Chances against Gophers

[Gully]

I knew Andre was a good player, but we're missing him more than I thought we would. We have very limited inside scoring potential, Moorman doesn't even look to score unless it's an outside J or a putback.

We couldn't stop Tollackson at all last year and without Andre I'm afraid it could get ugly.

I don't really like our chances this year without a strong inside presence. Who knows, I thought we had a good shot the last two years and came up short so maybe I'll be wrong again when I pick the Gophers to win.

[NDSUstudent]

Last year the team shot 29.2% and the year before that 39%. Combine those numbers with not taking care of the ball and it equals two losses. As for Tollackson, he is a good player but he won't dominate anybody. If we take care of ball and shoot well it is a game we should be able to win.

[BisonBlogger]

Where this current team has made strides this year is how they are taking care of the ball. Turnovers are down and the offense has benefited. I would expect us to score in Minnesota also.

Defense will be the key. How we help in the paint and recover to their shooters and make our defensive rotations will be the determining factors to if we are in the game or ahead in crunch time.

[Swat_Team10]

Echo those thoughts...this team has admitted its defense is lacking and they need to improve that area of play. scoring and taking care of the ball is not an issue...they have been playing together for three years. they are the same offensive page with each other. My question is Saul and the staff changing some things strategy wise on that end of the court? or is it lack of discipline? To much gambling? what is the specific issue? All I know is that I have seen the Bison 4 times this year, and they are kind of SOFT right now. Maybe thats just it!
Good Luck fellas...this is your year to win in THE BARN!

[lakesbison]

believe it or not.. the last 2 years AT williams, Woody and the boys were OVERCONFIDENT... especially last years' game.

they wont be this year, they are a SOLID 10-15 point underdog, gophs looked good for awhile vs a VERY good Florida State team. Tubby has them performing on the offensive side (last 2-3 years they didnt have a freakin clue)

Blake Hoffarber, Mckenzie might rain too many 3 pters on us and yes Tollackson and Coleman are gonna bang it on us down low(SEE GREEN BAY GAME).. hopefully they dont watch the 2nd half film on that game!!


If Woody can dominate, we make it a game, thats the bottom line.. sorry woody.. but the pressure will be on you to be the difference maker EVERY GAME!

[99Bison]

Defense lacking, needs improvement, check. Inside problems on D, needs improvement, check. Overconfident last year, absolutely check, MN playing better this year, check.

Scoring will be fine unless Woodside cathes Jordan syndrom again - like lakes suggests he should.

[Herd]

Last year MN had 6'5 Payton on Woody, and he had a hard time getting shots. MN D smothered us last year. We need a balanced scoring effort from Woody, Winks, Tveidt, and Nelly to have a shot. This is a game that Zo would get lots of minutes. We will improve when he arrives.

IMO, our team plays well when Winks and Nelson are scoring and Woody is dishing and getting everyone involved. When woody has to carry the scoring load, we bog down.

[99Bison]

IMO, our team plays well when Winks and Nelson are scoring and Woody is dishing and getting everyone involved. When woody has to carry the scoring load, we bog down.

++++++++++++++

2 assists from a 'point guard' last game... Ah thats not really a good stat no matter what.

[SirHinn]

believe it or not.. the last 2 years AT williams, Woody and the boys were OVERCONFIDENT... especially last years' game.

they wont be this year, they are a SOLID 10-15 point underdog, gophs looked good for awhile vs a VERY good Florida State team. Tubby has them performing on the offensive side (last 2-3 years they didnt have a freakin clue)

Blake Hoffarber, Mckenzie might rain too many 3 pters on us and yes Tollackson and Coleman are gonna bang it on us down low(SEE GREEN BAY GAME).. hopefully they dont watch the 2nd half film on that game!!


If Woody can dominate, we make it a game, thats the bottom line.. sorry woody.. but the pressure will be on you to be the difference maker EVERY GAME!

If Hoffarber even sees the floor considering he's only playing 14 minutes a game and so far McKenzie has struggled from 3 point land averaging 33% so far. Bottom line is if the Big 3 show up, it'll be a close game. If I were a gambling man, I'd take NDSU to cover the spread.

[ThunderDan]

Hate to say it, but I think the Gophers will win quite handily this year. Are they a great team? No, but they are MUCH improved over last year, with the same exact players. Tubby can get them to play, considering he doesn't have much to work with. NDSU does not have the depth....actually they don't have a bench at all. Freddie Coleman is the closest thing they have to a bench but he's not gonna score. I foresee the Gophers winning by about 15-20 points. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't see it that way unfortunately.

