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Complete NDSU Game Notes
Jan. 16 at Denver  Watch  |  Listen  |  Live Stats
Jan. 19 vs. UND  Watch  |  Listen  |  Live Stats

The Games:  The North Dakota State men's basketball team (8-10 overall, 2-2 Summit League) travels to take on the Denver Pioneers (5-14, 0-5) at 8 p.m. CT / 7 p.m. MT on Wednesday, Jan. 16. The Bison host the North Dakota Fighting Hawks (8-10, 2-3) on Saturday, Jan. 19, at 2 p.m. inside the Scheels Center.
 
Where to Watch: Wednesday's game will be broadcast on Altitude 2 and streamed live on DenverPioneers.com. Saturday's game will be broadcast on Midco Sports Network, as well as being available on ESPN3 through the ESPN app. Brian Shawn (play-by-play) and Greg Stemen (analyst) will call the action.
 
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.

Parking: With overlapping North Dakota State men's basketball and track & field events on campus on Saturday, Jan. 19, the NDSU athletic department is reminding fans of parking options. Track & field spectators are encouraged to park in the R lot south and west of the Shelly Ellig Indoor Track & Field Facility for the Bison Team Cup meet, running from 10:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. Fans attending the men's basketball game vs. North Dakota at 2 p.m. are encouraged to park north of the Sanford Health Athletic Complex in the Fargodome lot, or south of the arena in the RF lot.

• FM Acro Team performing at halftime
• Buffalo Wild Wings wing-eating contest
• BWW "Tweet Your Seat" promo - get wings delivered to your seat!
• National champion NDSU football team recoginized on court

 
About Denver: The Pioneers enter Wednesday's contest with a record of 5-14 overall and 0-5 in league play this season, despite being voted third in The Summit League's preseason poll. Denver is 3-4 at home in Magness Arena this year.
           Ronnie Harrell Jr., a senior graduate transfer from Creighton, leads the Pioneers in scoring with 13.5 points per game, with senior guard Joe Rosga adding 12.5 points. Denver ranks 30th in the NCAA in three-point shooting at 38.5 percent, but also ranks 350th in three-point defense, allowing opponents to shoot 41.6 percent beyond the arc.
 
History with Denver: Wednesday will be the 17th meeting between North Dakota State and Denver dating back to the 1993-94 season. The Bison hold a 10-6 advantage in the all-time series, but have lost three straight in Denver. NDSU's last win over the Pioneers on the road was a 73-69 overtime triumph on Feb. 12, 2015.
 
Last Time vs. Denver: Tyson Ward scored 25 points, but the Denver Pioneers survived a late threat to beat the Bison 66-63 on Feb. 10 last season at Magness Arena. NDSU missed a pair of 3-point tries in the final 10 seconds of the game. 
          Joe Rosga scored 26 points and Daniel Amigo added 19 points for the Pioneers, who led by as many as 13 points in the second half.  DU shot 50 percent from the field while holding NDSU to 36.5 percent.
 
History with North Dakota: UND leads the all-time series 161-132, dating back to 1905. This will be the 11th meeting as Division I opponents, with NDSU holding a 6-4 record in those contests.
 
Last Time vs. North Dakota: The Bison dropped a non-conference game to their in-state rival on Jan. 16 at the Scheels Center last season, losing 86-77. North Dakota converted 17 Bison turnovers into a remarkable 32 points.
          NDSU was led by a game-high 27 points from senior guard Paul Miller, and Tyson Ward recorded his fifth double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
          The Fighting Hawks led 46-37 at halftime after hitting 10 three-pointers in the first 20 minutes. The Bison cut that deficit to four at 66-62 when Ward knocked down a trey with 9:12 to play. With NDSU trailing 68-64, North Dakota went on a 9-0 run over a stretch of 3:30 to go up 77-64 with five minutes left.
 
Team Effort: Six Bison scored in double figures as NDSU defeated Western Illinois 85-69 on Jan. 10 last week. Junior Tyson Ward led NDSU with 17 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for the seventh double-double of his career.
          NDSU used a balanced attack to dispatch the Leathernecks, with six Bison scoring between 11 and 17 points. Behind Ward, NDSU got 14 points from Deng Geu, 13 from Rocky Kreuser, 13 from Vinnie Shahid, 12 from Sam Griesel, and 11 from Jared Samuelson.
 
Free Throw Shooting: The Bison rank second in the nation in free throw percentage, shooting 80.1 percent at the line through 18 games.
 
Bench Scoring: NDSU is getting 41 percent of its scoring (30 ppg) from bench players through 18 games.
 
Limited Turnovers & Fouls: NDSU ranks 17th in the nation for fewest fouls committed per game (15.2) and 29th nationally for fewest turnovers committed per game (11.2).
 
Hot at the Line: NDSU is shooting a remarkable 88.1 percent at the free throw line over the past seven games, making 96-of-109 at the charity stripe.
 
Ward's Work: Tyson Ward is averaging 16.4 points and 8.6 rebounds over the past five games, scoring a season-high 17 points three times in that stretch -- vs. South Dakota on Dec. 29, at Omaha on Jan. 2, and vs. Western Illinois on Jan. 10.
 
10 in Double Figures: With freshman Sam Griesel scoring a season-high 12 points in the win over Western Illinois on Jan. 10, ten different Bison players have now scored in double figures this season.
 
From All Angles: All 12 Bison who have played this season have made multiple three-pointers. Jared Samuelson leads NDSU with 32 treys this season and 46 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
 
Strong Ratio: Junior guard Jared Samuelson leads The Summit League with a 3.6 assist-to-turnover ratio this season.
 
High Percentage: Deng Geu's 59.1% field goal percentage is the third-best in The Summit League this season among players averaging at least seven shots per game.
 
Deng Good: Deng Geu erupted for 20 points to lead the Bison back from a double-digit second-half deficit in the league opener on Dec. 29, earning a 71-65 win over South Dakota. Geu poured in his 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting – the second-highest scoring output of his career. The Bison outscored the Coyotes 38-21 over the final 16 minutes of the contest.
 
Big Leap: Sophomore Rocky Kreuser has already surpassed his scoring output from his freshman season. After scoring 120 points in 32 games last year, Kreuser has 189 points in 18 games this season.
 
Balanced Attack: NDSU's top four scorers are all averaging between 12.1 and 10.5 points per game this season.