North Dakota Takes Down Rival NDSU

Every North Dakota fan or alum will tell you that there is nothing better than beating NDSU. Though we all know that the University of North Dakota has the superior athletic program(!), NDSU fans like to claim that their football success and NCAA Tournament appearance makes it more of a discussion. So, it always feels good to beat NDSU. In this case, it felt especially good to beat a good NDSU team by 18 points, scoring a blistering 1.25 PPP.

UND won this game by simply being excellent offensively. They made 24/39 shots from two-point range, and got to the line an astounding 41 times (making 33 of them, which is no small thing for a team that has struggled at the line the past couple of seasons). (It should also be noted that NDSU made 36 trips to the free throw line themselves).

The star was Troy Huff, who was fantastic again. He followed up his 39 points, 9 rebound performance against Wisconsin with 32 points and 10 rebounds in this game. He was 8/12 from the floor and 13/17 from the foul line. He had three steals. He led the team in scoring and rebounding, and was efficient from downtown (3/6). So far, has looks like every bit the Big Sky POY contender that everyone thought he would be, and then some.

Aaron Anderson once again was his efficient self, scoring 18 points despite taking four field goal attempts. (He was 10/12 from the FT line). Jaron Nash scored 12 points, Chad Calcaterra had 11 off the bench, and Jamal Webb was creating plays for other guys. They got production from their bench, which is another thing that hasn't always been there for UND.

Defensively, UND shut down guys who weren't named Taylor Braun (the NDSU star scored 34 points). All other Bison players were 17/43 from the floor, and 8/14 from the stripe.

UND moves to 2-1 on the year, but this is a win they will feel good about it, especially since NDSU beat them by 20 in Fargo last season. This game, along with the play of Northern Colorado and Eastern Washington, has shown us that the Big Sky is going to be very competitive at the top. North Dakota finished last season strong, and they appear to have picked up right where they left off.

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UND Beats NDSU in Rivalry Game

This involves a future Big Sky team, but allow me to gloat for a minute! As an alum, NDSU is our big rival. We don't like NDSU. So now that the rivalry is starting to get going again (after a few years of hiatus), it is a big win for The University of North Dakota to top North Dakota State University, which they did on Tuesday night, winning 59-54.

Sophomore forward Brandon Brekke (East Grand Forks, Minn.), whose father, uncle and aunt all played in the rivalry at UND, led all players with 17 points to carry his team to a 59-54 victory. The game was the first between the two rivals in Grand Forks in eight years, and drew 7,169 vociferous fans to Ralph Engelstad Arena.

It is an excellent win for the program, and one that will be savored by the players and fans alike.

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The Hilltop Challenge Features Northern Arizona

Sun Belt Basketball has a fantastic writeup on The Hilltop Challenge, a November tournament that features Big Sky Member Northern Arizona.

THE SKINNY

Sun Belt Participant: Louisiana

Date/Time: Nov. 11-13

Location: War Memorial Gym (University of San Francisco)

The Field: Louisiana, North Dakota State, Northern Arizona, San Francisco

Check out the article for a look at NAU and the rest of the teams in the Tournament. NAU could have a chance to steal a couple of solid non-conference victories.