Complete NDSU Basketball Game Notes (PDF)
Jan. 2 vs. Oral Roberts:  Live Stats  |  Live Video  |  Free Audio  |  ESPN3 Link
Jan. 4 vs. South Dakota State:  Live Stats  |  Live Video  |  Free Audio  |  ESPN 3 Link

            This Week's Games: The North Dakota State men's basketball team (8-5 overall) opens 2015 and the Summit League season with home games against Oral Roberts (6-7) on Jan. 2 and South Dakota State (9-5) on Jan. 4 at Scheels Arena.
            Jan. 2         Oral Roberts                      7 p.m.
            Jan. 4         South Dakota State           4 p.m.
 
            Viewing Options: Both games will be broadcast live on Midco Sports Network in HD, as well as being available on ESPN3, the WatchESPN app and ESPN's Full Court package. NDSU All-Access will also stream both games live at GoBison.com/allaccess for subscribers.
            Tom Nieman (play-by-play), Brad Newitt (analyst) and Brian Shawn (courtside reporter) will call the action.
 
            Radio: Scott Miller (play-by-play) and Jeremy Jorgenson (analyst) will call the games on KFGO-AM 790 of Fargo. Coverage includes 20-minute pregame and postgame shows. Free audio streaming will be available at GoBison.com/allaccess.
 
            About Oral Roberts: The Golden Eagles carry a record of 6-7 into the start of Summit League play. ORU is coming off a 77-73 overtime win at Detroit on Dec. 30.
            ORU rejoined The Summit League prior to this season after spending two years in the Southland Conference. The Golden Eagles were picked to finish third in the league, two spots ahead of NDSU.
            ORU went 17-16 last season and tied for fifth place in the Southland with a 10-8 conference record.
            The Golden Eagles have been led by a pair of junior guards in Obi Emegano and Korey Billbury this season. Emegano is averaging 16.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, while Billbury is posting 14.1 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per contest.
            As a team, ORU ranks 313th in the nation with a field goal percentage of 38.8 percent.
 
            The Series with Oral Roberts: Friday will be the 15th meeting between North Dakota State and Oral Roberts dating back to 1967-68.  ORU has won four straight and leads the series 9-5.  NDSU has won four of six meetings at home between the schools. The two teams have not met since Feb. 4, 2012, when the Golden Eagles won 85-76 in Fargo.
 
            About South Dakota State: The Jackrabbits are 9-5 entering the conference portion of their schedule. SDSU played two consecutive games against ranked teams to close out December, losing at No. 14 Utah and No. 23 Northern Iowa.
            SDSU was picked to finish fourth in The Summit League this season, one spot ahead of NDSU. The Jackrabbits went 19-13 last season and 10-4 in league play to finish third.
            Junior college transfer Deondre Parks leads SDSU in scoring this season with 13.7 points per game. Senior forward Cody Larson is averaging 13.0 points and 7.0 rebounds, and Wisconsin transfer George Marshall has averaged 13.0 points over his first five games.
 
            The Series with South Dakota State: Sunday will be the 210th meeting between North Dakota State and South Dakota State dating back to 1909-10.  NDSU leads the series 111-98 and has won eight of the last 12 meetings overall. The Bison have won eight of the last nine games in Fargo. NDSU beat SDSU in both encounters last season -- 85-77 in Brookings on Jan. 25, and 74-59 in Fargo on Feb. 22.
 
            Home Court: NDSU is 30-2 at home since the start of the 2012-13 season, with the only two losses being to Western Illinois (49-36) on Feb. 14, 2013, and Southern Miss (70-69) on Nov. 18, 2013.  The Bison have won 17 straight home games, which is tied for the 8th-longest active home winning streak in the nation.
 
            Taking Care: The Bison are averaging 9.7 turnovers per game this season – an average which ranks them fifth-best in the nation. NDSU is also ranked ninth in Division I for fewest fouls committed per game at 14.2.
 
            Best Year Ever:  NDSU went 24-8 during the 2014 calendar year – its most wins ever in a single calendar year.
 
            Big Man: Dexter Werner is the only player in The Summit League this season with 80-plus rebounds and 20-plus blocks. Werner is averaging 13.0 points and 10.8 rebounds over his last four games.
 
            Stabilizing Force: Since Nov. 22, Carlin Dupree has 34 assists and only 14 turnovers. The sophomore guard also ranks second for the Bison in rebounding over that stretch with 5.0 boards per game.
 
            Stat Sheet Filler: Carlin Dupree has at least four rebounds and at least two assists in all but one game this season.
 
            Comfortable at Home: Redshirt freshman A.J. Jacobson is shooting 60 percent at home and 56 percent from three-point range at home this season. Jacobson is NDSU's leading scorer in home games with 15.5 points per game.
 
            First Game Back: In his first game back after missing five games with a knee injury, redshirt freshman A.J. Jacobson hit his first three shots from three-point range and finished with 17 points against Northland College on Dec. 28.
 
            Best Around: Senior guard Lawrence Alexander leads The Summit League in points per game (16.9), three-pointers made (39) and minutes per game (38.1).
 
            Downtown L.A.: Alexander is ranked 33rd in the nation with 3.0 three-pointers per game. He has made at least two 3-pointers in all but two games this season.
 
            Versus SDSU: In seven career games against South Dakota State, Lawrence Alexander is averaging 13.6 points and 3.9 assists, as well as shooting 50 percent from the field.
           
            Versus Oral Roberts: Lawrence Alexander is the only player on NDSU's roster who has played against Oral Roberts. He averaged 16.0 points and 8.0 assists in two games vs. the Golden Eagles in the 2011-12 season.
 
            Ishola Steps In: Brian Ishola, a true freshman walk-on from East Ridge (Minn.) High School, has averaged 23.5 minutes off the bench over the last two games, filling a void in the NDSU lineup created by injuries.
 
            Three Freshmen in Double Digits: The Bison had three freshmen score in double figures vs. Northland on Dec. 28 – A.J. Jacobson (17), Evan Wesenberg (12) and Paul Miller (10).
           
            Double-Double: Dexter Werner recorded his first career double-double to lift NDSU to a 61-50 victory over Alcorn State in the consolation game of the Sun Bowl Inviational in El Paso, Texas, on Dec. 22. Werner scored 16 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to lead the Bison in both categories.
 
            Defensive Lockdown: In back-to-back games on Dec. 13 and Dec. 16, NDSU allowed 42 points to North Dakota and 46 points to Akron. Those totals are the two lowest against Division I opponents since the start of the 2012-13 season. Over the last five games, the Bison have allowed just 50 points per contest.
           
            Home vs. Away: In five NDSU road games this season, Bison opponents are shooting 49 percent from the field. In six games in Fargo, Bison opponents are shooting 39 percent.
 
            At the Line: Lawrence Alexander is a perfect 14-of-14 from the free throw line in the final five minutes of games. As a team, the Bison bump their free throw percentage from 69 percent to 75 percent in the final 5 minutes.
 
            Iron Man: Lawrence Alexander is playing an average of 38.1 minutes through 13 games this season, ranking him fifth in the nation in minutes. The senior guard has played all 40 minutes in six of the last 11 contests.
            Over 111 career games, Alexander has averaged 34.7 minutes – second only to Ben Woodside (34.9) among all Bison players since 1999.
 
            Home Cooking: Kory Brown is shooting 64.5 percent in home games this season.
 
            Wins Leaderboard: Alexander needs to play in 8 more NDSU victories to become the winningest player in school history. Alexander has 75 wins as a Bison. Mike Felt (2009-14) owns the NDSU record with 82 career wins.