Southland Favorite Stephen F. Austin, Mississippi State Await Bison on Road

Tuesday, November 28

Nacogdoches, Texas

7:30 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

Stephen F. Austin

Photo by: Xavier Bonner

Southland Favorite Stephen F. Austin, Mississippi State Await Bison on Road

11/26/2017 5:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Nov. 28 at Stephen F. Austin Watch | Listen | Live Stats
Nov. 30 at Mississippi State Watch | Listen | Live Stats

This Week's Games: The North Dakota State men's basketball team (3-2) will go on the road for two games this week, taking on Southland Conference power Stephen F. Austin (5-1) on Tuesday, Nov. 28, and Mississippi State (5-0) of the SEC on Thursday, Nov. 30.

                Tue., Nov. 28      at Stephen F. Austin        Nacogdoches, Texas       7:30 p.m. CT
                Thu., Nov. 30      at Mississippi State          Starkville, Miss.                 6 p.m. CT

Where to Watch: Tuesday's game at Stephen F. Austin will be available on ESPN3 and the ESPN app. Thursday's game at Mississippi State is on the SEC Network and available on the ESPN app to SEC Network subscribers.

Radio: Both games will be broadcast on 107.9 The Fox and Bison1660, as well as being streamed on the 107.9 The Fox app, the Bison1660 app, and on GoBison.com/allaccess. Jeff Culhane will call the action.

About Stephen F. Austin: The Lumberjacks are off to a 5-1 start this season, including a 79-63 victory at home over Florida A&M on Sunday afternoon. Stephen F. Austin was voted the preseason favorite to win the Southland Conference title after posting a runner-up finish last season.
                Junior forward TJ Holyfield leads SFA with 19.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game this year. Junior guard Shannon Bogues is averaging 17.5 points for the Lumberjacks.
                Stephen F. Austin has 107 wins over the past four seasons – the 12th-most among all Division I men's basketball programs.

Last Time vs. Stephen F. Austin: The Bison and Lumberjacks have met once previously – a thrilling 112-111 triple-overtime victory for SFA in a tournament game at Drake University on Dec. 12, 2008. The game is well-known in the NDSU history books, as Bison guard Ben Woodside scored a school- and league-record 60 points and tied the NCAA single-game record with 30 free throws made.

About Mississippi State: The Bulldogs are 5-0 following a 59-56 victory over Jacksonville State on Sunday afternoon, with all five games played at home in Starkville. Mississippi State was picked to finish 12th in the 14-team SEC in the preseason poll.
                The Bulldogs have five players averaging between 11 and 13 points this season, led by junior guard Q Weatherspoon with 12.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. Junior forward Aric Holman is averaging 11.4 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting 69 percent.

First Meeting with Mississippi State: The Bison have never played Mississippi State in men's basketball. The Bison are 0-2 against SEC opponents, having lost 75-65 at Florida on Nov. 9, 2007, and 71-55 at Arkansas on Dec. 20, 2016.

Sharing the Love: NDSU's 20 assists against Stetson on Nov. 25 were its most against a Division I opponent since recording 22 at IUPUI on Jan. 17, 2013.

Assists are Up: The Bison are averaging 13.8 assists through five games this season – up from 11.4 assists per game through five contests last year.

Bench Buckets: NDSU starters are averaging 42.2 points per game this season, with the other 30.2 points per game coming from the Bison bench. NDSU bench players are shooting 53 percent this year.

Halftime Burst: The Bison used a 22-5 run before and after halftime to blow open their victory over Stetson on Nov 25. NDSU closed the first half with a 10-2 burst over the final four minutes, then outscored Stetson 12-3 in the first three minutes of the second half.

New Career High for Ward: Tyson Ward scored a career-high 26 points with a 10-for-12 shooting performance and also grabbed six rebounds in NDSU's 94-58 win over Stetson.

Instant Offense: Sophomores Deng Geu (22.9 points per 40 min) and Cameron Hunter (19.8 points per 40 min) lead NDSU in points per 40 minutes.

Eliason's First Start: Junior forward Spencer Eliason scored a season-high 7 points in his first career start vs. Stetson on Nov. 25.

Stat Sheet Stuffer: Senior guard Paul Miller averaged 15.5 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists in two home victories over Florida A&M and Stetson last week.

Impact Freshman: Redshirt freshman Cameron Hunter scored 35 points in the first two games of his career – 11 at UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 11, and 24 at USC on Nov. 13. The only freshman in NDSU's Division I era to score more points in his first two career games was Mike Nelson (36), who scored 15 against Minnesota and 21 against Hamline in 2005.

Good Half Decade: With 112 victories over the past five seasons, the Bison are in the midst of the most successful five-year stretch in program history.

Picked Third: NDSU has been picked to finish third in The Summit League this season. South Dakota State topped the preseason poll with 339 points and 13 first-place votes. South Dakota came in second with 327 points and the remaining 12 first-place votes. The Bison were third with 246 points.

Preseason Honor: NDSU senior guard Paul Miller was voted to the preseason All-Summit League first team for the second straight year.

Double-Double: Sophomore Tyson Ward recorded his first career double-double in NDSU's win at Missouri State on Nov. 17 with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Trojan Challenge: The Bison led No. 10-ranked USC 56-51 with nine minutes remaining in the game on Nov. 13. NDSU was within two at 62-60 with four minutes left before an 8-0 run by the Trojans.

New Faces: A trio of Bison scored their first points for NDSU on the season-opening road trip to California. Cameron Hunter scored 11 points vs. UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 11 in his first career game, and sophomore transfer Chris Quayle scored three against UCSB. Freshman Rocky Kreuser tallied his first points with a second-half dunk at USC on Nov. 13.

Into the Top 25: Senior guard Paul Miller entered NDSU's top 25 for career points during the season's first week. He currently ranks 21st in school history with 1,183 points.