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Complete NDSU Game Notes
vs. Arkansas State  Live Stats  |  Live Audio  |  Live Video
vs. Minnesota Morris  Live Stats  |  Live Audio  |  Live Video

The Games: The North Dakota State men's basketball team will open the 2016-17 season by hosting Arkansas State on Friday, Nov. 11, and Minnesota Morris on Sunday, Nov. 13, at the Scheels Center inside the Sanford Health Athletic Complex on campus. Friday's game will mark the first regular season basketball game in the arena following a nearly $50 million renovation.
 
Friday Notables:
 

• North Dakota country music artists Tigirlily will perform the national anthem
• 50-foot by 30-foot American flag on the court to recognize Veteran's Day for the national anthem
• Members of the 2009, 2014 and 2015 NCAA Tournament teams and Division II Bison greats will be honored prior to the game
• Halftime entertainment provided by the FM Acro Team
• First 5,000 fans will receive a schedule magnet courtesy of Sanford Health

Parking
Public parking will be available in the RF lot to the south and the R lot south and west of the Sanford Health Athletic Complex. Campus parking is available after 4:30 p.m. on weekdays and all day on weekends and holidays. Parking is prohibited on campus streets, except in designated zones.  Fargodome lot C (north of the SHAC) is available free of charge, except during Fargodome events.
 
Tickets
Single-game tickets are on sale at GoBison.com/tickets and (888) 231-6378. NDSU students get in free with a valid student ID. All other tickets are $15. 

Where to Watch: Both games will be broadcast live on Midco Sports Network. Friday's game can be streamed live for FREE at GoBison.com/allaccess. Sunday's game will be on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app, in addition to GoBison.com. Brian Shawn (play-by-play) and Greg Stemen (analyst) will call the action.
 
Radio: All NDSU men's basketball games will be broadcast on 107.9 The Fox this season, as well as being streamed on the Bison1660 and 107.9 The Fox apps and on GoBison.com/allaccess. Jeff Culhane will call the play-by-play with Jeremy Jorgenson as the analyst.
 
About Arkansas State: The Red Wolves went 10-20 last season with a 7-13 record in the Sun Belt Conference.
        Arkansas State returns two starting guards in seniors Devin Carter and Donte Thomas. Carter led ASU with 17.3 points per game last season while shooting 42 percent from three-point range.
                Friday's contest will be the first for Grant McCasland as the Red Wolves' head coach.
 
The Series with Arkansas State: The Bison hold a 1-0 lead in the all-time series with Arkansas State after winning the first meeting between the schools on Dec. 4 of last season.
 
Last Time vs. Arkansas State: Paul Miller scored 23 points including the game-winning three-pointer with 3.3 seconds remaining to lift the Bison to a come-from-behind road victory over Arkansas State, 74-73, on Dec. 4 of last season. NDSU trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half. Arkansas State led 67-56 with six minutes remaining in the game and still held an eight-point advantage at 69-61 with 2:30 left.
 
About Minnesota Morris: The Cougars are picked to finish third in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) this season after going 13-14 one year ago. First team All-UMAC guard CD Douglas returns after averaging 21.4 points per game and shooting 57 percent last season.
                Head coach Paul Grove is in his 15th season and has lead the Cougars to seven straight UMAC postseason tournaments.
 
The Series with Minnesota Morris: The Bison are 6-0 all-time against Minnesota Morris, with the most recent meeting on Nov. 16, 2001.
 
Exhibition Result: The Bison turned in a strong performance in the first-ever event held at the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex, cruising to a 90-53 win over Concordia-Moorhead in exhibition action on Nov. 2.
                Nine different Bison scored five or more points in the game, led by sophomore guard Khy Kabellis with 16 points. Redshirt freshman forward Deng Geu scored 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting, and senior forward Dexter Werner nearly recorded a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.
 
