Notes: Fighting Hawks look to stay hot in Fargo

FARGO, N.D. -- With back-to-back Big Sky wins secured, North Dakota will take a break from league play by paying a visit to in-state rival North Dakota State on Tuesday. Tip-off against the Bison is set for 7 p.m. at Scheels Arena.

UND VS. NORTH DAKOTA STATE SERIES
All-time: UND leads 160-134
In Fargo: NDSU leads 84-59
Last Meeting: NDSU 88, UND 79 (Dec. 9, 2017; Fargo)
UND Head Coach Brian Jones vs. NDSU: 3-6
UND Head Coach Brian Jones vs. Richman: 1-4
NDSU State Head Coach Dave Richman vs. UND: 4-1
NDSU Head Coach Dave Richman vs. Jones: 4-1

WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN/TRACK
TV: Midco Sports Network | Brian Shawn (pbp) and Greg Enkers (color)
Radio: 1440 AM (GF) | 790 AM (Fargo) | Paul Ralston (pbp)
Audio: www.UNDSports.com
Live Stats: www.GoBison.comLive Stream: ESPN3

IN THE PAINT...
• This is just the second non-conference game UND has played after Big Sky play started since joining the league prior to the 2012-13 season (83-75 L at Omaha; Feb. 23, 2013).
• NDSU posted an 88-79 victory in the first matchup this season in Grand Forks (Dec. 9). Paul Miller led all scorers with 30 points in what was the fourth-straight win in the series for the road team. Sophomore Marlon Stewart led UND with 23 points, while junior Geno Crandall added 20.
• The Bison hold a 6-3 edge since the two programs resumed their rivalry at the Division I level in 2010. UND held a 133-97 advantage in North Central Conference action at the Division II level that ended in 2004.
• The road team each picked up a double-digit vicotry in the home-and-home series played last season. UND opened that up with a 74-56 victory in Fargo on Dec. 7. That was the Fighting Hawks first win in Fargo since a 97-92 overtime win in 2003.
• UND is winless on the road in seven tries this season and the trip to Fargo begins a four-game road swing for the Fighting Hawks.
• This is the sixth and final season in the Big Sky for the Fighting Hawks, who will join NDSU in the Summit League in 2018-19.

ON THE HORIZON
UND stays on the road for a game Saturday against travel partner Northern Colorado. The Fighting Hawks and Bears will tip-off at 8 p.m. UND won both matchups last season in overtime, posting an 87-77 victory at home, then pulling off an 84-81 win on the road.

DID YOU KNOW?
This will be the last time UND and NDSU meet as non-conference foes. The Fighting Hawks will join the Summit League next season. The last time these two met on the hardwood as conference rivals was a 76-73 overtime win for UND at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in 2004 (Feb. 7).

RECORD REWIND
The North Dakota men's basketball program holds a 1568-1046 (.602) all-time record since Dr. George Sweetland led the first team onto the court in 1904-05. North Dakota is 947-282 (.770) all-time when it comes to defending its home court.

THE POWER OF EIGHTY
Over the past two seasons, UND owns a 21-2 record when scoring 80 or more points. The only two losses when reaching that point total have been against ranked opponents (100-82 vs. Arizona; NCAA Tournament and 89-83 OT loss at Gonzaga). So far this season, the Fighting Hawks are 5-1 when scoring 80-plus points.

CRANDALL MOVES INTO ANOTHER TOP 10 LIST
After already cracking UND's top 10 career list for steals earlier this season, junior Geno Crandall moved into the top 10 career list for assists after dishing out a season-high eight in the win over Weber State (Jan. 13). Those eight helpers moved him into ninth place with 323 for his career. Doug Moe (1978-81; 330) is next up for Crandall to track down.

Crandall added 25 points and nine rebounds, nearly pulling off a triple-double. This was the sixth-straight game that the preseason All-Big Sky selection reached double figures against the Wildcats and is averaging 19.4 ppg against them in seven career games (5-2 record).
KIEN-BEAN GETS HOT
After scoring a career-high 11 points in the first meeting with North Dakota State (Dec. 9), sophomore Kienan Walter had managed just 11 total points in seven games since that effort. He broke out of a slump in a big way, erupting for a career-high 16 points off the bench in the win over Weber State (Jan. 13). Walter knocked down 6-of-10 field goals and went 3-for-4 from 3-point range to help UND register back-to-back wins for the first time this season.

BETTER AFTER THE BREAK
Before holding a 12-point lead at the half on Idaho State and a nine-point lead on Weber State, the Fighting Hawks' previous four league foes had outscored them 172-106 (43.0-26.5 ppg) in the first half (all losses). UND has been a much better second half team in Big Sky play and is outscoring its opponents 255-242 (42.5-40.3 ppg) after the break.

BILLY, BILLY
For the first time in his collegiate career, reserve guard Billy Brown buried a trio of 3-pointers in the same game, providing a season-high nine points off the bench in UND's 81-58 win over Idaho State (Jan. 11). In six Big Sky games, Brown is now 6-for-14 (42.9 percent) after going 3-for-17 (17.6) from distance in non-conference play. Brown also added career-highs in assists (4) and steals (3) in 28 minutes of action vs. the Bengals.

