Complete NDSU Basketball PDF Game Notes
Live Stats vs. South Dakota  |  Live Audio & Video
Live Stats vs. Denver  |  Live Audio & Video  |  ESPN3 Link

            This Week's Games: The North Dakota State men's basketball team will play its final two games in the Bison Sports Arena this week, needing one victory to clinch The Summit League's regular season championship outright. NDSU hosts South Dakota at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 27 and Denver at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Mar. 1.
 
            What's at Stake:  One win will clinch an outright Summit League regular season title for NDSU, giving the Bison a bye through the quarterfinals of the Summit League tournament.
 
            Title Talk: NDSU is in search of its second Summit League regular season title after earning the league crown outright in the 2008-09 season. That conference title was the first since 1995, when the Bison shared the North Central Conference crown with North Dakota.
 
            Senior Night: NDSU will honor its six seniors following Saturday's game -- Jordan Aaberg, Marshall Bjorklund, Taylor Braun, Mike Felt, Fred Newell and TrayVonn Wright.
 
            Radio: KFGO-AM 790 of Fargo will broadcast both games live with Scott Miller calling the play-by-play and Jeremy Jorgenson on analysis.  Coverage includes 20-minute pregame and postgame shows, and live audio streaming will be available for free at GoBison.com/allaccess.
 
            Television: Thursday's game will be broadcast on MeTV, available throughout the state of North Dakota on over-the-air channels in Fargo (11.2), Bismarck (5.2), Minot (10.2), Williston (8.2) and Dickinson (7.2), as well as through additional providers.
            The NDSU-Denver game on Saturday will be broadcast statewide in high definition on the NBC North Dakota network, as well as being made available on the ESPN Full Court package and ESPN3.
            Brian Shawn will handle play-by-play duties with Jamal Spencer providing analysis for both games.
 
            Online: Live high-definition broadcasts of all NDSU men's basketball home games will be available through subscription at GoBison.com/allaccess.
 
            The Series with South Dakota: Thursday will be the 168th meeting between North Dakota State and South Dakota dating back to 1922-23. NDSU has won five straight to take a 91-76 lead in the series, including sweeping last season and pulling out a 66-63 win in Vermillion on Jan. 30. The Bison have been victorious in all five meetings as Division I opponents.
 
            About South Dakota: The South Dakota Coyotes enter Thursday's contest with an overall record of 12-15 and an even 6-6 mark in Summit League play. USD is 2-11 in road games this season. The Coyotes will come to Fargo with a three-game winning streak, having defeated IUPUI, Omaha and Western Illinois over the last two weeks.
            Senior center Trevor Gruis is averaging 11.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per contest while shooting 55 percent from the floor. Junior guard Brandon Bos is averaging 11.6 points per game, and sophomore Trey Norris averages 4.2 assists per contest to lead the Coyotes.
            USD is shooting 39.2 percent from three-point range as a team in league play.
 
            The Series with Denver: Saturday will be the sixth meeting between North Dakota State and Denver dating back to the 1993-94 season. The Bison hold a 3-2 advantage in the all-time series, with Denver winning 67-63 on Feb. 1 of this season.
 
            About Denver: The Denver Pioneers enter this week with an overall record of 15-12 and an 8-4 mark in Summit League play. Denver will play South Dakota State on Feb. 27 before meeting NDSU. The Pioneers are 6-8 away from home this season.
            Junior guard Brett Olson leads Denver with 14.7 points per contest. Senior forward Chris Udofia is averaging 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.5 blocks per game.
            Denver is shooting a league-best 43.5 percent from beyond the arc and making 8.3 three-pointers per game in league play.
 
            National Team Rankings for the Bison:
                        1st - field goal percentage (50.5%)
                        21st - fewest turnovers per game (10.2)
                        22nd - free throw percentage (74.7%)
                        28th - winning percentage (.778)
                        38th - scoring margin (+9.9 ppg)
                        48th - rebound margin (+4.4)
                        51st - scoring offense (76.5 ppg)
                        81st - blocked shots per game (4.5)
 
            National Individual Rankings for the Bison:
                        2nd - Marshall Bjorklund, field goal percentage (63.6%)
                        32nd - Taylor Braun, free throws made (154)
                        38th - Taylor Braun, free throw attempts (198)
                        78th - Taylor Braun, steals per game (1.77)
                        80th - Taylor Braun, points per game (18.2)
                        85th - Lawrence Alexander, free throw percentage (84.3%)
                        87th - TrayVonn Wright, total blocks (48)
 
            Seasoned Veterans: The six Bison seniors have combined to play in 637 career games.
 
            High RPI: The Bison are a Summit League-best No. 43 in the latest edition of the official NCAA RPI.
            NDSU was ranked 32nd in the first official RPI this season on Jan. 10, marking the highest NCAA RPI ranking in school history.
 
            Home Court: NDSU is 22-2 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 nine in a row in Fargo since losing to Southern Miss.
 
