Bison Ride 8-Game Win Streak Into League Play

The Games: The North Dakota State men’s basketball team will host St. Thomas and Omaha this week to open Summit League play. With eight straight victories, the Bison enter the week with the nation’s seventh-longest active win streak.
          Thursday, Jan. 2    vs. St. Thomas   7 p.m. CT
          Saturday, Jan. 4     vs. Omaha         1 p.m. CT
 
Where to Watch: Both games will be broadcast on WDAY Xtra locally and available to subscribers of the Summit League Network through the Midco Sports Plus app.
 
Radio: Sam Neidermann (Thursday play-by-play), BJ Walters (Saturday play-by-play), and Dexter Werner (analyst) will call the games on 107.9 The Fox and Bison 1660. Broadcasts can also be streamed on the NDSU Athletics app, as well as at GoBison.com/AllAccess for free.
 
Against St. Thomas: Thursday will be the 26th meeting all-time between the Bison and Tommies, with NDSU leading the series 14-11. NDSU is 4-3 against St. Thomas since the Tommies joined The Summit League, including a perfect 3-0 mark in Fargo.
          Each team won on its home floor last season, and UST won 68-58 in the quarterfinals of the Summit League Tournament.
 
Against Omaha: Saturday will be the 93rd meeting between North Dakota State and Omaha dating back to 1935-36. NDSU has a 58-34 lead in the series. The Bison have won 10 of the last 11 over the Mavs.
 
Best Streak in a Decade: The current eight-game win streak is the longest for the Bison since winning 10 in a row at the end of the 2013-14 season, when NDSU won the final seven regular season games, two in the Summit League Tournament, and defeated No. 5 seed Oklahoma in the NCAA Tournament.
          The Bison went unbeaten this December for the first time in the school’s D-I era.
 
In the eight-game win streak …

• The Bison are shooting 44.7 percent from three-point range and limiting their opponents to 25.8 percent from beyond the arc.
• Jacksen Moni is averaging 21.5 points on 58-percent shooting overall and 51 percent from three-point range.
• Tajavis Miller is shooting 47 percent from downtown.
• Masen Miller has committed only one turnover in the past eight games, while shooting 43 percent from beyond the arc.
• The Bison have outscored their opponents by 133 points in the first half, 347-214.
• The Bison are averaging 15.0 assists per game – 5.5 more per game than their opponents.
• The Bison have trailed for a total of 7:09 over the past eight games, with 4:44 of that coming in the win at Butler on Dec. 10. NDSU never trailed in four of the eight wins.

 
Pick Your Poison: Eight Bison players are shooting 40 percent or better from three-point range this season: Jacksen Moni, Jacari White, Luke Kasubke, Noah Feddersen, Brennan Watkins, Masen Miller, Tajavis Miller, and Jeremiah Burke.
 
Long Range Attack: The Bison are ranked second in the country with 12.2 three-pointers made per game. North Florida is No. 1, averaging 13.2 treys per contest. NDSU is fifth on the national list in three-point percentage at 41.2 percent for the season.
 
High Efficiency: The Bison are ranked fourth nationally in effective field goal percentage at 59.4 percent, according to KenPom.com.
 
Mid-Major Poll: The Bison are ranked 23rd in the latest edition of the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll released this week.
 
6-10 Guy Leads in Assists: Jacksen Moni led The Summit League with 3.8 assists per game in non-conference play. He is one of only three players in the nation 6-10 or taller to average that many assists, behind Robbie Avila of Saint Louis and Coleman Hawkins of Kansas State.
 
The Bombs Away Bison™: NDSU is attempting three-pointers at the highest rate in Division I this season. According to KenPom, 54.8 percent of NDSU’s shots attempted this year have been three-pointers – the highest percentage in the nation.
 
Three-cember: Jacari White shot 51 percent from three-point range in December.
 
Top 75 Wins: The Bison have two road victories over Top 75 teams in the KenPom Ratings this season — Butler (70) and Santa Clara (72).
 
Get Moni: Jacksen Moni was named the Summit League Peak Performer of the Week three times in December — on Dec. 9, Dec. 16, and Dec. 30.
 
Point Guard Duo: NDSU’s point guard duo of junior Brennan Watkins and freshman Andy Stefonowicz have combined for 73 assists compared to just 33 turnovers this season.