The Games: The North Dakota State men's basketball team has won seven of its last eight games going into a pair of road contests this week.
          Thursday, Dec. 11     at CSU Bakersfield     8:30 p.m. CT / 6:30 p.m. PT
          Saturday, Dec. 13     at Drake                      1 p.m. CT
 
Where to Watch: Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
Radio: Sam Neidermann will call both games on 107.9 The Fox, with Saturday's game also carried on Bison 1660. Broadcasts can be streamed on the NDSU Athletics app, as well as at GoBison.com/AllAccess for free.
 
Against CSU Bakersfield: Thursday will be the third meeting all-time between the Bison and Roadrunners in men's basketball. The two schools played twice last season, with the Roadrunners winning 86-81 in Bakersfield, and the Bison winning 94-60 in Fargo.
 
Against Drake: Saturday will be the eighth meeting all-time between the Bison and Bulldogs, with Drake standing a perfect 7-0 in the series. The most recent game between NDSU and Drake took place at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Dec. 1, 2018 – a 95-88 victory for the Bulldogs.
 
Knapp Center History: Drake's Knapp Center was the site of one of the greatest single-game performances in NDSU basketball history. On Dec. 12, 2008, Bison guard Ben Woodside set Knapp Center, NDSU, and Summit League records with 60 points, 30 free throws made, and 35 free throw attempts in a 112-111 triple overtime loss to Stephen F. Austin. His 30 free throws tied the NCAA single-game record set by LSU's Pete Maravich in 1969, which still stands today.
          Woodside scored 49 of his 60 points in the final 8:51 of the second half and three overtimes to help NDSU overcome a 19-point deficit. Woodside's 60-point performance is still the largest single-game scoring output in NCAA Division I since 2000.
          This Friday is the 17th anniversary of that game at the Knapp Center. Current NDSU head coach David Richman was the associate head coach on the Bison staff that season.
          The next night, Woodside scored 31 points and dished out 10 assists in a win over Georgia Southern in the third-place game of the Drake Hy-Vee Classic.
 
Big West Slate: NDSU will play four schools from the Big West Conference this season -- UC Davis on Nov. 5, CSUN on Nov. 11, CSU Bakersfield on Dec. 11, and UC Irvine on Dec. 21.
 
Significant Margin: The Bison are ranked No. 14 in the NCAA for turnover margin at +5.4 per game.
 
Board Man Gets Paid: Among players 6-foot-3 and shorter, Trevian Carson ranks third nationally for rebounds per game at 7.6.
 
Rise in Theft: NDSU ranks 37th in the nation for steals per game this year after ranking 352nd nationally last season. Through just 10 games, the Bison have already accumulated 80 percent of last season's total steals.
 
Stefon-assist: Andy Stefonowicz is averaging 5.2 assists per game, tallying at least 4 assists in every game this season. Ben Woodside (2005-09) is the only Bison in the last 20 years to average at least 5 assists per game for a season.
 
Steady Progression: Damari Wheeler-Thomas is shooting 41.5 percent from three-point range this season after shooting 30 percent as a freshman and 37 percent as a sophomore.
 
Ol' Reliable: Markhi Strickland has scored at least 14 points in 8 out of 10 games to start the season.
 
On the Glass: The Bison have posted double-digit offensive rebounds in seven out of eight games against Division I opponents this season. NDSU is averaging 12.0 offensive boards per game.
   
•       Damari Wheeler-Thomas is averaging 15.2 points.
•       Trevian Carson is averaging 13.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.4 steals.
•       Markhi Strickland is averaging 13.6 points on 60-percent shooting.
•       Andy Stefonowicz leads the team with 33.6 minutes per game.