Complete NDSU Basketball Game Notes (PDF)
Jan. 14 at South Dakota: Live Stats  |  Video (ESPN3)  |  Free Audio
Jan. 16 vs. Western Illinois: Live Stats  |  Video  |  Free Audio

            This Week's Games: The North Dakota State men's basketball team (11-5 overall, 3-0 Summit League) travels to take on the South Dakota Coyotes (8-9, 2-1 Summit) on Wednesday, Jan. 14, at 7 p.m. at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, S.D. The Bison return home to host Western Illinois (7-8, 2-2 Summit) on Jan. 16 at Scheels Arena.
            Jan. 14 at South Dakota          7 p.m.  DakotaDome
            Jan. 16 Western Illinois           7 p.m.  Scheels Arena
 
            Viewing Options: Wednesday's game will be broadcast live on Midco Sports Network, as well as being available on ESPN3, the WatchESPN app and ESPN's Full Court package.
            Friday's contest will be televised statewide on MeTV, with Brian Shawn calling the action. A separate live video stream will be available for purchase at GoBison.com/allaccess.
 
            Radio: Scott Miller will call both 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.
 
            Good Run: The Bison have won five straight games and seven of their last eight.
 
            About South Dakota: The Coyotes are 8-9 overall and 2-1 in The Summit League entering Wednesday's game. South Dakota posted league road wins at Denver (74-69) and Fort Wayne (64-62) after dropping its conference opener at home to Omaha (86-77).
            Senior guard Tyler Larson leads the Coyotes with 16.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. Senior guard Brandon Bos is averaging 15.1 points per contest for USD. Junior Casey Kasperbauer is shooting 43.3 percent from three-point range, which ranks him 29th in the nation this season. As a team, the Coyotes rank 44th in the country in free throw percentage at 73.2 percent.
            South Dakota was picked to finish eighth in the nine-team Summit League in this year's preseason poll. The Coyotes went 12-18 overall and 6-8 in league play last season.
 
            The Series with South Dakota: Wednesday will be the 169th meeting between North Dakota State and South Dakota dating back to 1922-23. NDSU has won six straight to take a 92-76 lead in the series, including sweeps in each of the last three seasons. The Bison have been victorious in all six meetings as Division I opponents. NDSU won 66-63 in Vermillion on Jan. 30 last season and 82-54 in Fargo on Feb. 27.
 
            About Western Illinois: The Fighting Leathernecks are 7-8 overall and 2-2 in The Summit League entering this week. WIU opened league play with home victories over Fort Wayne (73-67) and Omaha (80-78) before falling to South Dakota State and Oral Roberts. The Leathernecks travel to play Denver on Jan. 14 before coming to Fargo.
            Western Illinois was picked to finish seventh in The Summit League this season. The Leathernecks went 10-20 overall and 4-10 in league play last year.
            Sophomore guard Garret Covington leads WIU with an average of 15.9 points per game, and sophomore Jabari Sandifer is leading The Summit League with 4.9 assists per contest. As a team, the Leathernecks rank 309th in Division I with a field goal percentage of 39.5 percent.
 
            The Series with Western Illinois:  Friday will be the 17th meeting between North Dakota State and Western Illinois dating back to 2007-08. NDSU claimed wins in both games last season to take a 9-7 lead in the all-time series. The Bison won 65-52 in Fargo on Jan. 18 and 56-52 in Macomb on Feb. 13.
            WIU is the last Summit League team to win in Fargo -- a 49-36 triumph at the Bison Sports Arena on Feb. 14, 2013.
 
            Taking Care: The Bison are averaging 9.9 turnovers per game this season – an average which ranks them seventh-best in the nation. NDSU has committed 10 or fewer turnovers in 10 of 16 games.
            NDSU is also ranked 17th in Division I for fewest fouls committed per game at 15.1.
 
            Free Throws Beat Omaha: The Bison made 24-of-27 free throws, including a perfect 8-of-8 performance at the line in the last 30 seconds, to pull out a 75-72 win at Omaha on Jan. 8. Freshman Paul Miller went 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the game's final 11 seconds.
 
            Early Leads: The Bison opened up early double-digit leads and held on late for victories in each of their first two Summit League games. Against Oral Roberts on Jan. 2, NDSU went up 21-6 less than 10 minutes into the game. Against South Dakota State on Jan. 4, the Bison led 31-10 just over 14 minutes into the contest.
 
            Lawrence Alexander's National Rankings (as of Jan. 12)
            5th in minutes per game (38.4)
            21st in 3-pointers made (48)
            23rd in 3-pointers made per game (3.0)
            41st in 3-point field goal percentage (41.7%)
            51st in total points (285)
            52nd in points per game (17.8)
            54th in free throw percentage (85.1%)
 
            Career-High for Alexander: Lawrence Alexander poured in a career-high 31 points in NDSU's win over Oral Roberts on Jan. 2. Alexander scored 24 points in the final 14 minutes of the game, going 7-of-8 from the field, 5-of-6 from three-point range, and 5-of-5 from the free throw line in that time frame. His previous career-best was 29 points in a loss at Montana on Dec. 7 of this season.
 
            Receiving Votes: The Bison are receiving votes in the new College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, coming at No. 38 this week.
 
            Player of the Week: Senior Lawrence Alexander was named The Summit League men's basketball Player of the Week following his performance in two Bison victories on Jan. 2 and Jan. 4. Alexander earned his second career award and first of the season after averaging 23.5 points, including a career-high performance, in leading NDSU to a pair of Summit League victories.
            Alexander's previous Summit League Player of the Week honor came on Dec. 31, 2012, after he tallied 18 points and six assists as a sophomore in a win over South Dakota State.
 
            Home Court: NDSU is 32-2 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 19 straight home games, which is tied for the 8th-longest active home winning streak in the nation.
 
            Big Man: Dexter Werner is the only player in The Summit League this season with at least 90 rebounds and 25 blocks. Werner is averaging 13.8 points and 7.5 rebounds over his last eight games.
 
            Stabilizing Force: Since Nov. 22, Carlin Dupree has 43 assists and only 16 turnovers. The sophomore guard is also averaging 4.7 boards per game over that stretch. Dupree ranks fourth in The Summit League with 3.4 assists per game. His assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.9 is seventh-best in the league.
 
            Stat Sheet Filler: Carlin Dupree has at least four rebounds and at least two assists in all but two games this season.
 
            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 (17.8), three-pointers made (48) and minutes per game (38.4).
 
            Downtown L.A.: Alexander is ranked 23rd in the nation with 3.0 three-pointers per game. He has made at least two 3-pointers in all but three games this season.
 
            Wins Leaderboard: Alexander has 78 wins as a Bison. He needs to play in 5 more NDSU victories to become the winningest player in school history. Mike Felt (2009-14) owns the NDSU record with 82 career wins.