Bison Conclude First Half of League Play vs. Denver Thursday Night

Thursday, January 29

Fargo, N.D.

7 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

Denver

Photo by: Richard Svaleson

Bison Conclude First Half of League Play vs. Denver Thursday Night

1/28/2015 3:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Complete NDSU Basketball Game Notes (PDF)
vs. Denver on Jan. 29: Live Video | Free Audio | Live Stats
at Western Illinois on Feb. 1: Live Video | Free Audio | Live Stats

            This Week's Games: The North Dakota State men's basketball team (13-7 overall, 5-2 Summit League) hosts Denver (9-11, 3-4 Summit) on Thursday, Jan. 29, at Scheels Arena to close out the first half of conference play. NDSU enters the week one-half game behind South Dakota State for first place in the Summit League standings.
            Jan. 29          vs. Denver                    7 p.m.
            Feb. 1           at Western Illinois        2 p.m.

            Viewing Options: Thursday's home 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 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.

            The Series with Denver: Thursday will be the eighth meeting between North Dakota State and Denver dating back to the 1993-94 season. The Bison hold a 5-2 advantage in the all-time series after winning two of three games last season. The Pioneers posted a 67-63 victory in Denver on Feb. 1 before NDSU won 78-68 in Fargo on Mar. 1 and 83-48 in the semifinals of the Summit League Tournament on Mar. 10.

            About Denver: The Pioneers are 9-11 overall and 3-4 in The Summit League entering the game. Denver is 1-7 on the road this season and 0-3 on the road in league play, with its three league victories coming at home over South Dakota State, Western Illinois and Oral Roberts.
            Denver was picked to finish second in The Summit League this season. The Pioneers went 16-15 overall and 8-6 in league play last year.
            Senior guard Brett Olson leads Denver with 12.8 points per game, and senior Cam Griffin is averaging 12.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest. Junior guard Nate Engesser is shooting 48 percent from three-point range for the Pioneers. As a team, Denver is shooting 49.3 percent to rank 11th in the nation.

            The Series with Western Illinois: Sunday will be the 18th meeting between North Dakota State and Western Illinois dating back to 2007-08. NDSU claimed wins in both games last season and the Bison won 61-48 in Fargo on Jan. 16 to take a 10-7 lead in the all-time series.

            Home Court: The Bison have won 20 straight home games, which is the 8th-longest active home winning streak in the nation. NDSU is 33-2 at home since the start of the 2012-13 season, with the only two losses being to Southern Miss (70-69) on Nov. 18, 2013, and Western Illinois (49-36) on Feb. 14, 2013.

            1,500 Point Club: With 1,493 career points entering Thursday's game, Lawrence Alexander needs just seven points to become the 11th player in NDSU history to reach 1,500 points for his career. Ben Woodside (2,315), Brett Winkelman (1,962), Taylor Braun (1,651) and Mike Nelson (1,562) are the only four to achieve the feat during NDSU's Division I era.

            Take Care: The Bison are averaging 9.8 turnovers per game this season – an average which ranks them sixth-best in the nation. NDSU is also ranked 21st in Division I for fewest fouls committed per game at 15.4.

            Three-Point Numbers: Senior guard Lawrence Alexander has made 58 three-pointers this season. Only 22 players in the country have made more. The NDSU single-season record for three-pointers is 85 by Ross Manson in the 1993-94 season.

            Best Around: Alexander leads The Summit League in points per game (18.1), three-pointers made (58) and minutes per game (38.5).

            Most Minutes: Alexander has passed Ben Woodside (2005-09) for the NDSU record for minutes played in a career. Woodside played 4,117 minutes in 118 games. Alexander has totaled 4,130 minutes in 118 games.

            High Percentage: Dexter Werner (52.9%) and Kory Brown (52.8%) rank sixth and seventh in The Summit League for field goal percentage in league games.

            The Mayor: Fargo native A.J. Jacobson is shooting 50 percent (15-of-30) from three-point range in league play.

            Wing Man: Sophomore guard Carlin Dupree ranks fourth in The Summit League with 3.2 assists per contest.

            In the Paint: Dexter Werner is the only player in The Summit League this season to average more than 6.0 rebounds & 1.0 block per game while shooting at least 50 percent.

            Against Denver: In three games against Denver last season, Lawrence Alexander averaged 12.0 points – slightly better than his season average of 11.1 points per game. Kory Brown averaged 7.7 points against the Pioneers, just above his season average of 7.0 points per game.

            Three-Year Run: The Bison are on the verge of recording the winningest three-year run in school history.
            No. of wins     Years
            67                    2011-14
            64                    1994-97
            64                    1923-26
            63                    2012-15

            Win at IUPUI: NDSU exploded for 16 points in overtime to pull out a 69-61 victory on the road at IUPUI on Jan. 22. The Jaguars and Bison battled through 15 lead changes and 12 ties in the contest. Neither team led by more than four points over the first 40 minutes. Lawrence Alexander recorded his eighth game of 20-plus points this season, tallying 24 to lead all players.

            Early Leads: The Bison have opened up early double-digit leads in each of their first three Summit League home games.
            Jan. 2             Oral Roberts                 Bison led 21-6 less than 10 minutes in
            Jan. 4             South Dakota State Bison led 31-10 just over 14 minutes in
            Jan. 16           Western Illinois Bison led 24-11 less than 13 minutes in

            Lawrence Alexander's National Rankings (as of Jan. 28)
            4th in minutes per game (38.4)
            23rd in 3-pointers made (58)
            28th in 3-pointers made per game (2.90)
            45th in points per game (18.1)
            45th in total points (362)
            46th in 3-point field goal percentage (40.6%)
            59th in free throw percentage (85.0%)

            Senior Steps Up: Alexander already has seven games this season with four or more three-pointers. He only had three such games over his first three seasons combined.

            Wins Leaderboard: Alexander has 80 wins as a Bison. He needs to play in 3 more NDSU victories to become the winningest player in school history. Mike Felt (2009-14) owns the NDSU record with 82 career wins.

            Stat Sheet Filler: Carlin Dupree has at least four rebounds in all but two games this season. He has at least two assists in all but three games.