Tough, tough, tough, tough loss
There isn't a silver lining in UND's 107-96 four-overtime loss against Utah Valley on Thursday night at the Betty.
Yes, UND is a transitioning Division I program that plays a lot of freshmen.
But the Sioux should have been able to close out the game against Utah Valley. The Sioux led by 11 with 6 1/2 minutes left in regulation. To that point, UND's defense was tough as it's been all season. With 6 1/2 to go, Utah Valley had scored 39 points. In UV's four previous games against D-1 teams, the Wolverines had averaged around 85 points.
UV just kept grinding away. Kept playing.
The Sioux kept playing, but missed free throws - 22 in all. And the most stinging part was UND's inability to hold a 7-point lead in the final 37 seconds of the third overtime.
 As disappointing as the loss is, the Sioux program is taking steps forward. But a win against Utah Valley would have been one of the program's more notable wins since making the D-1 move.
But it was back to work Friday at the Betty. The players were in the weight room at 10:30 and two coaches hit the road for a recruiting trip to Canada.
January 21st, 2011 - 22:31
I’ll never understand why it is that male basketball players are often so much worse at free throw shooting than are female players. The UND women have six players who play regular minutes who shoot 75% or better on the season. The men have two. Last night’s free throw shooting was a disgrace.