NDSU, Fort Wayne Play for NCAA Tournament Bid Tuesday on ESPN2

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  Tuesday's Game: The No. 1-seeded North Dakota State men's basketball team (24-6, 12-2 Summit League) will play No. 2-seeded Fort Wayne (24-9, 10-4) in the championship game of the Summit League Tournament at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11, at Sioux Falls Arena (6,300) in Sioux Falls, S.D.

            What's at Stake: The winner of the Summit League Championship receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. NDSU is looking for its second league tournament title and second Division I NCAA Tournament appearance in school history.

            Television: The championship game will be televised live on ESPN2 with video streaming available through participating television/internet providers on ESPN3.com. Clay Matvick (play-by-play) and Darrin Horn (analyst) will call the action.

            Radio: KFGO-AM 790 of Fargo will broadcast all NDSU tournament 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.

            Title Talk: With an 82-54 win over South Dakota in Fargo on Feb. 27, NDSU clinched its second Summit League regular season title. The Bison also earned the league crown outright in the 2008-09 season.

            Bison in Sioux Falls: NDSU is 6-4 all-time in Sioux Falls at the Summit League tournament. NDSU beat Centenary, Southern Utah and Oakland en route to the 2009 title and bowed out in the first round in 2010 and 2011 to Oral Roberts and 2012 to Western Illinois. The Bison reached the championship game last season before falling to South Dakota State, 73-67.
            This is the second time NDSU will be the top seed for the league tournament, joining 2008-09.

            Bison in the Postseason: North Dakota State is seeking a trip to its second NCAA tournament and its fourth postseason appearance as a Division I program. NDSU was a No. 14 seed and played Kansas (L, 74-84) in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Midwest Regional at the Metrodome. NDSU's first year of Division I postseason eligibility was 2009 after a five-year reclassification from Division II that left the Bison out of the playoffs from 2005 through 2008.
            The Bison played in the College Basketball Invitational in each of the past two seasons.

            Another 20-Win Season: NDSU has reached the 20-win mark four times in its 10-year Division I history. The 24 wins this season match last season's win total and are tied for the third-most in school history.

            Shooting Prowess: NDSU is No. 1 among all 351 NCAA Division I basketball teams in field goal percentage this season at 51.3 percent. The Belmont Bruins are currently second at 50.5 percent. Senior Marshall Bjorklund is No. 1 in the nation in field goal percentage for individuals at 63.7 percent.

            National Team Rankings for the Bison:
                        1st - field goal percentage (51.3%)
                        19th - fewest turnovers per game (10.0)
                        22nd - winning percentage (.800)
                        24th - free throw percentage (74.6%)
                        25th - scoring margin (+11.3 ppg)
                        38th - rebound margin (+5.0)
                        46th - scoring offense (76.9 ppg)
                        63rd - turnover margin (+1.8)

            National Individual Rankings for the Bison:
                        1st - Marshall Bjorklund, field goal percentage (63.7%)
                        49th - Lawrence Alexander, free throw percentage (86.0%)
                        53rd - Taylor Braun, free throws made (172)
                        66th - Taylor Braun, free throw attempts (221)
                        85th - Taylor Braun, steals per game (1.71)
                        87th - Taylor Braun, points per game (18.3)
                        93rd - TrayVonn Wright, total blocks (53)

            Seasoned Senior Class: The six Bison seniors have combined to play in 655 career games and have logged over 13,000 minutes, scoring more than 5,400 points and grabbing more than 2,300 rebounds.

            High RPI: The Bison are a Summit League-best No. 38 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.

            Good Run: The Bison have 48 wins over the last two seasons, matching the most in a two-year span since the North Dakota Agricultural College teams won 48 from 1924-26. One more victory would be the most in a two-year span in school history.
            NDSU has back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since the 1995-96 and 1996-97 campaigns.

            Out Front: The Bison have trailed for only 14 of the last 300 minutes played (7 1/2 games), dating back to halftime of the IUPUI game on Feb. 6.

            Big Five: NDSU has played 382 minutes this season with starters Lawrence Alexander, Kory Brown, Taylor Braun, TrayVonn Wright and Marshall Bjorklund on the floor together. No other lineup combination has spent more than 84 minutes on the floor together.

            Inside the Arc: NDSU ranks 326th among the 351 Division I schools in three-pointers attempted this season. The Bison attempt an average of 14.8 three-pointers per contest, while the national average is around 18 attempts per game from beyond the arc.
            The Bison have outscored their opponents by an average of 37-24 in points in the paint this season.

            Multiple Threats: Taylor Braun (1,618 points), Marshall Bjorklund (1,407), Lawrence Alexander (1,098) and TrayVonn Wright (1,094) 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 978 career points for NDSU.

            Against Fort Wayne: In eight career games against IPFW, Marshall Bjorklund has shot 73.6% (39-for-53).
            In six career games against IPFW, Lawrence Alexander is averaging 15.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists.

            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 124 games started.

            Brown Delivers: Sophomore Kory Brown led The Summit League in field goal percentage in league play, shooting 64.3 percent (45-for-70).

            Charity Stripe: NDSU's team free throw percentage of 74.6 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 was 51-for-57 (89.5 percent) from the free throw line in Summit League games this season.

            Felt's Longevity: Mike Felt has played in 129 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.

            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 seventh at NDSU in career points, eighth in steals, 10th in rebounds and 13th 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.

            Top 10: Lawrence Alexander is now 10th all-time at NDSU with 344 career assists after recording five vs. South Dakota State on Feb. 22.

            Experience Counts: The current NDSU roster has combined to play in 949 career games and make 505 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 averaged 4,134 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 51.3 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 26 of his 29 games this season, including 11 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.

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NDSU, Fort Wayne Play for NCAA Tournament Bid Tuesday on ESPN2

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