Picked Third: NDSU has been picked to finish third in The Summit League this season, according to the annual preseason poll of league head coaches, sports information directors and media.
                NDSU junior guard Paul Miller was voted to the preseason All-Summit League first team, while senior forward Dexter Werner claimed a spot on the second team.
                Fort Wayne topped the preseason poll with 491 points and 18 first-place votes. South Dakota State came in second with 424 points and nine first-place votes, and the Bison were third with 422 points and four first-place votes.
 
On a Run: With 93 victories over the past four seasons, the Bison are in the midst of the most successful four-year stretch in program history.
                NDSU has swept the Summit League regular season and tournament titles three times in an eight-year span (2009, 2014, 2015), winning a school-record 26 games in both 2008-09 and 2013-14.
 
Four Straight 20-Win Seasons: The Bison have four straight 20-win seasons for just the second time in school history. NDSU won 20-plus games each year from 1993-97.
 
Four Straight Championship Games: The Bison have played in four consecutive Summit League Tournament championship games, winning the title in 2014 and 2015.
 
Mid-Major Poll: The Bison are ranked 19th in the preseason College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll. Preseason Summit League favorite Fort Wayne was voted 15th in the poll. NDSU opponents South Dakota State and Missouri State also received votes.
 
Returning Stats: The Bison return 83 percent of their scoring and 76 percent of their rebounding from the 2015-16 season.
 
Under Richman: David Richman has been a member of the NDSU coaching staff for six 20-win seasons, as well as producing 14 all-league players and eight of the top 17 scorers in NDSU history. In all, the Bison are 213-127 (.626 win percentage) in his 11 years as a full-time member of the staff.
 
In the Classroom: The Bison recorded a 3.27 team grade point average for the spring 2016 semester – matching the highest men's basketball semester GPA since NDSU moved to Division I. The student-athletes on the 2015-16 roster combined for a cumulative 3.31 team GPA.
 
Watch All Year: The Bison will have a minimum of 24 games broadcast on television or the WatchESPN app this season. North Dakota State is in the first year of a new basketball broadcast rights agreement with MidcoSN, who will carry all but one of NDSU's home games and also make them available on ESPN3.
 
Listen All Year: All NDSU men's basketball games will be broadcast on 107.9 The Fox this season, as well as being streamed on the Bison1660 and 107.9 The Fox apps and on GoBison.com/allaccess.
 
Against The Summit League: NDSU is 39-15 in its last 54 games against Summit League opponents and 53-20 over the last four seasons.
 
Rebound Rate: Dexter Werner ranked second in The Summit League last season with 12.1 rebounds per 40 minutes.
 
Home Court: NDSU is 50-3 at home since the start of the 2012-13 season. The Bison set a Summit League record with 31 consecutive home wins from Dec. 2, 2013, to Jan. 3, 2016.
 
In Overtime: The Bison have won their last five overtime games, dating back to the start of the 2013-14 season.
 
About the Facility: The brand new Scheels Center opened on Nov. 2, 2016, and serves as the arena for North Dakota State University basketball and wrestling with a seating capacity of approximately 5,700.
                Among the notable features of the Scheels Center are a new center-hung, four-sided video display system. The arena has a club room on the east side and an upper concourse overlooking the playing floor from each side. There are six basketball hoops available for training.
                The Scheels Center is part of the $50 million Sanford Health Athletic Complex, which features strength and conditioning facilities, the Gate City Bank fueling station, sports medicine and rehabilitation areas, an academic center for student-athletes, and administrative offices.
                The Nodak Mutual Basketball Performance Center attached on the southwest corner of the complex provides an additional six hoops, giving NDSU one of the finest athletic facilities in the nation among institutions of its size.
 
2016-17 Summit League Preseason Poll
Place   Team                                 Points (1st)
1.          Fort Wayne                    491 (18)
2.          South Dakota State     424 (9)
3.          North Dakota State     422 (4)
4.          Omaha                             352
5.          IUPUI                                331 (1)
6.          Oral Roberts                   199
7.          South Dakota                 176
8.          Denver                             150
9.          Western Illinois             107