The North Dakota State University men’s basketball team is set for two key matchups this week. The Bison, who currently hold a 21-6 overall record and are 11-1 in Summit League play, will face South Dakota State on Wednesday and host Kansas City on Saturday.
Wednesday’s game against South Dakota State marks the 240th meeting between the two teams. NDSU leads the all-time series 124-115 and previously defeated South Dakota State 76-65 in Fargo on January 14. The Bison have also won their last two games in Brookings.
On Saturday, NDSU will play Kansas City for the 28th time. The Bison lead that series as well, with a record of 19-8 after sweeping Kansas City last season and winning their most recent matchup 97-73 earlier this year.
Both games will be available to stream on the Summit League Network via the Midco Sports Plus app. Saturday’s contest will also air locally on WDAY Xtra. Radio broadcasts featuring Sam Neidermann can be accessed on 107.9 The Fox, through the NDSU Athletics app, or at GoBison.com/AllAccess at no cost.
NDSU’s current conference record matches its best start over a dozen games since joining the Summit League. The only other time they started league play at 11-1 was during the 2008-09 season, when they reached a record of 13-1 before suffering another loss.
The team has been successful away from home as well, earning nine road wins so far this season—tied for fourth-most nationally behind Belmont, Miami-Ohio, and Stephen F. Austin. The school record for road victories stands at ten.
Scoring has been distributed among several players: Damari Wheeler-Thomas (13.6 points per game), Markhi Strickland (13.4), and Trevian Carson (12.9) are all within one point per game of each other in overall scoring averages; Treyson Anderson leads league play with an average of 13.3 points per game for NDSU.
Despite these numbers, no Bison player ranks among the top fifteen scorers in conference statistics entering this week’s games.
Andy Stefonowicz led NDSU with a career-high 20 points during an 83-66 win at North Dakota on February 14—the first time he has topped team scoring in his collegiate career.
Noah Feddersen has contributed off the bench by reaching double figures in six consecutive games while shooting efficiently; he is averaging over fourteen points per game during that stretch and shooting sixty-four percent in league contests.
Nationally recognized performances include Markhi Strickland ranking twentieth for field goal percentage (61.5%) and Trevian Carson standing thirty-first in steals per game (2.11). Tay Smith is shooting nearly forty-nine percent from three-point range during league play.
NDSU holds a turnover margin of +3.3 per game—good for twenty-eighth place nationally—and commits just under fifteen fouls per contest, ranking eighteenth among Division I programs for fewest fouls committed.
Rebounding has also been strong: averaging nearly twelve offensive rebounds per game marks their highest rate since the mid-2000s seasons.
The team’s defense has improved significantly regarding steals: after finishing near the bottom nationally last year, they now rank thirty-sixth in steals per game and surpassed last season’s total within thirteen games this year alone.
Trevian Carson could join former players Grant Nelson, Tyson Ward, and Dexter Werner as one of only four Bison to lead his team both in rebounds and steals over the past decade if current trends continue.
In recent performances over five games:
– Noah Feddersen leads with an average of almost fifteen points.
– Seven players are averaging between roughly nine-and-a-half to fifteen points.
– Feddersen, Anderson, and Strickland are each shooting above fifty-five percent.
– Andy Stefonowicz has recorded thirty-five assists compared to eight turnovers.
– Tay Smith is hitting fifty-one percent from beyond the arc.
– The team averages an eight-point advantage by halftime but plays evenly after intermission.
– Overall shooting percentages stand at fifty-one percent from the field, forty-one percent from three-point range, and eighty percent from free throws.
