Bison Hoops Meet Western Illinois on the Road Sunday

Sunday, February 1

Macomb, Ill.

2 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

Western Illinois

Photo by: Brendan Maloney

Bison Hoops Meet Western Illinois on the Road Sunday

1/30/2015 5:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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

  Sunday's Game: The North Dakota State men's basketball team (14-7 overall, 6-2 Summit League) travels to take on Western Illinois (7-11 overall, 2-5 Summit) on Sunday, Feb. 1, at 2 p.m. Entering the weekend, NDSU stands one-half game behind South Dakota State for first place in the Summit League standings.
            Feb. 1 at Western Illinois       2 p.m.

            Viewing Options: A live video stream will be available for purchase ($5.95) at GoLeathernecks.com/watch.

            Radio: Scott Miller will call the game on KFGO-AM 790 of Fargo. Coverage includes 20-minute pregame and postgame shows. Free audio streaming will be available at GoBison.com/allaccess.

            About Western Illinois: The Fighting Leathernecks are 7-11 overall and 2-5 in The Summit League entering this week. WIU hosts IUPUI on Friday night before taking on the Bison on Sunday afternoon. The Leathernecks have lost five straight games entering Friday's contest.
           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 15.2 points per game, and sophomore Jabari Sandifer is leading The Summit League with 4.6 assists per contest. As a team, the Leathernecks rank 319th in Division I with a field goal percentage of 39.2 percent.

            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 21 straight home games, which is tied for the 7th-longest active home winning streak in the nation. NDSU is 34-2 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 21 points in a victory over Denver on Jan. 29, Lawrence Alexander became the 11th player in NDSU history to surpass 1,500 points for his career. Alexander joined Ben Woodside (2,315), Brett Winkelman (1,962), Taylor Braun (1,651) and Mike Nelson (1,562) as the only five to achieve the feat during NDSU's Division I era.

            Take Care: The Bison are averaging 9.9 turnovers per game this season – an average which ranks them eighth-best in the nation. NDSU is also ranked 19th in Division I for fewest fouls committed per game at 15.3.

            Three-Point Numbers: Senior guard Lawrence Alexander has made 63 three-pointers this season. Only 15 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 (18.2), three-pointers made (63) and minutes per game (38.8).

            Top Freshman: A.J. Jacobson leads all Summit League freshmen in scoring this season with 10.4 points per game.

            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 4,174 minutes in 119 games.

            High Percentage: Dexter Werner (55.4%) ranks fifth in The Summit League for field goal percentage in league games.

            The Mayor: Fargo native A.J. Jacobson is shooting 47 percent (15-of-32) from three-point range in league play.

            Wing Man: Sophomore guard Carlin Dupree ranks sixth in The Summit League with 3.0 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.

            Three-Year Run: The Bison are on the verge of recording the winningest three-year run in school history. NDSU is 64-24 since the start of the 2012-13 season, including a mark of 30-8 in league play.
            No. of wins        Years
            67                       2011-14
            64                       1994-97
            64                       1923-26
            64                       2012-15

            On the Glass: The Bison posted a 35-19 rebounding advantage in their win over Denver on Jan. 29, including a 24-9 margin after halftime. Kory Brown finished with a career-high 13 boards.

            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 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. 30)
            3rd in minutes per game (38.8)
            16th in 3-pointers made (63)
            21st in 3-pointers made per game (3.0)
            33rd in total points (383)
            33rd in 3-point field goal percentage (41.7%)
            44th in points per game (18.2)
            61st in free throw percentage (84.7%)

            Senior Steps Up: Alexander already has eight 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 81 wins as a Bison. He needs to play in two more NDSU victories to become the winningest player in school history. Mike Felt (2009-14) owns the NDSU record with 82 career wins.