After UND’s 85-53 loss to Wisconsin on Tuesday night at the Kohl Center, it’s pretty clear this team is still a ways away from pulling off an upset of a nationally ranked opponent.
On the other hand, the Badgers are going to make a lot of teams look bad this season. The versatility of their posts is incredible. Jon Leuer, the preseason all-Big Ten selection, is 6-foot-10 and might be Wisconsin’s best perimeter shooter. The Sioux had no match for that kind of size and athleticism.
UND’s youth was also evident. Junior Patrick Mitchell, at times, appeared to be the only confident player on the floor for the Sioux. UND’s uber-athletic freshman, Troy Huff, played confident offensively, as well, but almost to a fault. Huff forced a number of shots, especially in the first half. On the other hand, Huff remained effective and led the Sioux in points and drew praise from Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan in the postgame press conference. Huff may have been unable to beat Big Ten defenders right now, but you could definitely see that he’s going to be a handful for Great West Conference opponents. Huff’s explosiveness is unmatched in recent Sioux history.
UND’s offense this season revolves around pick-and-rolls on the perimeter and the ability of Sioux guards to drive to the basket, draw defenders and kick to the open shooter. The problem against Wisconsin was that the Badger defenders were so strong in one-on-one situations. Sioux dribblers couldn’t drive past their defenders, preventing any need for help defense and therefore eliminating any kick-out passing options.
UND’s game against Sacramento State on Friday will be a much greater barometer for this season. The Hornets of the Big Sky are also young and are coming off seasons of two wins in 2008-09 and nine wins in 2009-10.
Just as you have to take UND’s blowout win against Waldorf College with a grain of salt, you also have to be tempered in reaction to a blowout loss to No. 25 Wisconsin. We’ll know much more come Friday.
And yes, I realize the top of my blog now has a picture of a guy walking into the woods. That header reflects a blog with far deeper thoughts than mine possesses, so I’ll get around to changing that eventually.
Its was one game by a young team on one day. I think the Badgers still were stinging from being swept by the Sioux hockey team the previous weekend on their home ice. Go Sioux!
The Sioux do have a good match up to go against Jon Leuer. Mitch Wilmer 6’11″ Sioux center would have kept Leuer at bay alot better and provided the offense the Sioux needed to make a game of it. Brian Jones has made a huge mistake by not utilizing UND’s tallest and most dominant player.
Don’t think it would have made any difference if he had gotten more minutes. UND could not get the ball in to him or anyone else on offense and the Badgers talent and shooting negated any defensive help he would have added. The only chance the Sioux had in this game was to shoot 50+% from near or beyond the 3 pt line. As with past Badger teams they just wear you out, nothing fancy just defense, rebounding and solid shooting.
Spoken like the uncle of Mitch Wilmer.
There is a reason a guy that is 6’11 is at UND, and it’s not because he can shut down the best players in the country. It’s because he isn’t very good at basketball. Brian Jones knows more than Steve A., who I’m assuming is Steve Atwater, great football player but not much of a basketball mind.
or… it’s Stephen A. Smith!
Is it being scored as a moral victory?