North Dakota State (10-5, 2-1) vs. Denver (6-11, 2-2)
Hamilton Gymnasium, Denver; Monday, 9 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: North Dakota State looks for its seventh straight win in the head-to-head series over Denver. North Dakota State has won by an average of 12 points in its last six wins over the Pioneers. Denver’s last win in the series came on Jan. 16, 2019, an 80-65 win.
BIG MEN ON CAMPUS: Denver’s KJ Hunt has averaged 16.4 points and 4.6 rebounds while Jordan Johnson has put up 11.3 points. For the Bison, Rocky Kreuser has averaged 14.7 points and 7.9 rebounds while Grant Nelson has put up 12.7 points and 5.1 rebounds.
RAMP IT UP A NOTCH: The Pioneers have scored 78.5 points per game against conference opponents thus far, an improvement from the 65.1 per game they recorded in non-conference play.ROCK-SOLID ROCKY: Kreuser has connected on 39.7 percent of the 68 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 8 of 20 over his last five games. He’s also converted 71.2 percent of his free throws this season.
WINNING WHEN: North Dakota State is a perfect 8-0 when the team makes at least 72.7 percent of its free throws. The Bison are 2-5 when they shoot below 72.7 percent from the line.
PASSING FOR POINTS: The Pioneers have recently used assists to create buckets more often than the Bison. Denver has 46 assists on 86 field goals (53.5 percent) over its previous three games while North Dakota State has assists on 27 of 86 field goals (31.4 percent) during its past three games.
STINGY STATE: North Dakota State has held opposing teams to 67 points per game, the second-lowest figure among all Summit League teams.
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