[SlickVic]

whatd saul say at team makers?

[tcbison]

I really want to see Woodside and Winkleman play well. Last year the only games I went to were the Minnesota and Iowa State games which were the worst games of the year for both of them.

[Herd]

++++++++++++++

2 assists from a 'point guard' last game... Ah thats not really a good stat no matter what.

When we play DI defenses (not Mayville), the scoring needs to be balanced and we needs 3-4 scoring threats. When Woody has to carry the scoring load, we are an easy mark for teams that can defend well. Just a fact. Nelson, Tveidt and Luc need to be involved.

[Herd]

We are not at MN's level athletically, and that has been the story the last 2 years at the barn. Their defense was the story last year. Zo would really help that situation, but we wait for CO St.

For NDSU to stay close and potentially win in MN, we will have to . . .
Get balanced scoring with 4 players in double figures
Win or come close to winning the rebound battle
Win the turnover battle
Play at a much higher emotional level than the last 2 years

MN's emotional level will be 3x what it has been the last 2 years. The bison will need to match that intensity or yes, it could be a one-sided game.

[Gully]

I think we need to play zone, pack it in, hope they miss the 3 and then box out. Then we'll have a chance if we can shoot this year against them.

[Mr. Burgundy]

We need to play perfect. Woody has to avoid wanting to score 100 on the team he should be playing for, and avoid foul trouble. We had the game two years ago. Kids were playing great, he left with 3 fouls with plenty of time still to play in the first half. Winks has some options against this team. Lucas might be the key. Spencer isn't a great big 10 center, but he is ALOT better than anything we have. It would be really nice for Josh Vaughn to awake from this 3 year nap he is taking and provide us some punch. Freddie has the athleticism to play at this level. We have a shot, it might be a long shot, but we have a shot. Really have to hope they don't come out strong early, and if they do....we need to have a plan of attack. They aren't going to be embarrassed like Brewster's crew was.

[NDSUstudent]

I don't know about needing to play perfect, the Gophers are improved but they aren't Duke. In order to win the team needs to shoot better and take care of the ball. If we can do that and play the kind of defense Saul says he is seeing in practice we can win this game.

[BisonAccountant44]

I don't get all the negativity surrounding this game. I don't think Bisonville has ever had this many people posting this much doom and gloom before a game. Why is that? What makes this gopher team so much better than every other team we've faced over the last few years that many of our own are predicting a 15+ blowout loss, and are just hopeing to keep it close? Not just in this thread, but in a few others on here as well.

I mean yes the gophers are better than they were last year. They have a better coaching staff than last year. We do need to find a way to actually play a full 40 minutes at 5 on 5 instead of 4 on 5, and we need to play well to win no doubt about any of that, but that doesn't sound much different to me than any other game we play at this level.

I'm not saying that we should all be on here saying Bison by 30, but let's give the boys some credit here. As long as Saul doesn't have to spend most of the game changing diapers like Tim did last year this should be another close hard fought game that's decided in the last few minutes

[SDbison]

I don't get all the negativity surrounding this game. I don't think Bisonville has ever had this many people posting this much doom and gloom before a game. Why is that? What makes this gopher team so much better than every other team we've faced over the last few years that many of our own are predicting a 15+ blowout loss, and are just hopeing to keep it close? Not just in this thread, but in a few others on here as well.

I mean yes the gophers are better than they were last year. They have a better coaching staff than last year. We do need to find a way to actually play a full 40 minutes at 5 on 5 instead of 4 on 5, and we need to play well to win no doubt about any of that, but that doesn't sound much different to me than any other game we play at this level.

I'm not saying that we should all be on here saying Bison by 30, but let's give the boys some credit here. As long as Saul doesn't have to spend most of the game changing diapers like Tim did last year this should be another close hard fought game that's decided in the last few minutes
Well, the Bison lost by around 10 points the last couple years. This year the Gophers are a bit more experienced and they have Tubby and momentum in their favor. NDSU lost Andre (16+ points per game average, not to mention rebounding and middle D presence) and is still getting zilch off the bench. Some of the NDSU's losses this year have demonstrated how much the team lacks depth and is missing a physical guy down low. Go figure.