For UND Men’s Basketball, 9-17 (3-8 Summit) is not a record they are satisfied with. However, they have proved to be very dangerous despite their record.
Outside of the Summit League, they have played tough teams close all season long.
The most notable game was their 97-90 loss to Alabama, where they led by as much as nine points against one of the best teams in the nation. To fans, this was similar to a March Madness caliber game.
“We knew how tough the game was going to be,” Dariyus Woodson said after the loss to Alabama. “We know how good they are, but we also know that we’re good and how good we can play when we play hard.”
Treysen Eaglestaff also proved he can be a premier scoring option at any level of college basketball scoring 40 points against a top 50 KenPom defense.
According to ESPN, Eaglestaff was the first mid-major player to score 40 points against an AP Top 10 opponent since 2012.
It was the second time that a UND player scored 40 points in a game in the Division I era ever. Geno Crandall scored 41 points against Troy in 2017.
Back in November, the Fighting Hawks picked up a 77-71 win at home over Utah Valley University.
The preseason All-Summit League first team duo of Eaglestaff and Amar Kuljuhovic shined. Eaglestaff scored 31 and Kulijuhovic scored 17 in the win.
Utah Valley currently sits ahead of Grand Canyon University, holding the number one seed in the Western Athletic Conference.
UND also went on the road for a decisive 77-73 win against Loyola Marymount.
LMU is 10-4 at home this season with key wins over Nevada, UC Santa Barbara, Oregon State, and Santa Clara. It sits in the middle of a very dangerous West Coast Conference.
UND has also played with the best in the Summit League, upsetting South Dakota State at home 80-75.
The Fighting Hawks had five double-digit scorers in that game with Eli King leading the charge. He scored a career-high 24 points.
“We can compete with anybody in the league,” Eaglestaff said after the upset. “We can beat anyone in the league. That’s really it. It just shows that we actually can, instead of just saying it all the time. It’s just proof.”
They showed that again last Thursday when they visited one of the hottest teams in college basketball, Nebraska Omaha.
They lost the game 80-77 on a buzzer-beater but gave a team that is undefeated at home in Summit League play its toughest game to date.
Omaha has won 12 of its last 13 and sits in first place in the Summit League.
UND has the players and in-game experience to compete with anyone, but it will all come down to the Summit League tournament.
Will they get hot and make a run? With just five games until the conference tournament, they look to gain momentum.
The Fighting Hawks are coming off a pair of road losses after losing 80-69 at Kansas City. They will return home for a three-game home stretch, starting with Denver on Thursday night.
Elijah Andrews is the Dakota Student Sports Reporter. He can be reached at elijah.andrews@und.edu.
