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Men want NCC to themselves
Huskies travel to Fargo to try and wrap up sole possession of NCC with win over NDSU
The season's not over just yet.
The SCSU men's basketball team has one more stop on the roller coaster ride that is the NCC regular season when they travel to Fargo Thursday to take on North Dakota State University. Fresh off a victory over the University of Nebraska-Omaha that clinched at least a tie for the NCC title, the Huskies will be looking to lock up the conference crown for themselves with a win over the Bison.
Winning the NCC was one of SCSU's goals heading into the season and they don't want to share the title with anyone else (South Dakota State remains a game-and-a-half out with two games to play).
"We want to get greedy and keep it all to ourselves," junior point guard Alex Carlson said. "If you get on top in this conference that's a great accomplishment."
Head coach Kevin Schlagel put it more bluntly.
"We want to win it, period," he said.
SCSU (22-4, 12-3 NCC), currently ranked second in the North Central Region, will go into a playoff-like atmosphere when they enter Bison Sports Arena tonight. NDSU (18-8, 9-5 NCC) is in fourth place and will be tuned in to knocking off the first-place team in the conference and to exact revenge for the 88-86 overtime loss they suffered at Halenbeck Hall on Feb. 13.
The Bison are led by senior forward Denver TenBroek. The man with the name of the Colorado metropolis is averaging 21.7 points per game and 7.6 rebounds per game, both team highs. NDSU is coming off two huge wins against UNO at home and an upset of the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. TenBroek led the team in scoring in both wins, knocking down 31 points against the Mavs and 23 against the Coyotes. He will no doubt become NDSU's all-time leading scorer against SCSU as he is only seven points off the mark set by Joe Regnier (1,717 points).
The key to stopping the Bison's high-powered attack is slowing down TenBroek.
"He's one of those guys that when they get on a roll they can take over the basketball game," Schlagel said. "We'll throw different people and looks at him. We'll try and control him to the point where we can compete in the game."
"They're pretty guard-oriented," sophomore forward Steve Trull said. "We're just going to try and lock onto them and try to shut them down."
Going on the road and playing at a high level hasn't been a problem for SCSU so far this season. So why should it start being one with a veteran team like the Huskies? St. Cloud owns a 10-1 record away from home this season and playing on another team's court doesn't seem to affect their play.
"We go into the other team's place and stand strong together," Carlson said.
"We're not timid when we go on the road. We just go out there and play our normal game," Trull said.
The Huskies are coming off two straight wins and seem to be heading into March on an up note. Carlson had one of his best games of the season Saturday at UNO with 23 points, five boards and seven assists. He was named co-NCC Player of the Week with TenBroek for his efforts. While his numbers are still strong (10.9 ppg and leading the team in assists with 119), this has been an up and down season for him. However, he may be emerging at just the right time.
"The shots started to fall for me the other night," Carlson said. "That was probably the first time all season where I've looked to shoot as much as I did. If it's there for me I'll shoot it, and if not, we have a lot of other guys who can carry the load."
If SCSU should win tomorrow it would not only lock up the NCC for them, but a No. 1 seed in the Wells Fargo NCC Tournament. That means the Huskies would get a bye in the first round and be host to the entire event. Playing at home in the postseason and having home court advantage is something Trull and his team have been looking forward to.
"That No. 1 seed is what you work for all season," Trull said. "You get a bye and you get to host it in front of your home crowd. It would be a dream come true."
Around the Rim
-Trull on his team right now: "It's great that we're finally playing our best basketball right into the tournament. That's what every team wants to do. Hopefully we can make a run at the national title."
-This is the Huskies first NCC title since the 1987-88 season and fourth since joining the NCC in 1982. SCSU won three straight titles from 1986-1988.
-NDSU leads the all-time series against SCSU 30-25. However, the Huskies have won four straight against the Bison and seven out of the last 10.
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