Men's Basketball: NDSU Returns Home After West Coast Swing

The NDSU men's basketball team returned to the tundra after their first road trip of the season.

NDSU opened their season at home against the University of Minnesota Crookston. The Golden Eagles gave the Bison a test in their first game of the year. We also got to see the first starting lineup for the new-look Bison in the regular season:

#5 Andy Stefonowicz

#0 Rob Diaz III

#1 Melvin Bell Jr.

#3 Kaden Tate

#44 Andrew Nagy

In the first half, NDSU led by 12, 38-26. Andy Stefonowicz was the true “point general” for the Bison. Melvin Bell Jr. was amazing for NDSU with his physical presence in the paint. Late in the second half, Stefonowicz split a screen and dished a no-look pass to Bell Jr. for a fantastic flush to wrap up the game.

The Bison won 90-59 after an impressive 52 points scored in the second half. It’s a testament to last year's team and how adaptive they were in the second half. The one familiar trait that the team currently has is its shooting ability.

Head Coach Dave Richman on the game in his opening press conference: “Challenge is the word. It’s a great group, I love their intentions, they’re fun to be around, and I’m proud of the way we settled in. I think sometimes they try to be perfect.”

After the Crookston win, the team traveled to California for their first west coast swing trip of the season. In a five-day span, they played Saint Mary's, an annual NCAA tournament team, the University of San Francisco, and a familiar foe in Cal-State Bakersfield Roadrunners.

NDSU got boatraced against the Gaels. Saint Mary's pounced early on the Bison, and it got ugly. NDSU trailed by 19 to end the first half, 45-26. Stefonowicz and co. struggled to get into any rhythm from the field.

The Gaels put on a defensive clinic. They held NDSU to 37% shooting from the field and 21.7% from three-point range. The other crucial part was that Saint Mary's had 20 three-pointers. That almost outscored NDSU the whole game.

NDSU would end up dropping the game 105-64. Rob Diaz III led the team in scoring with nine, and it was that kind of day for the Bison offense to provide 12 assists and 11 turnovers.

The second California game was a lot closer. The University of San Francisco Dons welcomed NDSU to the Bay, and it was a thriller.

Another slow start in the first half for NDSU plagued them in the first 20 minutes. The Dons jumped up to a 14 point lead, 45-31. Rob Diaz III, the motor of the team, led the second half comeback.

Late in the second half, Diaz III hit a lay-up off the glass to get within four of the Dons, 63-59. But Andrew Hillman shut the door on the Bison. San Francisco ended up with the win; Hillman had 22 points and concluded the game with a layup, 79-70.

NDSU wrapped up their West Coast road swing with Cal-State Bakersfield. Cal-State Bakersfield is a Big West team with tournament experience.

The Bison were without their star point guard, Andy Stefonowicz, for the game. That didn’t matter for the Roadrunners. Jaden Alexander scored 41 points.

Max Iverson got the start for Stefonowicz and impressed. He led the team in scoring with 20 points and two steals.

The first half was back and forth, but the Roadrunners went into the half up six, 38-32. They found rhythm working inside the paint and outside. But they struggled in pick-and-roll coverage in the first half, with Bakersfield's bigs getting free runs to the rims.

They would figure that out in the second half. NDSU scored 48 points and found rhythm, with three-point shooters making 15.

Unfortunately, the Roadrunners scored 53 in the second half and couldn’t stop Alexander from the paint, mid-range, and three-point line.

NDSU would lose 91-80 to make the West Coast swing a zero in the win column for the men's team.

The Bison will be back at the SHAC at 7 p.m. on Nov. 13 to face a team out of the Missouri Valley Conference in Illinois State.

HAVELKA Thoughts:

Watching the West Coast string of games made me reflect on how this team is almost identical to last year's team. In a sense, a lot of the issues that have plagued this team are slow first-half starts or rotation issues (I’m not a coach).

NDSU on their West Coast stretch averaged 29 points in the first half, which is identical to what happened last year with Oregon State and UC Davis.

What other problems plagued last year's team's second-half defense? They’ve allowed close to 50 points (49) on this three-game stretch. I also think the perimeter defense needs some help, but I digress. To build a resume for the NCAA tournament, you need to win these games, and it starts with defense.

Lastly, I like how this team is gritty and how they are starting to gel together. They attack the paint strong, confident shooting the three, and aren’t afraid to back down in the paint. If it’s a repeat of last year's team identity, I’m all for it.