Men's Basketball | 2/10/2015 5:47:00 PM

Complete NDSU Basketball Game Notes (PDF)
Feb. 12 at Denver: Find ROOT Sports  |  Free Audio  |  Live Stats
Feb. 14 at SDSU: ESPN3 Video  |  Free Audio  |  Live Stats

            This Week's Games: The Summit League-leading NDSU men's basketball team (17-7 overall, 9-2 Summit) will travel to Denver and South Dakota State this week for a pair of pivotal league games. The Bison play at Denver on Thursday, Feb. 12, and at SDSU in Brookings, S.D., on Saturday, Feb. 14. Entering the week, NDSU stands one-half game ahead of the Jackrabbits for first place in the Summit League standings.
            Feb. 12         at Denver                         8 p.m. (CT) / 7 p.m. (MT)
            Feb. 14         at South Dakota State     4 p.m.
 
            Viewing Options: Thursday's game at Denver will be broadcast live on ROOT Sports, with Vic Lombardi and Greg Lackey calling the action. Saturday's game at SDSU will be carried on Midco Sports Network, ESPN3, the ESPN Full Court package and the WatchESPN app.
 
            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.
 
            About Denver: The Pioneers are 10-13 overall and 4-6 in The Summit League entering the game. Denver is 9-4 at home this season and 4-1 at home in league play, with its lone loss coming to South Dakota.
            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 12.7 points per game, and senior Cam Griffin is averaging 11.6 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 ninth in the nation.
 
            The Series with Denver: Thursday will be the ninth meeting between North Dakota State and Denver dating back to the 1993-94 season. The Bison hold a 6-2 advantage in the all-time series after winning two of three games last season and the first meeting this year on Jan. 29 in Fargo.
            In the first game vs. Denver this season, NDSU erased an 11-point deficit with just over 13 minutes remaining to force overtime tied at 47-47. Lawrence Alexander finished with 21 points and Kory Brown recorded a career-high 13 rebounds in the 61-54 victory.
 
            About South Dakota State: The Jackrabbits are 18-8 overall and 9-3 in league play entering this week. SDSU is 11-0 at home this season and has won 15 straight home games since losing to the Bison 85-77 in Brookings on Jan. 25 of last season.
            SDSU was picked to finish fourth in The Summit League this year, one spot ahead of NDSU.
            Junior college transfer Deondre Parks leads SDSU in scoring this season with 14.4 points per game. Senior forward Cody Larson is averaging 14.0 points and 7.0 rebounds, and Wisconsin transfer George Marshall is scoring 12.8 points per game.
 
            The Series with South Dakota State: Saturday will be the 211th meeting between North Dakota State and South Dakota State dating back to 1909-10.  NDSU leads the series 112-98 and has won nine of the last 13 meetings overall, including three straight.
            The Bison have won six of the last eight games in Brookings since 2007, with the only losses coming in 2012 and 2013.
 
            Mid-Major Top 25: NDSU appears in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll this week at No. 22. It is the first time back in the Top 25 for the Bison since finishing last season at No. 3 – an all-time high for the program and The Summit League.
 
            Solid Freshman: A.J. Jacobson is on pace to score the second-most points by a Bison freshman since 2006, behind only Lawrence Alexander.
 
            League's Best: Senior Lawrence Alexander was named the Summit League Player of the Week for the third time in his career this week after averaging 24.5 points and shooting 58 percent (11-of-19) from three-point range in two Bison victories.
 
            Best Year Yet: Alexander has made 76 three-pointers this season – the same amount he made in the last two years combined. He made 41 treys as a junior and 35 as a sophomore.
 
            Record-Breaking Day: Alexander drained an NDSU single-game record eight three-pointers in a 71-47 win over South Dakota on Feb. 7. That output is tied for the seventh-most in a game in all of Division I this season.
 
            Hot Shots: Alexander, Paul Miller and Carlin Dupree went a combined 13-of-17 from beyond the arc in NDSU's rout of South Dakota on Feb. 7. Alexander made 8-of-11 attempts from downtown.
 
            Home Court: The Bison have won 23 straight home games, which is the 7th-longest active home winning streak in the nation. NDSU is 36-2 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.
 
            Wins Record: Lawrence Alexander owns the most wins ever by a Bison basketball player. He has 84 wins in his career, passing the previous record of 82 held by Mike Felt (2009-14).
           
            Moving Up: Alexander moved up from 11th to eighth on the NDSU all-time scoring list with 49 points in two games last week. The Peoria, Ill., native has scored 1,577 points over 122 games.
 
            Best Around: Alexander leads The Summit League in points per game (18.6), three-pointers made (76) and minutes per game (38.2).
           
            Taking Care: The Bison are averaging 9.9 turnovers per game this season – an average which ranks them seventh-best in the nation. NDSU is also ranked 10th in Division I for fewest fouls committed per game at 15.1.
 
            Three-Point Numbers: Senior guard Lawrence Alexander has made 76 three-pointers this season. Only seven 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.
 
            L.A. in January: In the month of January, Lawrence Alexander averaged 20.4 points, made 24 three-pointers (41%), and 33-of-36 free throws (92%) in eight games. The Bison went 6-2 as he averaged 39.9 minutes per contest.
 
            Top Freshman: A.J. Jacobson leads all Summit League freshmen in scoring this season with 10.3 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 4,277 minutes in 122 games.
 
            Lawrence Alexander's National Rankings (as of Feb. 10)
            5th in minutes per game (38.2)
            8th in 3-pointers made (76)
            13th in 3-pointers made per game (3.17)
            14th in 3-point field goal percentage (43.9%)
            25th in total points (446)
            35th in points per game (18.6)           
            High Percentage: Dexter Werner (54.2%) ranks seventh in The Summit League for field goal percentage in league games.
 
            Wing Man: Sophomore guard Carlin Dupree ranks seventh in The Summit League with 2.9 assists per contest.
 
            Three-Year Run: The Bison are in the midst of the winningest three-year run in school history. NDSU is 67-24 since the start of the 2012-13 season, including a mark of 33-8 in league play.
            No. of wins       Years
            67                      2012-15
            67                      2011-14
            64                      1994-97
            64                      1923-26