Arizona kicks off March Madness against the 15-seed Fight Hawks of North Dakota. The game is Thursday evening at 6:50 p.m. MST.
Coming off of being crowned the Pac-12 Tournament Champions, the Arizona Wildcats drew the 2-seed in the West Region. Their first game is scheduled for Thursday evening, at 6:50 p.m. MST, against the North Dakota Fighting Hawks.
The North Dakota Fight Hawks come into the tournament as the Big Sky regular season and conference tournament champions. This is the school’s first-ever trip to the NCAA tournament.
It is also the first meeting between the two schools, but Arizona has some familiarity with the Big Sky Conference (i.e.- Northern Arizona). Also, in the 2014 NCAA tournament, the 1-seed Wildcats faced 16-seed Weber State from the Big Sky.
The Wildcats won that game 68-59, which was much closer than expected. Miller reflected on the 2014 game earlier this week:
“It was a tough game. They were one of the best-coached teams we played during that season. Now we’re playing another team from that same conference, and we know it will be a challenge. We’re not looking past that game. It’s about that game,” said Miller in the press conference.
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So who are the Fighting Hawks from the University of North Dakota? ZonaZealots takes a look at the mid-major team looking to pull off a major upset.
First, a little background on the university.
The University of North Dakota is in Grand Forks, North Dakota. UND has a total enrollment of nearly 15,000 students, making it the states largest institution. This is also the states oldest institution.
Now, let’s take a closer look at their basketball team.
The Fighting Hawks run a three-guard lineup. This is due to their overall lack of size.
There is only one player for North Dakota who is taller than 6-foot-8 (Carson Shanks at 7-feet tall), but his minutes have dwindled as of late. Also, there are only three other players taller than 6-foot-6.
The lack of size helps explain where the team ranks nationally in certain areas. North Dakota ranks 196th in scoring defense (72.8), 269th in total offensive rebounds per game (9.29) and 166th in total rebounds per game (35.94).
To counter a lack of size, the Fighting Hawks try to use pure athleticism to out-run, outwork and out-hustle their opponents.
North Dakota counters the lack of size on the defensive side with steals and forcing turnovers. Currently, they rank 25th in steals per game (7.9), 36th in total steals (245.0), 59th in turnover margin (1.9) and 31st in turnovers forced (15.26).
It will be interesting to see how North Dakota will defend the Wildcats. Smaller teams typically use a zone defense against bigger teams. This allows undersized teams to avoid mismatches in man-to-man schemes.
We must note, that the Fighting Hawks are much more of a man-to-man defensive team. When looking at how many steals they have on the year, and how many per game, its easy to see their lack of size doesn’t seem to affect them. One can expect the whole team to swipe on drives and when the Arizona bigs get the ball on the block.
Offensively, North Dakota holds their own when it comes to national ranks. The Fighting Hawks rank 29th in scoring offense (80.5) and 19th in field-goal percentage (48.3).
They don’t take a lot of three-point shots per game, but when they do, they’re efficient. UND ranks 33rd in three-point field goal percentage at 38.7-percent.
The up-tempo style of play is their bread and butter. North Dakota loves to get out in the open, push the ball and look to catch you off-guard on fast breaks.
A rapid-fire pace allows teams to rely on out-gassing their opponent. The Fighting Hawks are 16-0 when scoring 80 points or more this season.
We expect North Dakota to try and make this game a shoot-out. The longer they are allowed to hang around, the more they feel they can steal a game away.
UND is led by senior Quinton Hooker. The 6-foot guard averages a team leading, 19.1 points per game. Hooker is second on the team in assists with 3.6, second in steals with 1.8 and third in total rebounds with 4.7 per game. He is also shooting 88-percent on the year from the free-throw line and 44-percent from deep.
The second leading scorer for North Dakota is Geno Crandall, a 6-foot-3 sophomore guard. Crandall is averaging 15.6 points per game, 4.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists and two steals per game.
Hooker and Crandall play well off each other. In the Big Sky tournament, they both averaged over 16 points per game. Hooker led the way with 19.3, while Crandall finished with 16 points per game.
North Dakota hasn’t played a team like Arizona this season. The team closest to Arizona’s level was Iowa, where the Fighting Hawks only lost by 11. Arizona’s speed, athleticism, aggressive defense, physicality and sheer size is something they haven’t played against.
https://twitter.com/AZATHLETICS/status/842135531119087616
It’s the Fighting Hawks’ first trip to the NCAA tournament. Nothing would be sweeter than to pull off an upset for the ages. Arizona will need to take North Dakota serious, stick to their game and limit turnovers.
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The Wildcats are playing their best basketball of the season. Those who have success in the tournament come in playing at a high level. Sean Miller believes his team is at that level and still trending upwards. The players and fans are ready. Its time. March Madness has arrived. BEAR DOWN!
Game Notes
- Date: Thursday, March 16, 2017
- Where: Salt Lake City, Utah
- Tip-off: 6:50 p.m. PT
- TV Channel: TBS