To best explain why North Dakota State coach David Richman took a phone call Saturday somewhere west of Bakersfield, California, while sitting on a six-and-a-half hour bus ride to Las Vegas with his Bison players, some MTE-style math is in order.
Pretty much everyone in college basketball now plays in early-season “Multi-Team Events,” as they are formally known, because they allow teams to cram in more games to their schedules. MTEs can be two or three games each, with participation in any of them allowing teams to play up to 31 total games instead of just 29.
But the Las Vegas Main Event will hold only four total games at T-Mobile Arena next weekend, starting with Arizona against Wichita State on Friday. But it is aiming to have six teams play three games each.
That means some people get squeezed off the main stage.
North Dakota State was invited to Las Vegas, but only to play UNLV on Monday in an “add-on” game after playing a standard nonconference game at Cal Poly on Friday — and before having to race to McKale Center to face the Wildcats on Tuesday for yet another Main Event add-on.
The Bison’s efforts will give UNLV and Arizona a total of three official Main Event games, while North Dakota State will get its third by hosting the Texans of Tarleton State … which won’t actually get to go to Vegas at all. The Texans instead will run around to play Michigan, North Dakota State and Wichita State in their home arenas to collect its three “Main Event” games.
While that may be fine for the Texans, who also have road games at Stanford, Texas and Gonzaga on their schedule, it still makes for a pretty intense weekend for a Bison team that is expected to challenge for the Summit League title this season.
“It’s perspective,” Richman said. “It’s how you look at things. We are proud to be in a tight family and we get opportunities to be together. And there’s a couple of blizzards going on back in Fargo, too.”
Well, there is that.
It was sunny and mild while the Bison crossed the San Joaquin Valley and Mojave Desert into Las Vegas on Saturday, as it probably will be Tuesday when the Bison hurry down to Tucson after facing the Rebels on Monday.
(And, yes, the Bison may be busing for that leg as well. “We’ll work through those things as we get closer here,” Richman said, declining to specify the exact transportation plans).
But there are other benefits for the Bison besides the weather. They arrived in Las Vegas in time for some work and play on Saturday evening, then had all of Sunday to prepare for the Rebels.
And the bus, while not exactly beneficial to their bodies, at least may have helped their minds. Richman said he generally does not require film review or other basketball duties during bus rides, other than the occasional pulling aside of a player to chat about a specific issue.
“We’re pretty mindful that these are young men that have other lives and give them space to clear their heads,” Richman said.
The Bison also have the sort of mature group that might be able to handle such a tough trip. Despite the new one-time transfer waiver last spring, the Bison actually held on to eight of their top nine scorers from a team that went 11-5 in the Summit League last season and lost to eventual March Madness darling Oral Roberts in the Summit League Tournament final.
They started out 2-0 this season, beating Cal Poly 60-57 on Friday, after crushing 88-44 Concordia-Moorhead in their season opener on Nov. 9.
Still, Richman said there’s plenty of work to do.
“We’re still figuring out the 2021-22 version of us,” he said. “I understand the narrative of experience, but we were just talking about our game (Friday) night. At times, we played three freshmen. We played (juco transfer) Willie Guy and (Division II transfer) Andrew Kallman in their first-ever real Division I games and road games.
“There’s still a lot of new faces and we’re working through some things. So we’re counting on the leadership of those older guys and yet still feel we have a lot of room for growth based on some youth and inexperience with some other guys.”
So maybe the biggest benefit of the Bison’s long Western road trip is the chance to grow and against high-level opponents who might expose any weaknesses.
Then, when the Summit League tournament rolls around at the end of this season — the only route for its teams to make the NCAA Tournament field — maybe the Bison can draw on lessons learned during that long Western road swing it made in November. (Not to mention there will also be a few five-figure paydays in the athletic department bank account for playing them).
“It’s twofold with us,” Richman said. “We are mid- to low-major, however you want to label us. So with that comes the need for some guarantee games, which these obviously provide us, but also we want to challenge ourselves. We want to get outside of our comfort zone.
“And when you play on the road, whether it’s Cal Poly, UNLV, or Arizona, you’re going to get challenged and different kinds of challenges to prepare us for what ultimately matters to us — and that’s Summit League play and in particular the Summit League Tournament.”
