Arizona Basketball kicks off Roman Main Event against NDSU

Arizona Basketball (2-0, 0-0) is off and rolling with big, back-to-back wins over NAU and UTRGV, but now the Cats prepare for North Dakota State (2-1, 0-0). 

The 2021-22 Arizona Basketball season is well underway at this point as the Wildcats are off and rolling with big, back-to-back wins over Northern Arizona and Texas Rio Grande Valley last week.

However, at 2-0, the competition only gets tougher as we continue to progress through the non-conference schedule for the Wildcats.

Kicking off the Roman Main Event, Arizona should have an interesting challenge on their hands here as this is an opponent that they do not traditionally play, and have not played for a few years.

Nonetheless, the Wildcats still enter this one heavily favored, and following their strong showing against the Lumberjacks and Vaqueros last week, head coach Tommy Lloyd and the Cats will look to continue their strong play as they hope to go 3-0.

Getting to Know the details of Arizona Basketball’s opponent, the North Dakota State Bison.

Team: North Dakota State 

Conference: Summit League Conference

2020-21 Record: The Bison finished last year with a 15-12 (11-5) record in the abbreviated Covid season but NDSU came up just short, losing to Oral Roberts in the Conference Championship game to end the year.

Head Coach: David Richman enters his eighth season with the Bison having compiled a 138-88 record and taken North Dakota State to three NCAA Tournament bids in seven seasons.

Keys to the Game:

Start Fast – Arizona is the clear favorite in this game, and once again should have every competitive advantage against the Bison.

The Wildcats were sharp against Texas Rio Grande Valley from start to finish, eventually pacing themselves to the 54-point win.

With North Dakota State being a little bit better of an opponent, Arizona needs to be focused in this one as well, hopefully jumping out to a quick start and pacing themselves to a big win.

Slow Down Rocky Kreuser – A senior forward on the Bison, Rocky is easily North Dakota State’s best player as he is averaging 19.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game so far.

Share the Rock – So far, the Wildcats have done a great job in sharing the ball as they have combined for 50 assists to just 24 turnovers in their first two games. Arizona has shown they spread the floor well and do a great job in getting others involved, and when they do that, good things happen.

Against NDSU, a big focal point of the Wildcats’ success would be to best replicate the results from the first two games. If Arizona can continue to share the rock, get others involved, and spread the floor, they will come away with the big win.

Arizona Basketball versus North Dakota State game information and details:

Date: Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021

Time: 7:00 P.M. MST / 6:00 P.M. PST

Location: McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz. (14,545)

Spread: -16.5 Arizona (Also, don’t forget to use WynnBet to enhance your betting experience)

Television: Pac-12 Network

Radio: 107.5 FM (Tucson) / 1290AM (Tucson) | Arizona IMG Sports Network

Team Records:

Arizona Wildcats (2-0, 0-0): Arizona has won their first two games by an average of 41.5 points, and as the competition gets tougher with NDSU looming, the Cats look to take care of business and improve to 3-0.

North Dakota State Bison (2-1, 0-0): Starting their season off with wins over Concordia-Moorhead and Cal Poly, the Bison fell last night in Las Vegas to UNLV. NDSU hopes to rebound against Arizona in McKale.

All-Time Record (since 1949-50): Arizona and North Dakota State have only met once since 1949-50, where the Wildcats came away with the 30-point win in Tucson in 2017. The two teams haven’t met since.

Last Meeting vs. Arizona: The last time these two teams met was in 2017, where Arizona came away with the 83-53 win ranked as the No. 17 team in the country.

My Prediction: Arizona 88 NDSU 65 – Arizona has dominated their first two games, and while I see North Dakota State providing a tougher challenge, the Wildcats should still cover and come away with another convincing win.