Complete NDSU Basketball Game Notes (PDF)
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            Thursday's Game: The North Dakota State men's basketball team (10-5 overall, 2-0 Summit League) travels to take on the Omaha Mavericks (7-7, 1-1 Summit) on Thursday, Jan. 8, at 7 p.m. at Ralston Arena in Omaha.
            Jan. 8   at Omaha         7 p.m.
 
            Viewing Options: The 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.
 
            Radio: Gary Rogers 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 Omaha: The Mavericks are 7-7 overall and 1-1 in The Summit League entering Thursday's game. Omaha won 86-77 on the road at South Dakota to open league play, but lost 80-78 at Western Illinois on Jan. 4. The Mavericks posted a 97-89 victory at Marquette on Nov. 22 this season -- their first over a high-major opponent.
            Omaha was picked to finish sixth in the Summit League preseason poll, one spot behind NDSU. The Mavericks went 17-15 overall last season and 5-9 in league play for sixth place.
            Senior guard CJ Carter leads the team with 16.2 points per game, with junior guards Devin Patterson (13.6 ppg) and Marcus Tyus (13.2 ppg) close behind. According to KenPom.com, Omaha plays at the second-fastest tempo in all of Division I.
 
            The Series with Omaha: Thursday will be the 72nd meeting between North Dakota State and Omaha dating back to 1935-36. NDSU has a 43-28 lead in the series, including a sweep of both games last season, as the Bison won 91-69 in Fargo on Jan. 16 and 75-59 in Omaha on Feb. 15. NDSU is 5-0 against the Mavericks in Division I meetings.
 
            Taking Care: The Bison are averaging 9.2 turnovers per game this season – an average which ranks them third-best in the nation. NDSU has committed 10 or fewer turnovers in 10 of 15 games.
            NDSU is also ranked ninth in Division I for fewest fouls committed per game at 14.5.
 
            Against Omaha: The Bison limited Omaha to 36 percent shooting from the field and 31 percent from three-point range over their two meetings last season. NDSU posted an average rebounding margin of 41-30 versus the Mavericks.
 
            Best Year Ever:  NDSU went 24-8 during the 2014 calendar year – its most wins ever in a single calendar year.
 
            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. 6)
            5th in minutes per game (38.3)
            13th in 3-pointers made (46)
            27th in 3-pointers made per game (3.1)
            33rd in total points (267)
            38th in 3-point field goal percentage (43.0%)
 
            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. 31 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 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 90-plus rebounds and 20-plus blocks. Werner is averaging 13.7 points and 8.1 rebounds over his last seven games.
 
            Stabilizing Force: Since Nov. 22, Carlin Dupree has 38 assists and only 16 turnovers. The sophomore guard is also averaging 4.8 boards per game over that stretch.
 
            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 (46) and minutes per game (38.3).
 
            Downtown L.A.: Alexander is ranked 27th in the nation with 3.1 three-pointers per game. He has made at least two 3-pointers in all but three games this season.
 
            Senior Steps Up: Alexander already has six 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 77 wins as a Bison. He needs to play in 6 more NDSU victories to become the winningest player in school history. Mike Felt (2009-14) owns the NDSU record with 82 career wins.