NDSU Day

[TeaJackrabbit]

Re: NDSU Day

1.) Congrats to NDSU. Really appreciate and enjoy the rivalry that we've built up. When Pennick picked up his 2nd foul I thought it was huge for us. Turns out it got Zastrow more minutes...and we all saw how that turned out.

2.) I don't want to say the Bison were lucky, but they had luck on their side. Sheesh. Never in my life, in watching and playing bball for 25+ years, have I ever seen a FT stick in btw the rim and backboard. Unreal.

3.) The first half was a joke. The shooting was unacceptable in your home arena. If we play like normal we are up 10+ at half. At least Sarg isn't afraid to miss and even force it a little. Kai and Garrett get lost too much.

4.) I've already talked about the refs. Everyone in the Summit knows we have awful refs. Refs who think they need to even up foul calls or free throws just burn me up. Refs who change their style or get intimidated by a coach need to hang up the whistle. Hats off to Saul for doing just that. Reminded me of Baylors women's bball coach last March

5.) This one really hurt. Montana game type of hurt. But what does it matter, really? I'm not afraid to face NDSU in SF. It just adds to the rivalry. Loved Nagy's pre-game quote "we don't spend much time looking at the past b/c we know we have a bright future."

[TeaJackrabbit]

Re: NDSU Day

One other thing....I like Tom Nieman. Known him for a long time, just talked to him a few weeks ago. Good guy. But gosh dangit if I hear RABBITS one more time I'm gonna lose it. Why were both guys calling us the RABBITS all night? Stuff like that usually doesn't bother me, but man, that drove me NUTS!!!

[bub94]

Re: NDSU Day

One other thing....I like Tom Nieman. Known him for a long time, just talked to him a few weeks ago. Good guy. But gosh dangit if I hear RABBITS one more time I'm gonna lose it. Why were both guys calling us the RABBITS all night? Stuff like that usually doesn't bother me, but man, that drove me NUTS!!!

Actually, we have a cheer that's "Let's Go Rabbits" so it shouldn't really bother you too much.

[MaddogJack]

Re: NDSU Day

This one only counts in the minds of the Bizon faithful (no disrespect intended - you won for the 8th straight time, I know). But it's like the V.......it's like the V....... it's like the Vi-kingssssss. (didn't know if I could get it out without another seizure)

Regular season loss - tough loss, didn't catch a break, Bizon made the plays. But we all know that the rubber hits the road in Sioux Falls in a few weeks. We want to be playing our best ball and be creating the breaks and we didn't get it don. All is not lost until the final horn sounds in the Arena.

Playing some of our worst ball against a middle of the pack team into 2OTs - we're going to be ok. We are heading into the final stretch and we have a tough road to hoe - but we can do it. Guys need to keep grinding and get their MoJO going. Go Jackrabbits!!!

[CCdeville]

Re: NDSU Day

MADDOGJACK ""This one only counts in the minds of the Bizon faithful (no disrespect intended - you won for the 8th straight time, I know). But it's like the V.......it's like the V....... it's like the Vi-kingssssss. (didn't know if I could get it out without another seizure)""


In the summit league & mid major world, the NCAA's (big dance) is the super bowl, isn't it? so NDSU wouldn't be like the vikings, since NDSU has already been to the super bowl, just in case your forgot. << not smack, just the truth, right?

[SoDakJack]

Re: NDSU Day

MADDOGJACK ""This one only counts in the minds of the Bizon faithful (no disrespect intended - you won for the 8th straight time, I know). But it's like the V.......it's like the V....... it's like the Vi-kingssssss. (didn't know if I could get it out without another seizure)""


In the summit league & mid major world, the NCAA's (big dance) is the super bowl, isn't it? so NDSU wouldn't be like the vikings, since NDSU has already been to the super bowl, just in case your forgot. << not smack, just the truth, right?

Umm...the Vikings have been to the Super Bowl a few times and like the Bison, I believe they also lost to a team with Kansas in their name..

