 20 of them in the 2nd half and OT. He continues to be UNDs best free throw shooter (along with Nero), knocking down 7 of 8 from the line, with most of them coming towards the end of the game and in OT. Most important was that he stepped out and hit some shots from distance (a 15 foot baseline jumper and a 3 from the top of the key). Those two shots really got him going. This was the type of game that many thought he would be capable of once he got adjusted to D1. He definitely used his size more on the inside.
While the team should get a lot of praise for responding on Saturday, it doesn’t take away of what happened on Friday and the general trend of the team still being inconsistent. At a certain point, this team needs to start stringing together some good games. They need the offense to continue to move and pass more. How certain players respond to Saturday will be something to follow.
UND is 3-3 in conference play and has one more tough test before the schedule gets more “manageable”. It is a trip to Brookings to take on SDSU. It is very likely they lose two down there, but if they manage to steal one there, UND will take being 4-4 with wins over ORU, NDSU, and SDSU on their resume.