North Dakota State (7-6, 7-1) vs. North Dakota (3-11, 3-5)
Betty Engelstad Sioux Center, Grand Forks, North Dakota; Saturday, 8:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: North Dakota State looks for its eighth straight conference win against North Dakota. North Dakota State’s last Summit League loss came against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits 77-75 on Dec. 10, 2020. North Dakota lost 62-45 loss at home against North Dakota State in its most recent game.
TEAM LEADERSHIP: Filip Rebraca is averaging 16.5 points and 6.9 rebounds to lead the way for the Fighting Hawks. Caleb Nero is also a primary contributor, producing 8.7 points per game. The Bison have been led by Rocky Kreuser, who is averaging 13.8 points and 6.6 rebounds.
SUMMIT LEAGUE IMPROVEMENT: The Bison have scored 70.1 points per game and allowed 61.6 points per game in conference play thus far. Those are both substantial improvements over the 61.2 points scored and 72.8 points allowed per game to non-conference opponents.ROBUST ROCKY: Kreuser has connected on 38.3 percent of the 60 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 9 of 29 over his last five games. He’s also converted 82.1 percent of his free throws this season.
SLIPPING AT 74: North Dakota is 0-8 this year when it allows 74 points or more and 3-3 when holding opponents to fewer than 74.
STREAK STATS: North Dakota State has won its last three road games, scoring 69.3 points, while allowing 54 per game.
STINGY STATE: North Dakota State has held opposing teams to 65.9 points per game, the second-lowest figure among all Summit League teams. The Bison have allowed just 59.4 points per game over their five-game winning streak.
___
For more AP college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/AP_Top25
___
This was generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
