Bison Men’s Basketball Takes Winning Streak to Denver Saturday

Saturday, January 14

Denver, Colo.

5 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

Denver

Photo by: Kevin Wolf

Bison Men’s Basketball Takes Winning Streak to Denver Saturday

1/13/2017 11:25:00 AM | Men's Basketball

NDSU Basketball on Twitter
Complete NDSU Game Notes
Jan. 14 at Denver Watch | Live Stats | Listen

The Game: The North Dakota State men's basketball team (12-5, 4-0) will go on the road to take on the Denver Pioneers (10-7, 2-2) in Denver, Colo., on Saturday, Jan. 14. The Bison have won six of their last seven games and are off to their best Summit League start since the 2012-13 season.
            Jan. 14      at Denver          5 p.m. CT / 4 p.m. MT       Altitude2

Where to Watch: Saturday's game will be broadcast live on Altitude2, with Todd Romero (play-by-play) and Greg Lackey (analyst) calling the action.

Radio: Saturday's game will be broadcast on 107.9 The Fox, as well as being streamed on the 107.9 The Fox app and GoBison.com/allaccess. Jeff Culhane (play-by-play) will call the action.

About Denver: The Pioneers went 8-5 in non-conference play before opening Summit League action with a 2-2 mark -- with wins over Oral Roberts and Western Illinois and losses to South Dakota and Fort Wayne. Denver is 5-3 in eight home games so far this season.
                Denver ranks 26th in the country in team three-point percentage at 39.6 percent. Sophomore guard Joe Rosga leads the Pioneers with 16.2 points per game and 44-percent shooting from three-point range. Junior center Daniel Amigo is averaging 14.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per contest.
                Head coach Rodney Billups is in his first season at Denver. The Pioneers finished 16-15 overall and 7-9 in league play last season.

The Series with Denver: Saturday will be the 13th meeting between North Dakota State and Denver dating back to the 1993-94 season. The Bison hold a 9-3 advantage in the all-time series after each team won at home last season.

Last Time vs. Denver: The Bison lost 70-59 at Denver on Feb. 27 last year in the regular season finale. Senior Kory Brown led NDSU with 20 points and six rebounds on 8-for-14 shooting. A.J. Jacobson scored 12 points, and Dexter Werner added 11 off the bench for NDSU.
                Denver shot 52 percent from the floor, including a 10-for-17 effort from three-point range. C.J. Bobbitt led the Pioneers with 16 points.

Season-High for Miller: NDSU junior guard Paul Miller poured in a season-high 26 points and made a career-best six three-pointers in NDSU's win at South Dakota on Jan. 11.

Eighty-Plus: The Bison scored 80-plus points in three straight games to open the Summit League slate. It was the first time in five years (Dec. 28, 2011 through Jan. 5, 2012) that NDSU scored 80-plus in three straight league games.

Showcasing Depth: Six different Bison have scored at least 18 points in a game this season: Paul Miller, Dexter Werner, A.J. Jacobson, Khy Kabellis, Carlin Dupree and Deng Geu.

Road Wins: As of Jan. 12, North Dakota State is one of 16 Division I teams with at least five road wins this season.
Tale of Two Halves: The Bison have flipped the switch at halftime this season, posting a significant shooting advantage in the second half of games. NDSU is shooting 44 percent in the first half and 49 percent in the second half this season. Bison opponents are shooting 42 percent in the first half and 38 percent in the second half.

The Closer: Dexter Werner has made 38-of-52 shots after halftime this season for an impressive 73 percent.

Paul's Production: Over the last six games, junior guard Paul Miller is averaging 21.0 points and 6.5 rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field and 48 percent from beyond the arc. He was named The Summit League's Player of the Week on Jan. 3 following two wins over South Dakota State and Omaha.

Streak Snappers: The Bison snapped South Dakota State's 34-game home win streak on Dec. 28 with an 80-69 comeback victory in Brookings. SDSU's run was the 2nd-longest active streak in the nation -- and it started following an NDSU win in Frost Arena on Jan. 25, 2014.
                NDSU also became the first team to win at South Dakota this season with a 70-69 triumph on Jan. 11. The Coyotes were 8-0 at home prior to that Bison win.

Take Care: NDSU committed an average of 13.5 turnovers per game during the non-conference portion of the schedule. Through four Summit League games, the Bison are averaging only 9.8 turnovers per game.

Second Half Burst: NDSU topped 50 points in the second half in three straight games to open Summit League play. The Bison are averaging 48 points after halftime in conference games.
          58       Dec. 28       at South Dakota State
          53       Dec. 31       vs. Omaha
          51       Jan. 5           vs. IUPUI

Rebound Machine: Dexter Werner has double-digit boards in six of the last nine contests. Over those nine games, Werner is averaging 14.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game and shooting 68 percent.

Scoring Defense: The Bison lead The Summit League in scoring defense, allowing 67.4 points per game through 17 games. Denver is the next best team at 71.2 points allowed per game.