After a 12 day break, the Jacks came out firing. Hitting TEN threes in the first half, UND never really stood a chance. Leading by as much as 24 points the game was all South Dakota State.
SDSU was averaging nine threes a game but eclipsed that number early in the game, hitting 14 total at a scary 63.3% clip. Noah Fridel led all scorers with 24 points but the person who scored the second most may surprise everyone. Luke Appel scored 15 points off 6 of 8 shooting. Wilson and Arians scored 12 apiece and Baylor Scheierman collected another double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Jacks shared the ball incredibly well, having an assist on 21 of the 31 made baskets.
If there was one area that the Jacks can look back and improve on, it would be the turnovers. The Jacks were sloppy at times with the ball and it led to 16 turnovers. This resulted in a slow start in the second half.
Overall the Jacks did exactly what everyone would expect from them this season. They shared the ball, hit the three, and scored evenly throughout the team. The Jacks will continue to look for Noah and Doug to lead the team in scoring but having guys like Luke starting to show great minutes off the bench will be a huge addition this season. The lack of depth at big could be solved if Luke keeps performing to a high level like he has in conference play.
SDSU needs to come out with the same intensity in their second game against UND. UND has split every series up to this point including a win over rival NDSU. If the Jacks come out with the same intensity they did in game one it should not be a problem.
For more in-depth coverage of SDSU basketball tune every Wednesday to the Rabbit Rundown; available wherever you listen to podcasts!