Complete NDSU Game Notes
Feb. 5 at Omaha  Watch  |  Listen  |  Live Stats

The Game:  The North Dakota State men's basketball team (16-7 overall, 7-2 Summit League) travels to take on the Omaha Mavericks (12-11, 5-3) Wednesday night for its third Summit League road game in the span of a week.
              Wednesday, Feb. 5          at Omaha                    7 p.m. CT
              Saturday, Feb. 8                vs. Oral Roberts        1 p.m. CT
 
Where to Watch: Wednesday's game will be broadcast on MidcoSN and ESPN+.
 
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 will call the action.
          All Bison conference games will also be carried on KYCR 1440 AM in the Twin Cities.
 
History with Omaha: Wednesday will be the 83rd meeting between North Dakota State and Omaha dating back to 1935-36. NDSU has a 49-33 lead in the series. The Mavericks won both regular season meetings last season, but NDSU defeated Omaha 73-63 in the championship game of the Summit League Tournament.
 
Last Time vs. Omaha:  The fourth-seeded Bison knocked off No. 2 seed Omaha 73-63 in the championship game of the Summit League Tournament on March 12 last season, earning the program's third NCAA Tournament berth in six years.
          Vinnie Shahid led all players with 22 points, scoring 20 after halftime, to earn tournament MVP honors. Tyson Ward had 15 points and seven rebounds for the Bison, and Cameron Hunter added 12 points.
          NDSU committed only five turnovers in the game and shot 47 percent from the floor. The Bison went 10-for-24 from beyond the arc.
          The Bison led 41-27 at halftime. Omaha opened the second half on a 12-2 run to make it 43-39, but NDSU responded with an 8-0 run to go back up 12 at 51-39 with 11:30 left.
          The Mavericks rattled off a 12-0 run to tie the game at 51-51 with 8:30 on the clock.
          Shahid scored seven straight points to key a 9-0 Bison run, and NDSU led 60-51 with three minutes left. Jared Samuelson drilled a corner three with 1:05 left to put the game out of reach, and Shahid made six free throws in the final minute.
 
At The Line: NDSU is No. 6 in the nation in free throw percentage, making 78.3 percent for the season -- which would surpass the school-record mark of 77.7 percent set last year. The Bison are 133-of-161 (82.6 percent) at the charity stripe in Summit League play.
 
Ball Security: The Bison rank 5th in the country for fewest turnovers per game at 10.1.
 
Winning The Arc: NDSU is 44th in the nation (and first in The Summit League) with 9.0 three-pointers made per game. The Bison also allow the fewest three-pointers per game in the conference at 5.9 per game in league play.
 
Road Dubs: Following the two victories at Western Illinois on Jan. 30 and at Purdue Fort Wayne on Feb. 1, the Bison have six road wins already this season. Last year, NDSU didn't get its first victory on the road until Jan. 26, and finished the season with four road wins.
 
Few Freebies: The Bison foul the least often of any team in The Summit League, committing just 15.8 fouls per game in conference play.
 
Mr. Reliable: Vinnie Shahid has scored 20-plus points in five of the past seven games.
 
Hunter Explodes for 20: Junior Cameron Hunter scored a season-high 20 points in NDSU's win at Purdue Fort Wayne on Feb. 1, including 14 points in the final 6:30 of the game. It was his highest scoring output since his 35-point game at South Dakota on Jan. 6, 2018.
          The Bison are 8-0 this season when Hunter scores at least 10 points.
 
Shoot The Rock: Rocky Kreuser shot 50 percent for the month of January, and his 97 points scored in the month were his most ever in a single month of his career.
 
Over the Past 5 Games:

• Vinnie Shahid has made 35-of-38 (92 percent) at the free throw line.
• Rocky Kreuser is averaging 13.0 points.
• Cameron Hunter is 8-for-19 (42 percent) from beyond the arc.
• The Bison are shooting 81.3 percent at the free throw line.
• The Bison are committing only 8.0 turnovers per game.
• The Bison are limiting opponents to 31-percent three-point shooting.

 
Dynamic Duo: NDSU has two players in the league's top seven for scoring in conference play. Vinnie Shahid is No. 4 in the league (20.8 ppg), and Tyson Ward is No. 7 (17.7 ppg) in scoring.
 
Back-To-Back Season Highs for Rock: Rocky Kreuser set -- and then matched -- his season-high for points in back-to-back games. He scored 18 points at South Dakota State on Jan. 22, and then 18 again vs. Denver on Jan. 25.
 
Two-Headed Monster: The Bison have won 11 of their last 14 games, led by the combination of seniors Vinnie Shahid and Tyson Ward. In that 14-game stretch, Shahid is averaging 19.6 points and shooting 43 percent from beyond the arc. Ward is averaging 17.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, and shooting 57 percent overall.
 
Defense First: The Bison lead The Summit League in scoring defense, allowing just 64.7 points per game.
 
Top 25 Talent: Tyson Ward ranks among NDSU's all-time Top 25 in career points (22nd), rebounds (10th), and assists (16th).