NDSU @ USD Friday, Dec 29

[kiyoat]

Nothing better to do than get the game thread started.....  This looks like potentially the best conference match-up in the opening weekend.  Will be on the SLN.

Predictions:

Yotes win 72-64 (-8) Massey
Yotes win 73-58 (-15) WN

[kiyoat]

NDSU is led this year by two guards, 



5'-8" Senior Guard Heaven Hamling (#11)



6'-3" Sophomore Guard Elle Evans (#21)

These two lead the team in minutes (28.7/32.3),scoring (12.9/12.1), rebounding (4.8/4.8), and assists (2.5/2.5).   Hamling leads in steals (1.8), and Evans leads in blocks (1.4).  The two also lead the team in FG Attempts (12.1/11.4), 3-point attempts (6.2/5.6).  They also lead in turnovers (2.5/2.6).

[marco]

A team that was picked above us in the preseason poll. This is a big first game a game we need to win on our home court. Our rebounding has improved but turnovers still a problem. I look for a 10 point win.

[kiyoat]

new Bison Sports Network interview up with NDSU HC Jory Collins from yesterday:

www.collegesportslive.com/video/ndsu/womens-basketball/the-bison-womens-basketball-show-with-jory-collins-20231228013240405038/

It's a good interview, so check it out if you have some time.  It's a half-hour, so I'll post some quotes:

on last year's sweep of USD, first since 2000 season:
9:40 "...They've just been so good for so long... the league has been, at the top, the South Dakota schools.  It felt good to beat South Dakota, and we've got to try to do it again.  We've got to beat the Jackrabbits too.  I mean, it's a tall task.  But I know we're up for it..."

on Grace Larkins:
18:34 "...She's just a complete player.  She's gonna have every chance to be up for POY candidate.... She's so agile and crafty around the basket.  Her number-one attribute is in-transition she can push the ball into the lane, and to be able to find some wiggle-room... finish at the basket, and great at getting fouled... Defensively she's a disruptor... I think she's one of the more complete guards in the league, and definitely the Midwest."

On Holmes and DePerry:
19:33 "Holmes is an elite shooter.  big guard but a quick release.  She stretches the floor for them.  When you have someone who can penetrate like Larkins, it's great to have a player like Holmes standing out there... who can knock them down.  The DePerry kid... very, very physical.  I've been impressed with her on film.  Someone who throws her weight around and can really bury you in the post as a 4-man.  Love her tenacity around the basket.  She's giving them a lower-post presence from someone other than their 5-man.  She's brought some physicality back to their team for sure..."

On NDSU's Juniors and Sophomores (NDSU has a lot of seniors and freshmen):
25:24 "Elle (Evans) has been fairly consistent.  She hasn't really had a 'bust-out' game yet, but she's been affecting the game on both ends.  Abby Graham, Leah Mackenzie, those are two players we've gotta have some more consistency out of.  They've all had moments that have been really good, but... what can you provide on a daily basis that can put our team over the edge?  They are plenty capable...

On Abbie Draper (6-2 Junior Forward):
26:25 "Drapes had three games in a row with 14, 15, 16 points, and close to double-figure rebounds, then the next four was like a 3-and-3.  Then she comes back and has another really great game the other night.  If we're gonna be towards the top... we will need our best guys, and I would consider Drapes to be one of them, to be consistent producers on a nightly basis.

On the matchup with USD:
30:00 "For us to have a good (chance), we've gotta control Larkins in transition, and not give up transition 3's.  When they are going really well, they are getting some early offense out of her ability to push it, and break down defenses.  And they have multiple players that can catch and shoot it at a high level.  We need to have them have-to execute in the half-court, and not have them come down and get one or two-pass 3-balls."

[kiyoat]

Jory Collins is a good coach IMO. He's a "never satisfied" type of coach. Hard on his players and always challenging them. I also like coaches who are honest in interviews about strategy, not trying to keep things too close to the vest. I AM surprised he didn't talk much about Hamling in that interview, though. Basically his best player.

Seems like the NDSU roster has added some size over the last few seasons. Will be interesting to see how we handle the Hamling-Evans combo on defense.

