17Mar/100
Wednesday afternoon notes
This and that from Wednesday afternoon:
- It's no surprise that Ben Jacobson's name is linked to head coach openings at Iowa and Oregon, which fired Ernie Kent. Jacobson is 87-42 at Northern Iowa and has taken the Panthers to the last two NCAA tournaments. The former Sioux player and assistant says he's happy in Cedar Falls. If Northern Iowa beats UNLV in the first round of the tournament, the Panthers will play top-seeded Kansas. If that scenario plays out and Northern Iowa fares well against the top-seeded team in the tournament, expect Jacobson to draw even more coaching interest.
- Doug Elgin, the commissioner of the Missouri Valley Conference, questions why Northern Iowa didn't receive a higher seed in the NCAA tournment. The 28-4 Panthers are a No. 9 seed and are 14-4 in games away from Cedar Falls. Also, 15 teams with a worse RPI than Northern Iowa received a better seed, including some teams that were considered on the tournament bubble before the last few days of conference tournaments.
- UND recruit Allyssa Wall of Dakota Valley (S.D.) High School received the Spirit of Su award at the conclusion of the South Dakota Class A high school tournament last week. Each year, the Spirit of Su Award is given to a senior player that exemplifies outstanding athletic ability, leadership, character, sportsmanship and grade-point average. The Spirit of Su Award is named after Su Anne Big Crow of Pine Ridge. She was killed in a car accident on her way to the South Dakota Miss Basketball banquet in 1992. Wall also was selected to the all-tournament team and scored her 1,000th career point last weekend. She has a 4.0 GPA.
- A few have wondered how close the UND women's basketball team came to earning a berth in the WNIT following its 17-14 season. There is still a ways to go. Best guess is that UND, with Great West Conference regular- and postseason titles in hand, would need between 22 and 24 wins that included some notable triumphs. Next season Gonzaga and Western Kentucky are scheduled to play at the Betty. Those would be notable wins.
- There is no question that the UND women played their toughest-ever schedule this season. Three opponents - Gonzaga, Wisconsin and Wisconsin-Green Bay reached the NCAA Tournament. Seven more qualified for the WNIT - Eastern Michigan, Texas Tech, Toledo, Western Kentucky, Wyoming, Arizona State and New Mexico State, a team the Sioux beat early in the season.
- The Sioux women's team loses four seniors. Wouldn't be surprised to see three junior-college transfers in UND's lineup next season.
- The Sioux men's basketball season certainly had a difficult finish. UND lost its last five games and finished 8-23. No Sioux team has ever lost 23 games in a season. UND recruiting for next season is pretty much wrapped up. But the Sioux are looking for a junior-college guard that can score.