            Good Run: The Bison have 45 wins over the last two seasons, marking the most in a two-year span since the North Dakota Agricultural College teams won 48 from 1924-26.
            NDSU has back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since the 1995-96 and 1996-97 campaigns.
 
            Shooting Prowess: NDSU is No. 1 among all 351 NCAA Division I basketball teams in field goal percentage this season at 50.5 percent. The Kansas Jayhawks are currently second at 50.3 percent. Senior Marshall Bjorklund is No. 2 in the nation in field goal percentage for individuals at 63.6 percent.
 
            Starts Record: With a start against Western Illinois on Feb. 13, Marshall Bjorklund set the NDSU career record for games started at 119, breaking the mark of 118 set by Ben Woodside and Brett Winkelman, who both played from 2005-09. Bjorklund has started every game of his career, starting with the first contest of the 2010-11 season. His record currently stands at 121 games started.
 
            Charity Stripe: NDSU's team free throw percentage of 74.7 percent this season would be the second-highest season percentage in school history. The 1984-85 Bison squad shot 76.8 percent from the line.
            Lawrence Alexander is 41-for-47 (87.2 percent) from the free throw line in Summit League games this season.
 
            Felt's Longevity: Mike Felt has played in 126 games in his career, setting the NDSU career record for games played with his 121st at Denver on Feb. 1. Michael Tveidt held the previous high, playing in 120 games from 2006-11.
 
            Multiple Threats: Taylor Braun (1,559 points), Marshall Bjorklund (1,374), Lawrence Alexander (1,073) and TrayVonn Wright (1,057) give NDSU four active 1,000-point scorers. NDSU and Elon are the only two Division I teams in the nation this year with four 1,000-point scorers.
            Braun and Bjorklund each passed the 1,000-point mark during the 2012-13 season. Wright used a 20-point game at South Dakota on Jan. 30 and Alexander used a 20-point game at Denver on Feb. 1 to pass the milestone.
            Senior Mike Felt owns 954 career points for NDSU.
 
            Brown Delivers: Kory Brown is second in The Summit League in field goal percentage in league play, shooting 62.5 percent (40-for-64).
 
            Over 1,500: Taylor Braun surpassed the 1,500 point mark against Fort Wayne on Feb. 8, becoming just the 10th player in NDSU history with more than 1,500 career points.
 
            Balanced Contributions: Taylor Braun ranks eighth at NDSU in career points and steals, 12th in rebounds and 14th in assists. He is also fifth on the all-time list in free throws made. Braun is the only player in NDSU history to rank top 15 for the Bison in career points, rebounds and assists.
           
            Workhorse: Lawrence Alexander is averaging 37.2 minutes per game over the last nine contests, including three straight games of 40 minutes from Jan. 30 to Feb. 6.
 
            Top 10: Lawrence Alexander is now 10th all-time at NDSU with 337 career assists after recording five vs. South Dakota State on Feb. 22.
 
            Inside the Arc: NDSU ranks 304th among the 351 Division I schools in three-pointers attempted this season. The Bison attempt an average of 14.9 three-pointers per contest, while the national average is around 18 attempts per game from beyond the arc.
 
            Experience Counts: The current NDSU roster has combined to play in 913 career games and make 490 starts, making the Bison one of the most experienced teams in the nation.
 
            Player of the Week Again: Taylor Braun earned his seventh career Summit League Player of the Week award and fifth this season on Feb. 17. Braun was also named The Summit League's Athlete of the Month for January.
 
            Full House: NDSU is averaging 4,121 fans in league games at the BSA this year. No other Summit League team is above 3,500.
 
            Record Pace: NDSU's current team field goal percentage of 50.5 percent could be a new single-season school record. The previous high was 50.4 percent in the 1983-84 campaign.
 
            Get Buckets: Taylor Braun has scored in double digits in 23 of his 26 games this season, including 10 games of 20 or more points and four games of 30 or more points. He is one of 10 players in NDSU history to surpass 1,500 career points.
 
            Mid-Major Poll: The Bison are ranked fourth in the latest College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, setting a new program high. NDSU's previous high was sixth in the Nov. 11 poll this season.
 
            Sure Shot: Senior Marshall Bjorklund is No. 2 in the nation in field goal percentage for individuals at 63.6 percent.
            Bjorklund is the active career NCAA leader in field goal percentage at 65.6 percent. Bjorklund has never shot worse than 64.7 percent in a season.
            Bjorklund currently ranks eighth all-time in NCAA Division I history in field goal percentage. He stands in front of NCAA legends Bill Walton (65.1 percent), Lew Alcindor (63.9 percent) and Akeem Olajuwon (63.9 percent).
 
            Rejection: TrayVonn Wright has recorded at least one block in 26 of 27 games this season, including multiple blocks in 17 games.
 
            Road Warriors: NDSU is one of four teams in the country with at least 10 road wins this season, joining Wichita State, Saint Louis and Stephen F. Austin.