[RabbitObsessed]

Re: NDSU Day

i refuse to blame the refs for a loss. we should have fouled in the last seconds, twice. the refs pi$$ed me off but the loss is on us. it was a fun crowd , however. cant wait till monday night.

Yes, that is poor preparation to not foul in the same situation twice! Terrible.

[filbert]

Re: NDSU Day

I think the Bison continue to demonstrate that they are just mentally tougher than the Jackrabbits are. This is both a coaching and a player issue. The Bison make plays at the end of the game. The Jacks don't.

I think the Jacks are the athletically superior team this year, but on-paper athletic ability doesn't matter if you get out-toughed. The Bison consistently have out-toughed the Jackrabbits.

Regarding refereeing--I think NDSU has adjusted to play a style of basketball that takes advantage of the weak refereeing in the Summit League--mainly they are consistently very, very aggressive on both ends of the floor. Again, the Jacks simply aren't. Aggressive teams tend to get the calls, especially from bad referees.

On defense, the Jacks seem to sit down in that half-court man-to-man and wait for the opponent to do something, rather than making any real effort to force the other team out of what they want to do. Teams that know what they're doing slice up our defense with appalling ease.

On offense, the Jacks are way, way too content to throw the ball around the perimeter for 30 seconds or so before even starting to seriously look to pass or penetrate into the lane. The offense is astonishingly passive. It isn't a "motion" offense, it's a "stand-and-look" offense. Often, Sargent is the only guy on the floor actively looking to take a shot.

The Jacks also show no consistent interest in blocking out and rebounding on either end of the court. I remember one defensive stand where the ball went up, came off the rim, and Cordova attempted what I can only describe as a "fall-away rebound." He was retreating away from the ball and the basket as the ball bounced and was up for grabs. That pretty much typifies the Jacks' overall rebounding attitude: "If the ball drops into my hands, we'll call it good." Dale Moss was the only one who consistently goes aggressively after the ball on both ends.

Now, in weak defense of the Rabbits, it looked like there were a lot of starters that were hurting towards the end of the game--Cordova could barely run up and down the court, and Sargent was cramping up or something, and Williams didn't look real comfortable at times, either. And when Moss was in the game and being active, he was by far the best player on the court.

But the bottom line is that once again, the Bison wanted the game much, much more than the Jacks wanted it. And the Bison got it. Again.

There. That's my rant. All IMHO of course. And if I really knew anything about basketball, I'd probably be coaching, yes?

[MikeHenriksen]

Re: NDSU Day

One other thing....I like Tom Nieman. Known him for a long time, just talked to him a few weeks ago. Good guy. But gosh dangit if I hear RABBITS one more time I'm gonna lose it. Why were both guys calling us the RABBITS all night? Stuff like that usually doesn't bother me, but man, that drove me NUTS!!!

Are you aware that Tom is a former SDSU player?

[Jacks-02]

Re: NDSU Day

I think the Bison continue to demonstrate that they are just mentally tougher than the Jackrabbits are. This is both a coaching and a player issue. The Bison make plays at the end of the game. The Jacks don't.

I think the Jacks are the athletically superior team this year, but on-paper athletic ability doesn't matter if you get out-toughed. The Bison consistently have out-toughed the Jackrabbits.

Regarding refereeing--I think NDSU has adjusted to play a style of basketball that takes advantage of the weak refereeing in the Summit League--mainly they are consistently very, very aggressive on both ends of the floor. Again, the Jacks simply aren't. Aggressive teams tend to get the calls, especially from bad referees.

On defense, the Jacks seem to sit down in that half-court man-to-man and wait for the opponent to do something, rather than making any real effort to force the other team out of what they want to do. Teams that know what they're doing slice up our defense with appalling ease.

On offense, the Jacks are way, way too content to throw the ball around the perimeter for 30 seconds or so before even starting to seriously look to pass or penetrate into the lane. The offense is astonishingly passive. It isn't a "motion" offense, it's a "stand-and-look" offense. Often, Sargent is the only guy on the floor actively looking to take a shot.

