NCAA Tournament Media Thread

[NDSUstudent]

Thought we might need a place to post radio interviews, articles and previews instead of a bunch of threads...

Here is a quick breakdown from SBnation on the Bison...http://www.sbnation.com/a/march-madn...ournament-2015

[NDSUstudent]

Coach Richman will be on the Jim Rome Show today...Show airs at 5 p.m. on CBS Sports Network

[tcbison]

Dennis Dodd article:

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebask...just-ask-coach

[NDSUstudent]

Richman on Rome next...

[Hammersmith]

Richman on Rome next...

I wonder what time this segment was taped?

[norm4life]

Coach Richman will be on the Jim Rome Show today...Show airs at 5 p.m. on CBS Sports Network

Dave Richman talks North Dakota State basketball:
http://www.cbssports.com/video/playe...ate-basketball

[ndsubison1]

http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-coll...ta-state-bison

The North Dakota State Bison were able to hold off the rest of the field and claim a Summit League tournament crown for the second straight season. Summit League coach of the year David Richman was able to steer his group to 20 regular-season wins in his first season at the helm, but do the Bison have what it takes to pull an upset?
ESPN Insider has your answers, as Joe Lunardi has enlisted a team of Bracketologists to go deep on each team. Additionally, Joey Brackets will let you know how far he feels each team can go.

TOURNEY PROFILE

Best wins: South Dakota State (twice), Akron
Worst losses: at Southern Miss

Conference finish: 1st, Summit
Polls and metrics: North Dakota State did not post any significant rankings/metrics this season.
All-time tourney record: 1-2
Coach's tourney record: David Richman (0-0)
Bracketology chart | BPI information

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PERSONNEL

(Note: Player statistics are for the regular season only.)
STARTING LINEUP
F Chris Kading (5.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG)
G Lawrence Alexander (19.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG)
G A.J. Jacobson (11.1 PPG, 2.4 APG)
G Kory Brown (8.6 PPG, 4.9 RPG)
G Carlin Dupree (7.0 PPG, 2.8 APG)

Key Bench Players
F Dexter Werner (5.5 PPG, 2.1 APG)
G Paul Miller (6.8 PPG, 3.9 RPG)

Biggest strength: The Bison rely heavily on the 3, and for good reason. Alexander shoots 44 percent from the outside and hit 93 3s in the regular season. NDSU's ability to take care of the basketball and shoot it at a high percentage from the outside makes it a big-time threat for an upset.

Biggest weakness: Lack of depth. Coach Richman rotates seven players and has to rely on Alexander way more than he should. He's out there for almost 96 percent of the available minutes, the most in all of Division I. Fortunately for the Bison, they're one of the best teams in the country in committing fouls, but a more athletic opponent could change that in a hurry.

Best player: Alexander. The Summit League player of the year has incredible range from the outside and can score off the dribble, too. He has made 20-plus-point games a fairly common occurrence in Fargo, North Dakota. Alexander is rarely, if ever, in foul trouble, which is a good sign for a team that can't afford to sit him down.

X factor: Jacobson. The redshirt freshman plays a little older than most his age. Jacobson knocked down 3s and played with a lot of confidence and consistency to close the regular season. When he's hitting his shots, opponents have a tough time focusing on just Alexander, and that can be a game-changer.

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SCOUTING REPORT

Offensive approach: The Bison use a dribble weave and wait for the right angle or seam to get the necessary penetration into the teeth of the defense. When that happens, there are open looks to be had. Alexander is responsible for more than 29 percent of their scoring and needs to be involved for them to win.

Defensive approach: North Dakota State plays mostly man-to-man but doesn't take many chances on D. The Bison force very few turnovers, something to keep an eye in a late-game situation if they need to come up with one.
How they beat you: The boys from Fargo exhaust opponents with their offense. The average Bison possession takes 20 seconds, in the bottom 20 of all Division I. That's not by accident. NDSU's goal is to grind an opponent so much at one end of the floor that it has trouble executing at the other.

How you beat them: The Bison become very vulnerable when anyone but Alexander has to make a play in a tight spot. If NDSU is getting a balanced effort from its other complementary pieces, then Richman's team is likely having a good night. If not, you might have to close the book on the Summit League champs.

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WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

(Note: All statistics in this section are courtesy of kenpom.com and are accurate through games of March 8.)
NATIONAL RANKS
Offensive efficiency, 174th (101.8)
Defensive efficiency, 144th (101.3)
3-point percentage, 35th (38.3)
3-point percentage D, 300th (37.2)
Free throw rate, 189th (36.5)
Free throw rate D, 31st (29.8)
TO percentage, 17th (15.9)
TO percentage D, 289th (17.1)
Good stat: 38.3 3-point percentage

The Bison can stroke it from the outside, ranking 35th in all Division I in this category. The number is a bit skewed, considering Alexander has almost as many 3s as the rest of NDSU's roster combined. Jacobson and Miller are more than capable of making opponents pay as well.
Bad stat: 37.2 3-point percentage D

For as fantastic a job as North Dakota State does shooting the ball from the outside, its defense from the arc leaves something to be desired. The Bison rank 300th in the country in this category and could afford a lot more discipline in their closeouts.

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HOW FAR WILL THEY GO?

Best-case scenario: round of 32
The annals of the tournament are filled with stellar individual performances from players who were virtual unknowns prior to entering the bright lights on the big stage. Alexander knows this all too well, having spearheaded last season's shocker of Oklahoma with 28 points. If he plays to his potential and the Bison control the tempo, they could steal their first matchup.

Worst-case scenario: round of 64 exit
Save for Alexander, much of the core that engineered that upset of Oklahoma last season is gone, unfortunately. A first-year head coach, a younger Bison team and a glance at its nonconference results suggest that an upset in an opening matchup in a second straight Big Dance might be a bit of a stretch.

[DIBISON]

http://footballscoop.com/news/how-ma...the-big-dance/

[NDSUstudent]

Elgin's Kory Brown dancing as NCAA underdog again


The brackets say Kory Brown and 15th-seeded North Dakota State have little chance of beating second-seeded Gonzaga in the NCAA tournament's South Region.

Forgive the former Elgin star and his Bison teammates for yawning a bit over the concept of seeds, simply because they've been here before and showed how little projections mean.

"I don't know if we can sneak up on anyone because you can't really surprise people at this level," Brown said. "Just because you've made it to the tournament, you have to be good.

"But this year I don't think people will doubt us or underestimate us as much because we were there last year. We're going to play hard and expect to win."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburb...316-story.html

[RedRiver]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaa...A9RdK3#image=9