The North Dakota men's basketball team has lost starting forward Spencer Goodman and reserve center Mitch Wilmer for the rest of the season.

"Can we knock on wood?" coach Brian Jones responded when asked if the team's front-line could get any thinner.

Goodman, a 6-foot-5 sophomore, will need surgery and nine months of rehabilitation on his injured shoulder.

Wilmer, a 6-11 sophomore who had a breakout game against North Dakota State last month, broke his wrist and his return isn't expected until the last week of the season.

"Starting the year, we had a lot of bodies," Jones said. "Now, we're very thin. It's crucial to keep the bodies that are with us able to play. And once January really hits, it's about keeping our bodies fresh and our minds fresh. It's not so much the pounding of long, long practices anymore. Our schemes are in on both ends of the floor; now it's about tightening it up and working on individual development."

Injuries have resulted in the Sioux going with five true freshmen or redshirt freshmen in their eight-man rotation.