NDSU has had one heck of a roller coaster ride so far this season. Between player discipline keeping a few guys out here and there, Sam Griesel undergoing emergency surgery, Jarius Cook missing a game from catching an elbow and just as those two guys get come back, Maleeck Harden-Hayes went down on the road at Montana St. It has definitely not been the start to the season that Coach Richman and this Bison men’s basketball team were looking for but with all of the adversity, they have battled to a 6-4 record so far this season. That record is a little light in the win column compared to what I, and most that follow this team probably expected at this point. I projected this team to be at 8-2 at this point of the season with a best case scenario of 9-1 and a worst case at 7-3, of course I didn’t factor in the majority of the schedule being played without senior leader Griesel. The struggles for this Bison team however have not necessarily stemmed from being down just one player, as even in the game Sam returned in on the road against Montana St, it was more of the same from this club. The production we see in this team at home has not translated to the road, the reason? A significant issue with turnovers and low shooting percentages away from the SHAC. NDSU has averaged 15.6 turnovers per game and have shot an abysmal 33.09% from the field in their 5 road contests versus just 10.2 turnovers per game and shooting 51.02% at home, this has resulted in a 5-0 record at home but just 1-4 record away. Obviously some of it can be contributed to level of competition but in watching the games, much of it just comes down to execution. The turnovers are often unforced, whether it’s bad passes, stepping out of bounds, traveling or other just simple mental mistakes that seem to plague the team when they get outside of the comfort of their home court. The shooting is much of the same, it’s not necessarily that the team is taking bad shots on the road, they just aren’t getting the to fall at the same clip as they do at home and when that is combined with getting less shot attempts from all of the turnovers it has just lead to this team not producing enough points to get much needed road wins. The good news for the team and for Bison fans is that it is all fixable, this team is undeniably talented and deep and coach Richman just needs to find a way to get this team to execute on the road the same way they do at home and for me it all starts with one simple solution…work the ball through the post. The strength of this Bison team is that 3 of our most talented players are 6’10” plus, get the ball on the block to Kreuser, Nelson and Morgan and let them go to work. Either those guys will get some easier shots around the basket or teams will be forced to double team leaving open opportunities for their teammates. This team has also looked most comfortable scoring when they’ve been behind late in games and start pushing the ball more and trying to score quickly, I know it’s not Dave Richman style to put up quick shots but it might be time to loosen the reins a little and let the herd get out and run a bit. One things for sure, for this team to get where they want to go, they are going to have to win some games on the road in conference play so something needs to be done quickly. The Bison have 2 non-conference games remaining, one at home this evening, which I will touch on in a second and one on the road Friday night against a very beatable Pacific team, would be nice to see this team put together a good performance against Pacific to build some road confidence heading into the conference season.
Now on to the task at hand. The final non-conference home game of the season against Indiana St out of the Missouri Valley conference. NDSU last met the Sycamores in 2019 and fell to them 71-60 in a game played at Indiana St. This season, ISU was not given much credit in the preseason poll, as they were picked 9th of the 10 MVC teams. Last season, they went 15-10 and finished 4th in the MVC but had their season ended in the 2nd round of the conference tournament by the eventual conference champion and NCAA March Madness darling Loyola Chicago Ramblers. This year’s ISU team does not have a ton of size, so I’m really looking for the Bison to force feed the ball down low as I mentioned above and make the Sycamores defend in the paint. It should be a great game and is a much needed non-conference win after the teams start to the season. ISU has been a strong basketball program year over year and a name Bison fans should be very familiar with, it’s Monday night, it’s a great home opportunity, let’s get out and pack the SHAC BisoNation and help get this team rolling in the right direction!