2025 NSIC Tournament

[Augieholic]

Man, not a lot of people giving the red beavers a chance today. They can definitely win this game. They are better equipped to handle what MSUM does well than most other teams.

I think Minot's path to victory is much more narrow than Moorhead's. Minot's best chance is if Jennisen finds himself in foul trouble.

I'm sure Caleb will still get his numbers, maybe Ayube Bertha has another outburst like he did the last time these two teams played but Moorhead's best player will have the ball in his hands the majority of the time and that's a huge advantage for Scorch. The Dragons are connected on defense, Jennisen has the size to make VDG work for his numbers, and I think they'll make it very uncomfortable for Magic City's guards and wings. Offensively watching Moorhead cycle through multiple actions until they find the best shot is terrifying for the opponents, the ball rarely sticks, everyone knows where to go, and they have a plethora of guys who can shoot or drive.

Dragons by 12.

[simple as a $3 bill]

A side question, if Moorhead wins tonight and Washburn has an early exit from the MIAA, would that be enough to allow Moorhead to host? They were 4 in the last poll but will not have a chance to beat anyone with a higher seed in the tourney.

[NSICHoops]

That's okay, Rochester did the same for a while too....

Once St. Thomas' new arena opens, the tourney should alternate between the Pentagon and Anderson Arena.

[Augieholic]

A side question, if Moorhead wins tonight and Washburn has an early exit from the MIAA, would that be enough to allow Moorhead to host? They were 4 in the last poll but will not have a chance to beat anyone with a higher seed in the tourney.

No. The Regional was always going to be hosted by Washburn no matter who won the NSIC Tourney.

[Mark Emmert's Burner]

I think Minot's path to victory is much more narrow than Moorhead's. Minot's best chance is if Jennisen finds himself in foul trouble.

I'm sure Caleb will still get his numbers, maybe Ayube Bertha has another outburst like he did the last time these two teams played but Moorhead's best player will have the ball in his hands the majority of the time and that's a huge advantage for Scorch. The Dragons are connected on defense, Jennisen has the size to make VDG work for his numbers, and I think they'll make it very uncomfortable for Magic City's guards and wings. Offensively watching Moorhead cycle through multiple actions until they find the best shot is terrifying for the opponents, the ball rarely sticks, everyone knows where to go, and they have a plethora of guys who can shoot or drive.

Dragons by 12.

Agree with all of this. I have to imagine Bergstraser's way of combatting VDG offensive rebounds is to have Logan Kinsey & Shaun Wysocki crash into VDG as he battles Jennissen. Ensuring it's always a 2-on-1 battle will tip those scales a bit more toward limiting his realized OREBs. 2-on-1 crashing leaves you susceptible to tip-backs with an open lane to the rim, but I think you just have to live with that risk. VDG is just automatic if he's within 2 feet of the rim with the ball in his hands.

For defensive matchups when Minot has the ball, I would guess we'll see Wysocki on Cook, Johnson on Gunville, Hastreiter on Berthe, & Kinsey on West (so he can be closer to the rim for rebounding). Hasteiter is not the Dragons' stoutest defender, so if he gets going I'd be curious if they switch to get Wysocki on him.

When the Dragons have the ball, I expect Berthe to get the primary assignment on Johnson, and for him to fight through as many screens as possible. (You obviously don't want VDG on an island against him.) I think West could do alright on him, but I don't know in what scenarios that switch would take place.

X-factor is gonna be the availability of Jacob Beeninga & JaMir Price. If Beeninga's injury last night truly was just a tweak, I could see him wanting to give it a run. Price was more active last night. In general, MSUM has a big bench advantage over Minot.

[laker]

No. The Regional was always going to be hosted by Washburn no matter who won the NSIC Tourney.

The committee puts a huge value on the regular season. When the Mav WBB team won in 2009, they lost to Concordia in the first round of the NSIC playoffs. Still hosted the regional. I think that the men did the same in 2011.

[Millsy]

Once St. Thomas' new arena opens, the tourney should alternate between the Pentagon and Anderson Arena.

Over on a Minnesota HS Hockey message board, it was discussed trying to move some hockey section finals to Anderson Arena. It was stated with it being a dual purpose arena, that is going to be a tough booking. St. Thomas men's and women's hockey are in playoffs right now and the men's and women's BB teams would have to give up dates late in the season.

[Stanger86]

The committee puts a huge value on the regular season. When the Mav WBB team won in 2009, they lost to Concordia in the first round of the NSIC playoffs. Still hosted the regional. I think that the men did the same in 2011.

Same with SMSU men in 2009.

[SW_Mustang]

Would not want to see the tournament moved to St. Thomas. No chance they'd want that on their end anyway.

Aside from a travel inconvenience, I can't think of a good reason to move it out of the Pentagon.

[IceBoxDragon]

I think the Dragons have a good chance to win tonight thanks to the bench, but not writing off Minot State. That's a good basketball team. Should be a fun game. Biggest hope I have is Jacob Beeninga's ankle being ok. Regardless of what happens, it's promising that both Price and Beeninga could be in good shape for the NCAA Tourney.

[Moorhead123]

Congratulations to the Dragons! Well deserved championship. Keep it going in the NCAA tournament!

[Mark Emmert's Burner]

Wow. The most "dramatic" Dragon season I can remember. Not "dramatic" in terms of team culture, but "dramatic" in terms of a storyline throughout a season...

