North Dakota State, Western Illinois Meet Thursday Night in Men’s Hoops

Thursday, January 10

Fargo, N.D.

7 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

Western Illinois

Photo by: Carrie Snyder

North Dakota State, Western Illinois Meet Thursday Night in Men’s Hoops

1/9/2019 12:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Complete NDSU Game Notes
Jan. 10 vs. WIU Watch | Listen | Live Stats

The Game: The North Dakota State men's basketball team (7-10 overall, 1-2 Summit League) hosts Western Illinois (6-10, 1-2) on Thursday, Jan. 10, at 7 p.m. inside the Scheels Center.

Promotions:

NDSU's seven FCS national championship trophies will be available for photos
Fanny pack giveaway courtesy of MidcoSN
Chance to win 40-inch smart TV
Kids 13 & under can win a Vivofit Jr. Garmin

Where to Watch: Thursday's game will be broadcast on Midco Sports Network 2, 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: 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 and Jeremy Jorgenson will call the action.

About Western Illinois: The Leathernecks come to Fargo with a record of 6-10 overall and 1-2 in The Summit League. WIU has lost at home to South Dakota State, won at home against Denver, and lost at Oral Roberts to start conference play.
            Sophomore guard Kobe Webster leads the Leathernecks with 17.9 points and 3.6 assists per game. Seven-foot senior center Brandon Gilbeck is averaging 9.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 3.9 blocks.

History with Western Illinois: Thursday will be the 25th meeting between North Dakota State and Western Illinois dating back to 2007-08. NDSU holds a 16-8 lead in the all-time series. The Bison had won 10 straight over the Leathernecks until an 82-74 loss in Macomb on Feb. 22 last season.

Last Time vs. Western Illinois: The Bison trimmed a 13-point deficit to one late in the second half, but ultimately lost 82-74 at Western Illinois on Feb. 22 last year.
            The Bison pulled within one at 63-62 when Jared Samuelson connected on all three free throws after being fouled beyond the arc with 2:44 remaining. Western Illinois scored the next eight points to go up 71-62 with 1:17 left.
            WIU freshman Isaac Johnson led all players with a season-high 29 points. Senior guard Paul Miller led the Bison with 27 points.
            WIU led 42-29 with 16:23 to play before NDSU battled back to close the gap. NDSU was called for 29 fouls in the game, and WIU made 33-of-41 (80 percent) at the free throw line.

Free Throw Shooting: The Bison rank second in the nation in free throw percentage, shooting 80.0 percent at the line through 17 games.

Bench Scoring: NDSU is getting 42 percent of its scoring (31 ppg) from bench players through 17 games.

Limited Turnovers: The Bison rank 33rd in the country for fewest turnovers committed per game, averaging 11.4 per contest.

Hot at the Line: NDSU is shooting a remarkable 88.7 percent at the free throw line over the past six games, making 86-of-97 at the charity stripe.

Ward's Work: Tyson Ward is averaging 16.3 points and 7.5 rebounds over the past four games, scoring a season-high 17 vs. South Dakota on Dec. 29 and at Omaha on Jan. 2.

Horn Steps Up: Sophomore guard Jordan Horn is averaging 7.5 points over the past four games, well above his season average of 4.8 points per game.

Strong Ratio: Junior guard Jared Samuelson leads The Summit League with a 3.4 assist-to-turnover ratio this season.

High Percentage: Deng Geu's 59.5% field goal percentage is the second-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 176 points in 17 games this season.

Balanced Attack: NDSU's top four scorers are all averaging between 11.9 and 10.4 points per game this season.

First Double-Double: Junior forward Deng Geu registered his first career double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds on Dec. 19, lifting the Bison to a 90-43 win over Northland College. Geu shot 7-of-9 for the game, and his 13 rebounds were a new career high.

Expanding Role: Deng Geu is playing 20.3 minutes per game this season -- up from 14.6 as a sophomore last year. Geu is averaging 23.5 points and 10.4 rebounds per 40 minutes.

From All Angles: 11 of the 12 Bison who have played this season have made at least three three-pointers. Jared Samuelson leads NDSU with 29 treys this season, and Deng Geu tops the team with 47 percent shooting from beyond the arc.