Bison Open 2023-24 Season with Trip to Western Michigan

Monday, November 6

Kalamazoo, Mich.

6 p.m. CT

North Dakota State Athletics

Western Michigan

Photo by: Zachary Lucy

Bison Open 2023-24 Season with Trip to Western Michigan

11/3/2023 12:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Complete PDF Game Notes

The Games: The North Dakota State men's basketball team will begin the 2023-24 regular season with a road trip to take on Western Michigan on Monday, Nov. 6. The Bison return home to host Mount Marty on Wednesday, Nov. 8.

          Monday, Nov. 6 at Western Michigan 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT
          Wednesday, Nov. 8 vs. Mount Marty 7 p.m. CT

Where to Watch: Monday's opener at Western Michigan is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN+. Wednesday's game vs. Mount Marty will be broadcast on WDAY Xtra locally and available for streaming on the new Summit League Network through the Midco Sports Plus app.

Radio: Sam Neidermann (play-by-play) will call the Western Michigan game on 107.9 The Fox, and Dexter Werner (analyst) will join Neidermann to call the home opener vs. Mount Marty on 107.9 The Fox and Bison 1660. Broadcasts can also be streamed on the stations' respective apps, as well as at GoBison.com/AllAccess for free.

Against Western Michigan: Monday's game will be the fifth meeting all-time between North Dakota State and Western Michigan, with the series tied 2-2. The schools last met on Nov. 20, 2013, in Kalamazoo, with the Bison winning 83-74 behind 23 points from Taylor Braun and 59-percent shooting as a team.

Against Mount Marty: Wednesday's game will be just the second ever between NDSU and Mount Marty in men's basketball. The Bison won the only previous meeting, 99-84, on Dec. 22, 1979. Mount Marty is an NAIA school located in Yankton, S.D.

March Mainstay: With a fifth straight title game appearance in 2023, NDSU improved to 18-6 at the Summit League Tournament in the Dave Richman era.

Familiar Territory: The Bison have played in five consecutive Summit League Tournament championship games from 2019-23, winning the title in 2019 and 2020. NDSU has played in 9 of the past 11 Summit League championship games, dating back to March 2013.

Top of the Summit: North Dakota State and South Dakota State are the only Summit League schools to finish among the top three in the league standings every year over the past five seasons.
          In seven of David Richman's nine seasons at NDSU, the Bison have finished in a tie for third place or better in The Summit League.

Exhibition Opener: The Bison cruised to a 93-50 win over Division III St. Olaf in an exhibition game on Oct. 27. NDSU led 55-39 at halftime before limiting the Oles to 11 points in the second half. Six Bison players scored in double figures, led by sophomore Tajavis Miller with 19 points and junior Andrew Morgan with 15.

Preseason Poll: NDSU was voted third in the preseason Summit League poll, with South Dakota State picked as the preseason No. 1 and Oral Roberts at No. 2.

Preseason Accolades: Bison senior Boden Skunberg was voted to the preseason All-Summit League first team. Skunberg is NDSU's most experienced returner after leading the team in minutes played and ranking second on NDSU in scoring with 15.4 points per game in league play last season. He was one of only three players in the league to average at least 15 points and rank top-five in field goal percentage in 2023. Skunberg also averaged 5.4 rebounds and shot 41 percent from three-point range in league games.

Preseason Accolades (2): Junior Andrew Morgan claimed a spot on the preseason All-Summit League second team. Morgan shot 59 percent overall last season, averaging 10.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per contest. The 6-foot-10 Waseca, Minn., native posted four games with three or more assists and upped his scoring to 12.3 points per game in the Summit League Tournament.

True Freshman, Big Role: Damari Wheeler-Thomas started all 18 Summit League games last season, becoming the first Bison to start every conference game as a true freshman since eventual conference Player of the Year Lawrence Alexander did in the 2011-12 season.

Baby Bison: In Summit League play last season, 66 percent of the total available minutes for NDSU were played by freshmen or sophomores (2,385 out of 3,600).
          In terms of total minutes played, seven of the top nine Bison last season were freshmen or sophomores. NDSU has just one senior on the roster this season -- Boden Skunberg.

Efficient Buckets: Boden Skunberg was one of only three players in The Summit League to rank top-12 in scoring and top-5 in field goal percentage last season.

High Percentage Offense: The Bison shot 48.4 percent as a team in Summit League play last season -- second-best in the league.

Milestone: Now in his 10th season as the head coach at North Dakota State, David Richman has compiled 175 wins to rank second in school history. Erv Inniger (1978-92) is the all-time winningest coach at NDSU with a mark of 244-150 over 14 seasons.