Still, not a bad start, even if it's a little disappointing that we could easily have been 9-2 at this point. That being said, the Summit League isn't going to be getting any at-large bids, so in the overall scheme of things, these games don't matter quite as much as the rest of the schedule. It's all conference games from here on out, so each game gets us in position for our conference tournament slot.
Up this weekend are two away games.
Friday, January 1st, 1 PM at the Omaha Mavericks
Omaha is 8-6 in non-conference play, with losses against UC Santa Barbara, Colorado, Minnesota, Eastern Michigan, Missouri, and Wyoming (full schedule here: http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketb ... /_/id/2437). Omaha is currently 12th in the country averaging 86 points per game, but 307th in the country in defense, giving up 79 points per game. They're second in the country in free throws attempted and free throws made and 9th in the country in steals per game (9.9).
Sunday, January 3rd, 2 PM at the South Dakota State Jackrabbits
SDSU is 11-3 in non-conferece play, with losses to UMKC, Texas Tech, and Weber State, and wins over Minnesota and TCU (among others...full schedule here: http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketb ... /_/id/2571). SDSU averages 77.9 points per game and gives up 66.7 points per game. This game will be available on ESPN3/WatchESPN.
I'm not able to do much analysis at this point, but I'd say the game at Omaha is winnable but SDSU is going to be pretty tough.
Scott Lawson - Board Admin