North Dakota Midseason Report: Class B Surprise Teams
Somehow, we’re at about the midway point of the season already. Teams are all the way into the regional part of their schedules and standings are taking shape for the postseason. Here are some of the surprise teams from Class…
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Continue ReadingSomehow, we’re at about the midway point of the season already. Teams are all the way into the regional part of their schedules and standings are taking shape for the postseason.
Here are some of the surprise teams from Class B at the midway point of the year:
Bowman County
The Bulldogs certainly had the talent to make a jump after a 14-win campaign in 2018-19 but they are off to a 10-1 start and looking like perhaps the favorite to emerge from Region 7. The only blemish on their record is an early-season loss to Dickinson Trinity (a Region 7 contender) but with Caleb Duffield and Jacob Svihovec forming one of the best one-two punches in the state, and a defense that allows less than 45 points per game, this team is legit.
North Border
The Eagles were a middling team last year, going 11-12 and losing in the second round of the Region 2 Tournament. Things have come together this year in a big way (a 34 point loss to Thompson Friday night notwithstanding). North Border is 9-2 with quality wins over teams like Cavalier and Grafton/St. Thomas. Matt Greendahl has been the catalyst as he’s averaging better than 18 points and eight rebounds but the Eagles are also getting solid play from guys like Jaden Lee, Jaxen Johnson and freshman guard TJ Cosley.
New Salem-Almont
The Holsteins won 16 games last year, so they aren’t coming from nowhere. But a 10-0 start exceeds expectations in a big way. Defense has been the primary cause for the start as the Holsteins allow less than 40 points per game. A loss to Shiloh Christian this past week shows that their offense can be a bit of a slog sometimes, but Tayden Soupir is one of the best guards in Class B. The Holsteins have a good chance to push for around 20 wins and they’ve shown they are capable of contending in Region 5.
Dunseith
The Dragons are partly victims of a brutal schedule through the first part of the year, but they’ve struggled mightily against the other perceived contenders in their region and teams considered at or slightly above their talent level. At 4-7, Dunseith has four losses by 14 points or more. Six of those seven losses are against teams that are either currently ranked or are in the earning consideration category. There’s plenty of talent for this group to turn things around and get hot. Ethan Morin, Treagan Azure and Caleb Poitra are all excellent players, so we’ll see if they can right the ship.