Monday, March 10
Sioux Falls, S.D.
6 p.m.
North Dakota State Athletics
vs
Denver
Photo by: Richard Svaleson
Top-Seeded Bison Looking for Summit League Tournament Title
3/6/2014 6:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Complete NDSU Basketball PDF Game Notes
Summit League Tournament Bracket
Live Stats vs. Denver | Live Video (Quarterfinals & Semifinals) | Live Audio (All NDSU games)
Championship Game Live Stats
This Week's Games: The No. 1-seeded North Dakota State men's basketball team (23-6, 12-2 Summit League) will play No. 4 seed Denver (16-14, 8-6) in the first semifinal of the Summit League tournament at 6 p.m. on Monday, March 10, at Sioux Falls Arena (6,300) in Sioux Falls, S.D. The winner advances to the championship game at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11.
Denver defeated South Dakota 71-55 on Sunday, March 9, in the quarterfinals.
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 NCAA Tournament appearance in school history.
Television: All three quarterfinals and both semifinals will be televised live regionally on Midco Sports Network and nationally on Fox College Sports. Live video streaming will be available to Midcontinent customers on MidcoSportsNet.com, as well as being available for purchase by non-Midcontinent customers. Tuesday's championship game will be televised live on ESPN2 with video streaming available through participating television providers on WatchESPN.com.
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 5-4 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 23 wins this season are the fourth-most in school history.
All-League Awards: Taylor Braun was selected as The Summit League Men's Basketball Player of the Year, and NDSU head coach Saul Phillips earned the league's Coach of the Year award, the league announced March 6.
Senior forward Marshall Bjorklund was named to the All-Summit League first team for the second consecutive year. Senior forward TrayVonn Wright was named to the second team for the first All-Summit League recognition of his career, and junior point guard Lawrence Alexander received honorable mention accolades.
Braun becomes NDSU's second Summit League Player of the Year, joining Ben Woodside who earned the award for the 2008-09 season. This is the second Summit League Coach of the Year honor for Phillips, who also won for the 2008-09 season.
Braun and Bjorklund join Woodside and Brett Winkelman as two-time first-team All-Summit League performers for the Bison.
National Team Rankings for the Bison:
1st - field goal percentage (50.9%)
19th - fewest turnovers per game (10.1)
22nd - winning percentage (.793)
23rd - free throw percentage (74.6%)
28th - scoring margin (+10.5 ppg)
37th - rebound margin (+4.9)
46th - scoring offense (76.7 ppg)
67th - turnover margin (+1.8)
78th - blocked shots per game (4.6)
National Individual Rankings for the Bison:
1st - Marshall Bjorklund, field goal percentage (63.9%)
32nd - Taylor Braun, free throws made (162)
42nd - Taylor Braun, free throw attempts (209)
55th - Lawrence Alexander, free throw percentage (86.0%)
84th - Taylor Braun, steals per game (1.71)
85th - TrayVonn Wright, total blocks (52)
86th - Taylor Braun, points per game (18.0)
Seasoned Senior Class: The six Bison seniors have combined to play in 649 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. 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.
Shooting Prowess: NDSU is No. 1 among all 351 NCAA Division I basketball teams in field goal percentage this season at 50.9 percent. The Belmont Bruins are currently second at 50.6 percent. Senior Marshall Bjorklund is No. 1 in the nation in field goal percentage for individuals at 63.9 percent.
Good Run: The Bison have 47 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.
Out Front: The Bison have trailed for only 14 of the last 260 minutes played (6 1/2 games), dating back to halftime of the IUPUI game on Feb. 6.
Big Five: NDSU has played 375 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 82 minutes on the floor together.
Inside the Arc: NDSU ranks 307th 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 36-23 in points in the paint this season.
Multiple Threats: Taylor Braun (1,590 points), Marshall Bjorklund (1,399), Lawrence Alexander (1,094) and TrayVonn Wright (1,082) 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 969 career points for NDSU.
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 123 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.
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.
Summit League Tournament Bracket
Live Stats vs. Denver | Live Video (Quarterfinals & Semifinals) | Live Audio (All NDSU games)
Championship Game Live Stats
This Week's Games: The No. 1-seeded North Dakota State men's basketball team (23-6, 12-2 Summit League) will play No. 4 seed Denver (16-14, 8-6) in the first semifinal of the Summit League tournament at 6 p.m. on Monday, March 10, at Sioux Falls Arena (6,300) in Sioux Falls, S.D. The winner advances to the championship game at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11.
Denver defeated South Dakota 71-55 on Sunday, March 9, in the quarterfinals.
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 NCAA Tournament appearance in school history.
Television: All three quarterfinals and both semifinals will be televised live regionally on Midco Sports Network and nationally on Fox College Sports. Live video streaming will be available to Midcontinent customers on MidcoSportsNet.com, as well as being available for purchase by non-Midcontinent customers. Tuesday's championship game will be televised live on ESPN2 with video streaming available through participating television providers on WatchESPN.com.
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 5-4 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 23 wins this season are the fourth-most in school history.
All-League Awards: Taylor Braun was selected as The Summit League Men's Basketball Player of the Year, and NDSU head coach Saul Phillips earned the league's Coach of the Year award, the league announced March 6.
Senior forward Marshall Bjorklund was named to the All-Summit League first team for the second consecutive year. Senior forward TrayVonn Wright was named to the second team for the first All-Summit League recognition of his career, and junior point guard Lawrence Alexander received honorable mention accolades.
Braun becomes NDSU's second Summit League Player of the Year, joining Ben Woodside who earned the award for the 2008-09 season. This is the second Summit League Coach of the Year honor for Phillips, who also won for the 2008-09 season.
Braun and Bjorklund join Woodside and Brett Winkelman as two-time first-team All-Summit League performers for the Bison.
National Team Rankings for the Bison:
1st - field goal percentage (50.9%)
19th - fewest turnovers per game (10.1)
22nd - winning percentage (.793)
23rd - free throw percentage (74.6%)
28th - scoring margin (+10.5 ppg)
37th - rebound margin (+4.9)
46th - scoring offense (76.7 ppg)
67th - turnover margin (+1.8)
78th - blocked shots per game (4.6)
National Individual Rankings for the Bison:
1st - Marshall Bjorklund, field goal percentage (63.9%)
32nd - Taylor Braun, free throws made (162)
42nd - Taylor Braun, free throw attempts (209)
55th - Lawrence Alexander, free throw percentage (86.0%)
84th - Taylor Braun, steals per game (1.71)
85th - TrayVonn Wright, total blocks (52)
86th - Taylor Braun, points per game (18.0)
Seasoned Senior Class: The six Bison seniors have combined to play in 649 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. 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.
Shooting Prowess: NDSU is No. 1 among all 351 NCAA Division I basketball teams in field goal percentage this season at 50.9 percent. The Belmont Bruins are currently second at 50.6 percent. Senior Marshall Bjorklund is No. 1 in the nation in field goal percentage for individuals at 63.9 percent.
Good Run: The Bison have 47 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.
Out Front: The Bison have trailed for only 14 of the last 260 minutes played (6 1/2 games), dating back to halftime of the IUPUI game on Feb. 6.
Big Five: NDSU has played 375 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 82 minutes on the floor together.
Inside the Arc: NDSU ranks 307th 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 36-23 in points in the paint this season.
Multiple Threats: Taylor Braun (1,590 points), Marshall Bjorklund (1,399), Lawrence Alexander (1,094) and TrayVonn Wright (1,082) 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 969 career points for NDSU.
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 123 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.
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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