McFeely: Bison men fall hard, head into offseason of questions

And this was long before the Tommies led by 22 points in the first half. Like, when the game was still a game.

Coach Dave Richman and his players said the Bison didn't lack energy, but something was up with the Bison. St. Thomas knocked them down. And out.

In a season that never felt quite right, with a team that never quite clicked, the Bison's year came to a crashing bellyflop Sunday night in the quarterfinals of the Summit League men's basketball tournament.

"I thought today was microcosm of our season," Richman said.

Later he added: "I just told the guys, I was never able to quite fully get my arms around this group."

St. Thomas won 68-58 in a contest that wasn't reflected in the final tally. It was a 20-point margin at halftime that felt like 40. This one couldn't get over fast enough before a crowd made up mostly of South Dakota State fans who didn't have a vested interest in either, but liked what they saw.

Anytime a team in green and gold gets splattered, fans in blue and yellow enjoy it.

Richman better hold off on the patent for his Sioux Falls magic potion. The Bison head coach is known for putting together teams that aren't always pretty during the regular season, but find a way to mesh at the conference tournament to make life miserable for everybody else. They'd made five straight Summit League title games.

Maybe that was a pre-transfer portal recipe. This season saw a Bison team that started slow, went 6-2 over a four-week stretch toward the end of the schedule, then crashed the last weekend of the Summit League slate. Whatever problems ailed NDSU in lopsided losses to South Dakota and South Dakota State carried over Sunday.

"Probably the word that I've come up with over the last 10 days, two weeks is 'challenged.' It was challenging," Richman said.

Andrew Morgan, NDSU's big man who was dominant during their 6-2 stretch, was 0 of 2 with one rebound in the game's first 20 minutes. He finished 1 of 4 with 4 points. The Bison opened the second half with an obvious effort to get him the ball in the low post. Would've been nice to see that in the first half.

Would've been nice to see the energy NDSU showed at the beginning of the second half in the first half. Instead, the Bison had 11 turnovers in the first half, many because of lazy or sloppy passes.

The Bison opened the second half with a 12-0 run and cut St. Thomas' lead to eight points, but it was fool's gold. It wasn't meant to be in this disjointed season.

Let the questions begin.

We know senior Boden Skunberg is going to enter the transfer portal and attempt to play elsewhere next season. Will there be other key players who join him? It's likely, just because it is.

In the portal era, it's easy for players who are tired of playing for a program to look elsewhere. On the flip side, it's just as easy for coaches to encourage players to leave.

Out with the old, in with the new. Most college basketball coaches have accepted the fact they can't build programs the old-fashioned way anymore, recruiting high school players and waiting three years for them to develop. It's year-to-year now. Go out and find the pieces you need, then do the same thing.

If Morgan and Noah Feddersen stick around, that's a start. Jacari White can defend and make 3-pointers. Damari Wheeler-Thomas is an experienced point guard.

Beyond that, Richman needs pieces. And if Morgan enters the portal for his final season, all bets are off.

Richman preached all year that the process, not results, is where his attention was focused.

That's fine in the regular season. The conference tournament is about results and this edition of the Bison wasn't close.

Will the old-school Richman go heavy into the portal? Even if it gives him acid reflux, seems like a good idea.

"I love a challenge. These are transformational times. That doesn't mean it's an excuse. We've invested throughout these transformational times in some young kids. This is a game of experience," Richman said. "I'm excited to continue to develop guys we have and put ourselves in a better position than we are right now."

It will be an interesting off-season.