Bison Host UC Santa Barbara in Home Opener Sunday Afternoon

Sunday, November 11

Fargo, N.D.

1 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

UC Santa Barbara

Photo by: Carrie Snyder

Bison Host UC Santa Barbara in Home Opener Sunday Afternoon

11/9/2018 11:03:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Complete NDSU Game Notes
UCSB Game Notes
Nov. 11 vs. UCSB Watch | Listen | Live Stats

The Game: The North Dakota State men's basketball team (0-1) hosts UC Santa Barbara (1-0) of the Big West Conference on Sunday, Nov. 11, at 1 p.m. inside the Scheels Center on the NDSU campus.

Where to Watch: Sunday's game will be broadcast on Midco Sports Network, as well as being available on ESPN+ through the ESPN app. Brian Shawn (play-by-play) and Greg Stemen (analyst) will call the action.

Radio: The game 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 (play-by-play) and Jeremy Jorgenson (analyst) will call the action.

About UC Santa Barbara: The Gauchos went 23-9 overall and 11-5 in the Big West for a second-place finish in head coach Joe Pasternack's first season last year. They return one starter in junior guard Max Heidegger who averaged 19 points per game last season. UCSB opened the year with a 76-66 road win at Wyoming on Tuesday night.

History vs. UC Santa Barbara: The Bison and Gauchos have met two times previously on the basketball court. NDSU scored a 68-60 neutral site victory in Eugene, Ore., on Nov. 13, 2010. UCSB won 85-66 in the season opener in Santa Barbara on Nov. 11 last year.

Kreuser's Career Night: Bison sophomore forward Rocky Kreuser scored a career-high 23 points in the season opener at New Mexico State on Tuesday, shooting 9-of-11 for the game and 5-for-6 from beyond the arc. It was just the third double-digit scoring performance of Kreuser's young career.

First Starts: Rocky Kreuser, Vinnie Shahid and Sam Griesel all made their first career starts for the Bison at New Mexico State on Tuesday night. Kreuser played in all 32 games last season as a true freshman. Shahid, a junior college transfer from Western Nebraska CC, and Griesel, a true freshman from Lincoln, Neb., made their NDSU debuts.

Making Shots: NDSU ranked among the top 60 teams in the nation in all three shooting categories last season. The Bison were 33rd in free throw percentage, 50th in three-point percentage, and 58th in field goal percentage.

Good Run: The Bison are averaging 21 wins per season over the past six years.

Experience: Junior Tyson Ward is NDSU's most experienced returner, having played in 62 games for an average of 23.6 minutes per game over the past two seasons. Junior Deng Geu is next on the list, playing in the same 62 games over two seasons, averaging 12.0 minutes.

Picked Fifth: The Bison were picked to finish fifth in The Summit League this season, according to the annual preseason poll of league head coaches, sports information directors and media. South Dakota State topped the preseason poll with all but two first-place votes. South Dakota came in second, Denver was third, and Purdue Fort Wayne was fourth in front of the Bison.

Preseason 2nd Team: Tyson Ward was voted to the preseason All-Summit League second team. Ward is NDSU's top returning scorer (11.8 ppg), and he led the Bison in rebounding as a sophomore last season with 5.9 boards per game.

High Percentage: Deng Geu posted a .623 field goal percentage last season as a sophomore, ranking ninth on the NDSU all-time single-season list.

Three-Point Record: The Bison set a school record with 294 three-pointers made last season, breaking the previous high of 284 set in the 2002-03 season. NDSU averaged 9.2 three-pointers made per game.

At The Line: The Bison were historically good at the free throw line last season, shooting 76.1 percent for the year. That percentage ranks second-best in school history.

Sharpshooter: Junior guard Jared Samuelson enters the season ranked eighth on the NDSU career list for three-point percentage. Samuelson is shooting 41.3 percent from beyond the arc for his career.

Exhibition Numbers: The Bison cruised to an 81-49 exhibition victory over Concordia-Moorhead on Nov. 1 at the Scheels Center, with three freshmen among the top four scorers for the Bison. Freshman Sam Griesel scored 11 points to lead all players. Bison freshman Jaxon Knotek and redshirt freshman Tyree Eady both added 10 points for NDSU, as did junior forward Deng Geu.

Newcomers: The Bison introduce six newcomers to the squad this season, with four coming from the Twin Cities area: junior Vinnie Shahid (Minneapolis, Minn./Hopkins HS/Western Nebraska CC), sophomore Jordan Horn (St. Paul, Minn./Tartan HS/Siena), freshman Jarius Cook (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Park Center HS), and freshman Odell Wilson IV (Minneapolis, Minn./Minneapolis North HS). NDSU also added freshman Sam Griesel from Lincoln, Neb., and freshman Jaxon Knotek from River Falls, Wis.