Complete NDSU Game Notes
Jan. 24 at SDSU  Watch  |  Listen  |  Live Stats
Jan. 26 at ORU   Watch  |  Listen  |  Live Stats
 
The Games:  The North Dakota State men's basketball team (9-11 overall, 3-3 Summit League) begins a four-game Summit League road trip with games at South Dakota State on Thursday, Jan. 24, and at Oral Roberts on Saturday, Jan. 26.
 
Where to Watch: Thursday's game at SDSU will be broadcast on MidcoSN and streamed on ESPN+ through the ESPN app. Saturday's game at ORU will be carried on ESPN3.
 
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 South Dakota State: The Jackrabbits are 15-6 overall and 5-1 in The Summit League entering Thursday's game. Reigning Summit League Player of the Year Mike Daum leads SDSU with 24.2 points and 10.9 rebounds per game – also the top marks in the conference. Sophomore David Jenkins Jr. is second on the team and second in the league with 19.6 points per game.
        SDSU ranks fifth in the NCAA in three-point shooting percentage this season, as well as ranking sixth in the nation in overall field goal percentage. The Jackrabbits are 97-6 at Frost Arena since the 2011-12 season, for a .942 home winning percentage that is best in the country over that span. Two of those six home losses were to the Bison – an 80-69 NDSU win in the 2016-17 season, and an 85-77 Bison victory in the 2013-14 season.
 
History with South Dakota State: This will be the 222nd meeting between North Dakota State and South Dakota State dating back to 1909-10.  NDSU leads the series 117-104, and the Bison are 7-5 in their last 12 games in Brookings, including an 80-69 win on Dec. 28, 2016.
 
Last Time vs. South Dakota State: Top-seeded South Dakota State defeated the Bison 78-57 in the semifinals of the Summit League Tournament last season at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.
        SDSU scored the first 10 points of the game and went up 23-6 less than 10 minutes into the contest. The Jackrabbits led 38-20 at halftime. The Bison scored the final six points of the first half and opened the second half with an 11-1 run to pull within eight at 39-31. The Jackrabbits responded with an 11-1 run of their own and led by at least 13 the rest of the way.
        SDSU freshman David Jenkins led all players with 24 points. Sophomore Tyson Ward scored 15 points to lead NDSU. The Bison shot just 35 percent for the game and made 5-of-24 (21 percent) from three-point range.
 
About Oral Roberts: The Golden Eagles are 8-14 overall and 4-3 in The Summit League entering the weekend.  ORU is 5-3 at home this season. Junior forward Emmanuel Nzekwesi leads the team in scoring (15.4 ppg) and rebounding (8.4 rpg), with freshman Kevin Obanor adding 12.5 points per game.
 
History with Oral Roberts: Saturday will be the 24th meeting between North Dakota State and Oral Roberts dating back to 1967-68, with ORU leading the series 12-11. The Bison have won six of the last nine meetings.
 
Last Time vs. Oral Roberts: Oral Roberts senior Austin Ruder made a three-pointer as time expired in overtime to lift the Golden Eagles to a 67-66 win over the Bison on Feb. 8 last season at the Mabee Center.
        A.J. Jacobson led NDSU with 16 points, and Paul Miller and Tyson Ward both scored 15 for the Bison. Ruder finished with 18 points on six three-pointers.
        The game went to overtime tied at 61-61 after ORU tied it up with a bucket from Emmanuel Nzekwesi in the final minute. NDSU was trailing 64-63 when Ward connected from beyond the arc with 2.8 seconds remaining, giving the Bison a 66-64 advantage.
        Oral Roberts' pass into the frontcourt was deflected out of bounds, giving the Golden Eagles one final attempt to score on an inbounds play. Ruder made a three from the corner with Ward's hand in his face as time expired.
 
Sammy Hoops: Since his return to the starting lineup in conference play, freshman Sam Griesel is averaging 9.0 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting 70 percent overall.
 
Bench Boost: Junior Deng Geu is the only Summit League reserve leading his team in scoring (11.9 ppg). He is averaging 12.7 points per game in league play.
 
A Little of Everything: Junior Tyson Ward is leading the Bison in scoring (13.7 ppg), rebounding (7.8 rpg), and assists (3.0 apg) in Summit League play.
 
Free Points: Rocky Kreuser has made 18 consecutive free throws without a miss, and has converted 28 of his last 29 at the charity stripe. Vinnie Shahid has not missed a free throw since Dec. 17 at Montana, making his last 16 straight at the foul line.
 
Shooter: Jared Samuelson is shooting 50 percent from three-point range in Summit League play.
 
Shooting Discrepancy: The Bison are 8-1 in home games this season, while shooting 50 percent and limiting opponents to 41-percent shooting. NDSU is 0-7 on the road this season, shooting 39 percent in those games and allowing opponents to shoot 53 percent.
 
New Balance: The Bison have eight players averaging at least 20 minutes per game this season. In the school's Division I era (2004-present), NDSU has never had more than six players average 20-plus minutes for a season.
 
Free Throw Shooting: The Bison rank third in the nation in free throw percentage, shooting 79.0 percent at the line through 20 games.
 
Bench Scoring: NDSU is getting 41 percent of its scoring (30 ppg) from bench players through 20 games.
 
Limited Turnovers & Fouls: NDSU ranks 20th in the nation for fewest fouls committed per game (15.3) and 29th nationally for fewest turnovers committed per game (11.3).
 
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.
 
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 35 treys this season and 46 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
 
Strong Ratio: Junior guard Jared Samuelson ranks second in The Summit League with a 2.7 assist-to-turnover ratio this season.
 
High Percentage: Deng Geu's 58.8% field goal percentage is the third-best in The Summit League this season among players averaging at least seven shots per game.