Contrary to the message that the weather has been sending, Winter sports are coming full speed. The next step of them happening to the fullest measure will take place when the men take the court for regular season game #1. After a guaranteed win to start the year they will go for a three-game long weekend in the Southwest culminating in a Tuesday night clash with the Wildcats in Tucson. Of the 30 games on the schedule it's one of two where a loss wouldn't be a surprise.
With what the team has back and the players that they added since last season even those two national powers won't be able to just roll the ball out to get the wins. You know Rocky Kreuser, Sam Griesel, Tyree Eady & Grant Nelson but Maleeck Harden-Hayes may be ready to take the next step in his ability to affect the game. Along with those five Jarius Cook will have plenty of open looks from deep while transfer Andrew Kallman & true freshman Andrew Morgan could do a fair amount of damage off the bench earlier than anyone might predict.
Dave Richman has a deep and experienced but still young roster to go toe-to-toe with every team this season.
They could have a nine-man rotation without any of their prototypical point guards being involved. That is the most glaring question mark going into the games. Seeing how Willie Guy, Dezmond McKinney & Kolbe Rada fit into the operation is the one question that has yet to be answered. The first two each got double-digit minutes in the exhibition win against Minot St. which could be taken as confirmation of the suspicion that they're leading in the clubhouse. But even in that showing they were secondary entries so primary ball-handling will once again be handled by those who are not the strongest at it.
The women on the other hand have proven quality at point guard again this season. They don't get the taxi time on the runway before take off but with Heaven Hamling, Ryan Cobbins & Emily Dietz leading the way they should be able to hit the ground running. One advantage for their schedule is getting more game time than their counterparts before the step up in class which will take place in Tucson & at Chris Klieman's U. Then the real challenge will begin - figuring out how to get into top two in the conference. Extracting every ounce they can from the game in the desert is just the first step, but having the chance to go against the national runner up can't hurt their prospects of challenging the SoDaks!
As with the men, the roster that Jory Collins is operating with is much more than just the core of it's best players. Reneya Hopkins, Kadie Deaton, Abby Schulte, Emily Behnke & Olivia Skibiel are the most likely contingent to comprise the top eight this season. With seven freshman & sophomores behind them they're continuing to build for the future while having what's necessary to win games & advance in Sioux Falls this year.
They were a respectable 15-9 last season and have four more chances to win this season. Dickinson St. & Jamestown are their two gimmes and they should be able to roll over St. Thomas in their first season at D1 but that still leaves a lot of wiggle room in trying to determine a win/loss prediction. Improving upon their 9-7 conference record is objective number one but pulling off wins against one or two of the higher mid-major conference teams would be great steps in the process. They'll spend most of January & February at home, which could give them a bump of a win or two down the stretch.
All things considered it has the makings of a 17-11 season
It will still come down to how they show up in Sioux Falls but the sense of a fairy tale season is palpable. They've hit the 25-win threshold twice in the last decade and there's plenty of reason to believe it can happen again this season.
25-5 would open some eyes across the country but there's a real chance they could exceed even that. A 27-3 season is possible. So after debating it, the decision was made to land in-between, 26-4.
Even if they fall short of those lofty numbers they won't be blown out a single time this season.