GDT: SDSU Jackrabbits(11-2) vs UND Fighting Hawks(6-6) @ Betty Engelstad Sioux Center

[SUPERBUNNY]

There's something different about this year's team. They've only lost two conference game on the road and one was at USD withouth Wilson who is one of two IMHO up for POY. They play far better defense than we've seen for a few years, they are unselfish, and pass the ball extremely well. The young players have really become acclimated and are playing well. Plus, due to putting Arians at PG, we now have a very deep rotation. Who would have thought any of that stuff would happen this year? This team plays like a veteran club but is one of the youngest teams in the entire nation.

So, with that said, I not only expect them to go up to Fargo and compete but I expect them to win. NDSU will be favored as they should be as a veteran club on their home floor on Senior Night. We barely won in Brookings. It is a tough place to win and the Jacks have struggled up there. This just has a different feel to it. This is the perfect team to break through in Fargo.

Any way you slice it, this should be a fantastic game. The type of game that you want to have for the conference championship.

After that, I really like our chances in Sioux Falls. My expectation is that it will be these two teams playing to go to the Dance on Tuesday at the Summit. SDSU will have the overwhelming fans support, but the Bison will have the good vibes of winning the Summit last year. Who knows what will give?

Again, how fun has this been? A year where we lost 80%+ of our offense from last year and four valuable seniors. This team is better right now than the team we had last year thanks to their defensive efforts and unselfish way they play on offense. Saturday should be an amazing atmosphere in Frost Arena against USD. Then a business trip to Fargo. Wrap it up in Sioux Falls in two weeks. This is as good as it gets for Jacks basketball. Get to the games and enjoy it!

SUPERBUNNY

[91jack]

Even worse than I thought, he has barely hit rim on his last few. Great defense by Wilson tonight, huge trap and turnover on Stewart.

Did Wilson really play great defense? He was either guarding Walter (7-11 from 3, with 3 assists and 1 TO) or Rebraca (10-12 FG, 1 assist and 1 TO) all night. Yes, he would hedge out (to about mid court) and leave his man but they both had great games. With Detlinger on the bench, he had to match up with one of them.
He does have several blocks and steals but a lot of them come from him gambling off his man. Those are either great defensive plays or Detlinger has to pick up his man until he gets back into position. He is a force on the offensive end but being able to guard 4 positions seems like a stretch to me. He's not a bad defensive player but I just don't see that he is really great.
Some of that might have been the game plan. Early in the game, his guy was at the top of the key. Detlinger's man received the ball about 12 feet from the basket on the other baseline. Wilson ran down to double team. They passed it to Wilson's man and he drained a 3.

[Southeast]

I originally posted the text below in the wrong thread....

UND played about as good as they were capable of that first half. It had to be demoralizing that we kept answering. It was fun to watch two offenses clicking like that. UND would have run away and hid if we played like we did early in the previous two games.

How nice is it to have Scheierman, Mims and Key waiting on the bench? They put in 50 minutes and scored 19 points last night. Scheierman is going to be another "Swiss Army Knife" like Arians.

It was cool to see Friedel step back into the scoring role last night. It seems like he was just waiting. That will give USD and NDSU something to think about as they consider how aggressively to double Wilson.

[blue?]

This is such a fun mix of talent. We always hear the coach speak about how teammates love playing with each other but it seems legit with this group. There have been times over the last few games where the offensive can get stalled when our posts are taken away and shots from the outside aren't falling, but both Scheierman and Freidel seem to be growing into playmaking roles. If that continues this offense is deadly as teams simply can't account for everyone.

As much as I hate to look too far forward and not appreciate what's happening right now, it's easy to get excited about how good these guy could be next year. It would be really fun to play USC, Arizona, Nebraska, and Indiana again now that the team has settled into their roles. I think we could take at least one of those and be really close on a couple more.

[westernjack]

Did Wilson really play great defense? He was either guarding Walter (7-11 from 3, with 3 assists and 1 TO) or Rebraca (10-12 FG, 1 assist and 1 TO) all night. Yes, he would hedge out (to about mid court) and leave his man but they both had great games. With Detlinger on the bench, he had to match up with one of them.
He does have several blocks and steals but a lot of them come from him gambling off his man. Those are either great defensive plays or Detlinger has to pick up his man until he gets back into position. He is a force on the offensive end but being able to guard 4 positions seems like a stretch to me. He's not a bad defensive player but I just don't see that he is really great.
Some of that might have been the game plan. Early in the game, his guy was at the top of the key. Detlinger's man received the ball about 12 feet from the basket on the other baseline. Wilson ran down to double team. They passed it to Wilson's man and he drained a 3.

Yeah I get really frustrated watching Wilson defend on close outs. He jumps through the roof at every fake and gives the guy an easy lane closer to the hoop. It’s kind of surprising to me that Hendo hasn’t got this corrected with him but maybe they are ok with it

[AZjack]

Yeah I get really frustrated watching Wilson defend on close outs. He jumps through the roof at every fake and gives the guy an easy lane closer to the hoop. It’s kind of surprising to me that Hendo hasn’t got this corrected with him but maybe they are ok with it

I'll agree with that. I'll also say Wilson alters more shots than credited in the box score, especially last night. A few of their drives didn't even touch rim because of his presence. His help trap on Stewart with Mims for the turnover and Baylor dunk was the Jacks defensive play of the game.

[goon]

Wilson needs to avoid foul trouble just like daum last year. Wilson can pick up an offensive dive foul or two. He goes for a lot of blocks. overall we have good team defense so I dont feel anyone is a liability. When any player could lead the team in scoring and good team defense and a productive bench is a good recipe for tournament play.

[SoDakJack]

As much as I hate to look too far forward and not appreciate what's happening right now, it's easy to get excited about how good these guy could be next year. It would be really fun to play USC, Arizona, Nebraska, and Indiana again now that the team has settled into their roles. I think we could take at least one of those and be really close on a couple more.

It isn't just the players. Coach Hendo has really improved his game management. The combination of a young team and a first year coach was bound to cause problems early. I think that we saw a lot of players trying to find their role. The adjustment to the speed, physicality, and grind of D1 basketball is tough.

Although I really liked watching Daum and DJJ light it up from outside, being able to see a team that can also score inside is great. When a team's posts can pass like Dentlinger and Wilson, they become almost impossible to guard. Team have to pick their poison.