• A team with high expectations coming into the season (#4 in pre-season national poll), with two senior All-Conference players surrounded by some young and mostly-unproven talent.
• Nov. 10: All-Conference player #1 (JaMir Price) goes down in non-conference play; initial belief is that he'll be out for just a short time.
• Team gets out to a strong 9-1 start, ranks as high as 6th in Dec. 17th NABC poll.
• Mid-Dec: It comes out that Price's injury was more serious than initially thought, will continue to sit out for a while, if not the full season.
• Dec. 20: All-Conference player #2 (Jacob Beeninga) goes down against Minot in first half, Dragons play without an identity the rest of the game, lose big to Minot.
• Overnight it's discovered Beeninga's injury may be season-ending. With both All-Conf. guards out, potentially for the season, Bergstraser talks to redshirting freshman guard Carson Johnson about pulling his redshirt.
• Dec. 21: Carson Johnson debuts in the starting lineup, scores 22 in a rout.
• Jan. 3-17: a 5-game slide as the team figures out it's post-Beeninga era against tough NSIC competition.
• Jan. 17: JaMir Price returns, averages 22.7 PTS & 5.7 AST over next 3 games.
• Jan. 18: Dragons discover the 3-ball in a much-needed win over Winona.
• Jan. 25: Price gets hurt again, out indefinitely again.
• Jan. 24-Feb 8: Johnson's mature play & Dragons white-hot 3-point shooting propels them to win 5 of 6.
• Feb. 14: Jacob Beeninga returns & comes off the bench, highlighted by a 22-point performance against conference-leading Concordia-St. Paul on Feb. 15.
• Feb. 14-22: Dragons win 4 huge games against 4 NSIC teams in regional consideration, clinch #3 seed in conference tournament (after being tied for 9th at halfway point of conf. season).
• Mar. 2 & 3: Price returns again for NSIC tournament, Dragons have 5 All-Conf players on the floor in first two NSIC tournament games. Beeninga tweaks ankle, misses championship game.
• Mar. 4: Dragons win 3rd NSIC Tournament championship in 4 years on electric play of Johnson and re-emergence of senior leaders.

Not to mention Logan Kinsey becoming a 1st-Team All-Conf talent, and Jacob Jennissen, after a career of 3 ACL tears, showing immense growth from a beginning-of-season question mark to an end-of-season problem for opposing big men.

I know MSUM Athletics has a great creative team over there, and I think this might warrant another mini-doc to premiere at the Fargo Theatre. And the season ain't over! Let's see what these Dragons can do in the regional!

[vikingfaithful]

Wow. The most "dramatic" Dragon season I can remember. Not "dramatic" in terms of team culture, but "dramatic" in terms of a storyline throughout a season...

• A team with high expectations coming into the season (#4 in pre-season national poll), with two senior All-Conference players surrounded by some young and mostly-unproven talent.
• Nov. 10: All-Conference player #1 (JaMir Price) goes down in non-conference play; initial belief is that he'll be out for just a short time.
• Team gets out to a strong 9-1 start, ranks as high as 6th in Dec. 17th NABC poll.
• Mid-Dec: It comes out that Price's injury was more serious than initially thought, will continue to sit out for a while, if not the full season.
• Dec. 20: All-Conference player #2 (Jacob Beeninga) goes down against Minot in first half, Dragons play without an identity the rest of the game, lose big to Minot.
• Overnight it's discovered Beeninga's injury may be season-ending. With both All-Conf. guards out, potentially for the season, Bergstraser talks to redshirting freshman guard Carson Johnson about pulling his redshirt.
• Dec. 21: Carson Johnson debuts in the starting lineup, scores 22 in a rout.
• Jan. 3-17: a 5-game slide as the team figures out it's post-Beeninga era against tough NSIC competition.
• Jan. 17: JaMir Price returns, averages 22.7 PTS & 5.7 AST over next 3 games.
• Jan. 18: Dragons discover the 3-ball in a much-needed win over Winona.
• Jan. 25: Price gets hurt again, out indefinitely again.
• Jan. 24-Feb 8: Johnson's mature play & Dragons white-hot 3-point shooting propels them to win 5 of 6.
• Feb. 14: Jacob Beeninga returns & comes off the bench, highlighted by a 22-point performance against conference-leading Concordia-St. Paul on Feb. 15.
• Feb. 14-22: Dragons win 4 huge games against 4 NSIC teams in regional consideration, clinch #3 seed in conference tournament (after being tied for 9th at halfway point of conf. season).
• Mar. 2 & 3: Price returns again for NSIC tournament, Dragons have 5 All-Conf players on the floor in first two NSIC tournament games. Beeninga tweaks ankle, misses championship game.
• Mar. 4: Dragons win 3rd NSIC Tournament championship in 4 years on electric play of Johnson and re-emergence of senior leaders.

Not to mention Logan Kinsey becoming a 1st-Team All-Conf talent, and Jacob Jennissen, after a career of 3 ACL tears, showing immense growth from a beginning-of-season question mark to an end-of-season problem for opposing big men.

I know MSUM Athletics has a great creative team over there, and I think this might warrant another mini-doc to premiere at the Fargo Theatre. And the season ain't over! Let's see what these Dragons can do in the regional!

That's quite the chronicle of Dragon ups and downs throughout the season and post-seaon thus far. Well thought-out and written. I wish all the NSIC teams in the regional good fortune," but there only can be ONE."

[MrAugustana]

That's quite the chronicle of Dragon ups and downs throughout the season and post-seaon thus far. Well thought-out and written. I wish all the NSIC teams in the regional good fortune," but there only can be ONE."

And I will continue my annual tradition of wishing all of the NSIC teams in the Regional lose in the first round even though it’ll be mathematically impossible.

Best of luck MIAA and GAC!