UND First Tourney Bid is Short Lived
The University of North Dakota was in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. And in the blink of an eye, they were eliminated.
The Big Sky Champions were the No. 15 seed in the 'Big Dance' taking on a very talented No. 2 seeded Arizona Wildcats team.
Arizona overpowered and outmatched the Fighting Hawks.
"They really dominated the paint in the first half," North Dakota coach Brian Jones told reporters after the game according to ESPN. "We thought we did a good job of fighting and trying to make them battle for catches further out on the floor. But they were so big. They would go and counter it and shoot right over the top of us."
Early in the game, UND had a 10-9 lead but then Arizona ran away. The Fighting Hawks were also able to get to within seven points with about 12 minutes left in the second half but again the Wildcats were able to get separation.
The Wildcats won 100-82 and Arizona was the only team in the first day of games to top the century mark.
UND can still be very proud of what they accomplished this year winning the Big Sky Tournament and making their first trip to the NCAA Tournament. There's still a lot of work to be done though before North Dakota can compete with the big guys on a national stage.
[ESPN]