The Jacks also show no consistent interest in blocking out and rebounding on either end of the court. I remember one defensive stand where the ball went up, came off the rim, and Cordova attempted what I can only describe as a "fall-away rebound." He was retreating away from the ball and the basket as the ball bounced and was up for grabs. That pretty much typifies the Jacks' overall rebounding attitude: "If the ball drops into my hands, we'll call it good." Dale Moss was the only one who consistently goes aggressively after the ball on both ends.

Now, in weak defense of the Rabbits, it looked like there were a lot of starters that were hurting towards the end of the game--Cordova could barely run up and down the court, and Sargent was cramping up or something, and Williams didn't look real comfortable at times, either. And when Moss was in the game and being active, he was by far the best player on the court.

But the bottom line is that once again, the Bison wanted the game much, much more than the Jacks wanted it. And the Bison got it. Again.

There. That's my rant. All IMHO of course. And if I really knew anything about basketball, I'd probably be coaching, yes?

Great post and this has been a trend in close games all season. Denver, ORU, OAK, NDSU and also could throw in Cal Poly and East Carolina were all games where we had leads but couldn't hold them. As good as the season has been imagine what it would be with those as wins instead of late losses. We'd be sitting at 19-6 with a 12-2 record and tied for first place in the league instead of 4th place and a first round matchup with NDSU.

We are making strides and and are definitely in the right direction, just need to start pulling out the close ones!

[Jacks-02]

Re: NDSU Day

Are you aware that Tom is a former SDSU player?

Maybe that is part of the problem, he's used to using shortened versions of names rather than the actual. Overall I thought it was a very good broadcast of the games, but calling Sunnarborg "Sunny" among other things bothered me a bit.

Again, I THOUGHT THE BROADCAST WAS GREAT, could just use some improvements.

[jackrabbit1979]

Re: NDSU Day

One other thing....I like Tom Nieman. Known him for a long time, just talked to him a few weeks ago. Good guy. But gosh dangit if I hear RABBITS one more time I'm gonna lose it. Why were both guys calling us the RABBITS all night? Stuff like that usually doesn't bother me, but man, that drove me NUTS!!!

We are the Rabbits? What is the problem?

[filbert]

Re: NDSU Day

One other thing....I like Tom Nieman. Known him for a long time, just talked to him a few weeks ago. Good guy. But gosh dangit if I hear RABBITS one more time I'm gonna lose it. Why were both guys calling us the RABBITS all night? Stuff like that usually doesn't bother me, but man, that drove me NUTS!!!

I happen to much prefer "Rabbits" to "Jacks" as the shortened form of "Jackrabbits." There are lots of "Jacks." (Lumberjacks, mostly, like Northern Arizona, but still . . .)

There's only one school that's the Rabbits, and that's us.

[zooropa]

Re: NDSU Day

I think the Bison continue to demonstrate that they are just mentally tougher than the Jackrabbits are.

Disagree. I think you're discarding evidence that doesn't support your conclusion (most obvious example being the ORU win @ Frost).

I think these two games demonstrate the difficulty in shaking off old habits and negative thinking. That's about as far as I'm willing to read into it.

[filbert]

Re: NDSU Day

Disagree. I think you're discarding evidence that doesn't support your conclusion (most obvious example being the ORU win @ Frost).

I think these two games demonstrate the difficulty in shaking off old habits and negative thinking. That's about as far as I'm willing to read into it.

Not sure how an ORU-SDSU game should have a bearing on a judgment of relative want-to between NDSU and SDSU, especially given the facts in evidence of the two games the teams have played so far.

NDSU played better in both games at the end of the games--SDSU didn't. But, I continue to believe SDSU has more physical athletic ability as a team than NDSU does (NDSU has nobody who can do what Dale Moss does, for instance). If NDSU is not athletically superior, the conclusion necessarily follows that NDSU's advantage is mental--be that simple "want-to," or schemes, or a combination of the two.