[kiyoat]

FWIW here are our common opponents:

stat		NDSU vs CU	USD @ CU	---	NDSU @ UNC	USD @ UNC
points		52	55		67	72
points (opp)		75	81		60	59
FG%		.327	.327		.491	.429
FG%D		.450	.419		.442	.354
3PT%		.267	.158		.278	.222
3PT%D		.263	.324		.556	.111
FT Att		21	26		13	25
FT Att (opp)		19	10		22	17
Reb margin		-4	-8		-2	+3
TO margin		-9	-8		+7	+1
A/TO		0.42	0.64		1.00	1.14
A/TO (opp)		1.12	4.17		0.43	0.47

What do we take from this?  these four games are pretty comparable, actually.  The biggest disparities are in arc-shooting.  Creighton destroyed the Yotes from the arc, and UNC couldn't hit a shot against the Yotes.  The Yotes are drawing more fouls from opponents, and have a slightly better Assist/Turnover ratio.  I think we have improved since these two games, but if we have a bad shooting night we could be in trouble.

[yote18]

I think this game might be a little closer than the predictions. But I think the cardiac coyotes squeak out a win. I’m glad we have them first tbh, as I see them being a team that improves as well throughout the season.

My biggest concerns with tonight are the 3rd quarter(we’ve let some games get away or get closer than they need to be), turnovers( no explanation needed) and our defensive intensity(If our shots stop falling are we gonna buckle down and make it a low scoring affair).

[yote18]

We aren’t going to finish top half of the league with performances like this.

[dbyote]

How on earth did we win 10 games in non con. We're terrible on both offense and defense. Terribly coached tonight

[yote18]

Dec 29, 2023 20:13:34 GMT -6 dbyote said:

How on earth did we win 10 games in non con. We're terrible on both offense and defense. Terribly coached tonight

We had 10 wins but 3 were non D1. Of the remaining 7 we struggled against some teams that we shouldn’t have. Why we’ve decided to move away from playing defense is the biggest head scratcher out of all this though.

[dbyote]

Dec 29, 2023 20:19:07 GMT -6 yote18 said:

Dec 29, 2023 20:13:34 GMT -6 dbyote said:

How on earth did we win 10 games in non con. We're terrible on both offense and defense. Terribly coached tonight

We had 10 wins but 3 were non D1. Of the remaining 7 we struggled against some teams that we shouldn’t have. Why we’ve decided to move away from playing defense is the biggest head scratcher out of all this though.

If we could play less defense I would be surprised. We're clueless on offense too. That's coaching. Really disappointing

[Men's League Waterboy]

I didn’t watch it so I may be way off base and maybe Collins really did just run circles around Karius. I’m not saying that didn’t happen. But maybe we need to think about coming to grips with the fact that NDSU is just a more talented collection of basketball players right now too.

[dbyote]

Dec 29, 2023 21:05:02 GMT -6 Men's League Waterboy said:

I didn’t watch it so I may be way off base and maybe Collins really did just run circles around Karius. I’m not saying that didn’t happen. But maybe we need to think about coming to grips with the fact that NDSU is just a more talented collection of basketball players right now too.

Definitely do. But we made no adjustments whatsoever. Zero defensive effort

[sdyotefan]

Gave up 55% FG shooting, -16 RBs and shot 52% FTs. All a recipe for a blowout loss. Poor effort overall. We have a deep bench but subbing 2-3 players at a time can disrupt things too much.

Well if this isn't a wakeup call there isn't one. Should make for some intense practices! Next game will be interesting.

[yote18]

Dec 29, 2023 21:05:02 GMT -6 Men's League Waterboy said:

I didn’t watch it so I may be way off base and maybe Collins really did just run circles around Karius. I’m not saying that didn’t happen. But maybe we need to think about coming to grips with the fact that NDSU is just a more talented collection of basketball players right now too.

Collins is a good coach and he DID run circles around Karius, but to be fair she made it pretty easy. NDSU is talented and it shows. But we also have a ton of talent on our team which is unfortunately not being developed and coached up. Karius might want to consider focusing on some fundamentals or something, anything, if she plans to stay long term or use this as a stepping stone.