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Complete NDSU Game Notes
Jan. 3 vs. SDSU  Watch  |  Listen  |  Live Stats
Jan. 6 at USD  Watch  |  Listen  |  Live Stats

This Week's Games: The North Dakota State men's basketball team (8-6 overall) opens Summit League play by hosting South Dakota State (12-5) on Wednesday, Jan. 3, and traveling to take on South Dakota (13-4) on Saturday, Jan. 6.
          Wed., Jan. 3         vs. South Dakota State    7 p.m. CT
          Sat., Jan. 6           at South Dakota               1 p.m. CT

Promotions: Wednesday's game is presented by Scheels, with a rally towel giveaway and free popcorn for early-arriving fans. Bison Buddies will perform at halftime. 
 
Where to Watch: Both games will be broadcast on Midco Sports Network, as well as being available on ESPN3 and the ESPN app. Brian Shawn (play-by-play) and Greg Stemen (analyst) will call the action Wednesday vs. SDSU.
 
Radio: Wednesday's game vs. SDSU 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 and Jeremy Jorgenson will call the action. Saturday's game at South Dakota will be carried on 96.9 HITS FM with Kevin Culhane on the call.
 
About South Dakota State: The Jackrabbits were picked to win The Summit League in the league's preseason poll and are off to a 12-5 start. SDSU is shooting a league-best 42 percent from three-point range and averaging nearly 86 points per game after non-conference play. Head coach T.J. Otzelberger is in his second season at SDSU.
          Junior forward Mike Daum is averaging 21.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game to lead the Jackrabbits. Freshman guard David Jenkins Jr. has added 14.8 points per game for SDSU.
 
History with South Dakota State: This will be the 219th meeting between North Dakota State and South Dakota State dating back to 1909-10.  NDSU leads the series 117-101 and has won 13 of the last 20 meetings overall. The Bison have won 11 of the last 12 games in Fargo, including 82-65 on Feb. 8 of last season.
 
Last Time vs. SDSU: A.J. Jacobson set new career highs with 26 points and 12 rebounds to lift the Bison to an 82-65 win over South Dakota State at the Scheels Center on Feb. 8 last season. Leading by five with 17 minutes remaining in the game, the Bison rattled off a 14-0 run to put the Jackrabbits away.
          It was Jacobson's first career double-double. The Bison shot 52 percent for the game and limited the Jackrabbits to 37-percent shooting. Mike Daum scored 26 points to lead SDSU.
 
Winning the Arc: NDSU ranks among the top 40 teams in Division I in three-point FG defense (16th) and three-point percentage (39th). Since their 88-79 win at North Dakota on Dec. 9, the Bison are shooting 45.5 percent from beyond the arc.
 
Won the Last Three: The Bison have won their last three Summit League openers, including an 80-69 win at SDSU on Dec. 28 last season.
 
Home Court Advantage: The Bison are 41-4 at home since David Richman was hired as head coach in 2014.
 
Tough Slate: NDSU's six losses this season have come against opponents with a combined record of 67-18.
 
Jacobson vs. The Jacks: Senior A.J. Jacobson typically performs above his career averages when playing South Dakota State. In eight career games vs. SDSU, Jacobson is averaging 13.4 points and 5.6 rebounds.
 
Nine Dimes: Redshirt freshman Cameron Hunter registered nine assists vs. Jamestown on Dec. 30 – the most by a Bison since Taylor Braun dished out 11 against Southern Mississippi on Nov. 18, 2013.
 
Stay Hot: Senior A.J. Jacobson is hot from beyond the arc this season, making 24-of-47 three-point attempts (51 percent) through 14 games.
 
Third Double-Double: Sophomore Tyson Ward recorded his third career double-double vs. Jamestown on Dec. 30 with 12 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
 
Sharp Shooter: Sophomore guard Jared Samuelson has already surpassed his three-point output from last season. He made 16 three-pointers in 28 games last year, and has made 23 in the first 14 games of this year at a 44-percent clip.
 
Free Throw Bump: Prior to the two games at the Sun Bowl Invitational, only seven Division I teams were attempting fewer free throws per game than NDSU this season. The Bison averaged 13.8 free throw attempts through 11 contests before setting back-to-back season highs with 25 free throws against UNC Wilmington and 29 vs. UTEP.
 
Big Run Wins Sun Bowl Title: The Bison outscored UTEP 19-2 over the final 7:35 of the game on Dec. 22, pulling away to earn a 63-51 victory and take the Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational title. NDSU trailed UTEP 49-44 with just under eight minutes remaining, but the Bison rattled off a 14-0 run to take a commanding 58-49 advantage with two minutes left.
 
Long Distance Barrage: NDSU's 14 three pointers vs. UNC Wilmington on Dec. 21 were the most by the Bison since hitting 14 in a win over South Dakota on Feb. 7, 2015. The Bison connected on 14-of-25 attempts (56 percent) from beyond the arc.
 
Into the Top 20: Senior guard Paul Miller ranks 19th in school history with 1,344 points. He moved into NDSU's all-time top 20 vs. Missouri State on Dec. 4, passing Ron Schlieman (1965-68).
 
Hot Shooting: In the victory over Valley City State on Dec. 12, the Bison made 40-of-57 shots for 70.2 percent – the second-best team shooting performance in school history. NDSU came up just short of the school record of 70.5 percent, established with a 31-of-44 effort vs. Minnesota State Mankato on Jan. 31, 1987.
          It also ranks as the second-highest team field goal percentage in the nation this season.
 
Century Mark for Jacobson: A.J. Jacobson is the 15th player in NDSU history to start at least 100 career games for the Bison. Jacobson ranks 7th in school history in minutes average (31.7), 9th in three-pointers made (180), and 10th in career three-point percentage (.402).