Complete NDSU Game Notes
Feb. 28 at USD  Watch  |  Listen  |  Live Stats
Mar. 2 at PFW  Watch  |  Listen  |  Live Stats
 
The Games:  The North Dakota State men's basketball team (14-14 overall, 8-6 Summit League) will close the regular season with road games at South Dakota (11-16, 5-9) at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 28, and at Purdue Fort Wayne (17-12, 9-5) on Saturday, Mar. 2, at 4 p.m. CT.
 
Where to Watch: Thursday's game will be broadcast on Midco Sports Network and ESPN+. Saturday's game will only be available at GoMastodons.com/showcase.
 
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.
 
History with South Dakota: Thursday will be the 177th meeting between North Dakota State and South Dakota dating back to 1922-23. The Bison hold a 96-80 lead in the series.
          NDSU is 11-4 against the Coyotes as Division I opponents, and the Bison have won two in a row in Vermillion.
 
Last Time vs. South Dakota: Deng Geu erupted for 20 points to lead NDSU back from a double-digit second-half deficit, earning a 71-65 win over South Dakota to open Summit League play in Fargo on Dec. 29. The Bison outscored the Coyotes 38-21 over the final 16 minutes of the contest.
          NDSU trailed 49-39 with just over 14 minutes remaining in the game. Down 61-58 with just under five minutes left, NDSU scored seven straight with a basket from Tyson Ward, a three from Jordan Horn, and a jumper off the glass by Horn. The Bison led the rest of the way.
          Geu poured in his 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Ward filled the stat sheet with 17 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. Horn finished with 10 points for the Bison. After South Dakota shot 61 percent in the opening half, the Bison limited the Coyotes to 39-percent shooting in the final 20 minutes.
 
History with Purdue Fort Wayne: Saturday will be the 31st meeting between the Bison and Mastodons since 2005-06, with the series knotted at 15-15. The Bison earned a victory in the quarterfinals of the Summit League Tournament last year, but Purdue Fort Wayne won in overtime in Fargo on Dec. 30 this season.
 
Last Time vs. Purdue Fort Wayne: Purdue Fort Wayne senior John Konchar scored 38 points, including the game-winning three-pointer with 0.9 seconds left in overtime, to lift the Mastodons to a 90-87 win over the Bison on Dec. 30 in Fargo.
          The Bison led by as many as 15 points in the second half, holding a 61-46 advantage with just under 14 minutes remaining. NDSU was ahead 71-64 with 5:15 on the clock when Konchar scored eight straight points to give Purdue Fort Wayne its first lead since early in the first half.
          Down 81-77 with 25 seconds remaining, the Bison got a pair of clutch three-pointers from Rocky Kreuser and Vinnie Shahid to force overtime. Kreuser hit from the top of the key with 13.8 seconds left, and after a pair of Konchar free throws, Shahid drilled a game-tying three with 3.3 seconds on the clock.
          The game went to overtime tied 83-83. Konchar scored six of the Mastodons' seven points in overtime, hitting the game-winner from 23 feet out on the left wing. Junior Jared Samuelson led the Bison with 17 points, making five three-pointers, and Tyson Ward added 16.
 
Vin Diesel: Over the past seven games, Vinnie Shahid is averaging 20.0 points and 3.7 assists, while shooting 58 percent overall and 50 percent (23-for-46) from beyond the arc. He has committed just seven turnovers in that seven-game stretch.
 
Free Throw Shooting: The Bison rank sixth in the nation in free throw shooting at 77.5 percent.
 
High-Level Shooter: Jared Samuelson is shooting 49 percent from three-point range in Summit League play. He ranks 17th among all active Division I players with a career 43.5 percent from beyond the arc.
 
Lighter Load: The Bison do not have a single player who ranks among the top 20 in The Summit League in minutes played during the conference season. Vinnie Shahid's 30.7 minutes per game are the 22nd-most.
 
On the Boards: Tyson Ward and John Konchar are the only players in the Summit League under 6-foot-8 who average at least 7 rebounds per game in league play.
 
Limited Turnovers & Fouls: NDSU ranks 15th in the nation for fewest fouls committed per game (14.9) and 27th nationally for fewest turnovers committed per game (11.0).
 
Eady Stepping Up: Redshirt freshman Tyree Eady is shooting 54 percent in league play, including 46 percent from three-point range. He ranks seventh among Summit League freshmen with 7.1 points per game in league play.
 
They Went to Jared: Junior Jared Samuelson scored a season-high 18 points on six three-pointers in NDSU's victory over Oral Roberts on Valentine's Day.
 
Quick Start: The Bison exploded out of the gates on Feb. 14, making eight three-pointers in the game's first eight minutes to go up 24-14 on Oral Roberts.
 
Winning Streak: NDSU's five-game winning streak was its first since the 2014-15 season. NDSU won five straight in Summit League play that year between Jan. 29 and Feb. 12.         
 
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, and 10 players have made at least 10 treys. Jared Samuelson leads NDSU with 54 threes this season, shooting 46.6 percent from beyond the arc.
 
Balanced Attack: NDSU's top four scorers are all averaging between 12.9 and 9.5 points per game this season.