TRAY BALL, CORNER POCKET
True freshman Tray Buchanan has emerged as UND's best deep-ball threat since Big Sky commenced. Buchanan is 13-for-34 in league action (38.2 percent) and has accounted for nearly a quarter of UND's trifectas in six Big Sky games (51 of 142). His success from beyond the arc has also made him one of the top scoring reserves in Big Sky play, averaging 10.3 ppg. In 11 non-conference games, Buchanan went just 6-for-25 from deep (24 percent) and averaged 4.3 ppg.

Buchanan led UND in scoring in both contests last week in the Treasure State, scoring a career-high 16 against Montana (Jan. 4), then surpassing that mark with 19 against Montana State (Jan. 6) in his first career start. He had nine off the bench in the win over Idaho State (Jan. 11).

JONESING FOR SUCCESS
Iowa grad transfer Dale Jones missed the Idaho contest (Dec. 29) after starting all 11 non-conference games, but returned to the starting lineup in an emphatic way in his Big Sky debut vs. Eastern Washington (Dec. 31). Jones scored a career-high 20 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to register the first double-double of his career. The 6-foot-8 forward has proven his worth early on this season by averaging 10.3 ppg and 6.8 rpg (sixth in the Big Sky). After three seasons at the junior-college level, injuries limited him to just 11 games for the Hawkeyes from 2015-17. By missing a majority of those two seasons, he was granted a sixth year of elibility by the NCAA.

STEWART GETTING COMFORTABLE
Sophomore Marlon Stewart scored just 26 points (8.7 ppg) in his first three career games for UND, but is averaging a team-best 14.5 ppg in the 14 games since then. That stretch includes a career-high 24 points against Utah Valley (Nov. 25) and team-high 23 against NDSU (Dec. 9). That was his third 20-plus point game of the season for Stewart. He had a career-high nine helpers in UND's outing against Presentation (Nov. 28). Stewart went for 15 points and went 6-for-6 from the foul line vs. the 12th-ranked Zags (Dec. 16) and had 15 of UND's 18 first-half points against Idaho (Dec. 29) in his Big Sky debut. He finished with 17 that contest and is averaging a team-high 13.4 ppg in league action. He came off the bench for the first time this season against Montana State (Jan. 6) and finished with 10 points.

WHAT A WAY TO REACH 1K
Geno Crandall became the 36th player in UND men's basketball history to reach the 1,000-point plateau and the junior arrived at the figure in one of the most dramatic ways possible. The milestone came on his 3-pointer that sent the UND-Gonzaga game into overtime, tying the game at 69-69 with 1.8 seconds to play. Crandall's milestone came in his 73rd career game, which made him the quickest among the six Fighting Hawks to reach that plateau during the program's Division I era. Troy Huff (2010-14) had been the quickest among the first quintet after taking 74 career games. Huff ended his career as the program's third all-time leading scorer with 2,005 points.

SIGNED, SEALES, DELIVERED
Junior Cortez Seales did his part in trying to deliver UND's first win over a ranked opponent, scoring a season-high 23 points in the OT loss at No. 12/13 Gonzaga (Dec. 16). Seales went 11-for-15 from the field, including a stretch in the first half where he made seven-consecutive shots in helping give UND a 34-30 lead on the Bulldogs at halftime. It marked the first time UND had led a ranked opponent at the break in program history. His 11 field goals made against the Zags equaled his career-best from his collegiate debut (UM-Morris; Nov. 13, 2015).

Seales broke out of a mini-slump against Montana State (Jan. 6), finishing with 15 points after scoring just nine in the first three Big Sky games of the season. He added a game-high 14 in the win over Idaho State (Jan. 11) and had 15 against Weber State (Jan. 13) to give him three-straight double-figure games for the first time this season.

OPPONENT PREVIEW: NORTH DAKOTA STATE
• Head coach Dave Richman in his fourth season leading the NDSU program. The Bison finished last season 19-11 overall and finished second in the Summit League with an 11-5 record.
• The Bison were picked to finish third in this year's preseason Summit League poll and are off to a 2-2 start in league play.
• NDSU owned a 3-5 record the first time these two teams played, but the Bison have won seven of 10 since then, including the 88-79 victory over UND in Grand Forks.
• Senior Paul Miller leads the team in scoring at 18.3 ppg and has led the Bison in scoring in 11 of 18 games this season. He had 30 in the first meeting with the Fighting Hawks and a career-high 36 in a home loss to South Dakota State on Jan. 3.
• Junior Tyson Ward is averaging 10.6 ppg and had 15 points in the earlier win over UND. He hit two 3's early in the contest that the Bison opened on an 11-0 run.
• Redshirt freshman Cameron Hunter poured in a career-high 35 points for the Bison during an 84-79 road win at South Dakota on Jan. 6. That helped get his average up over double figures at 10.6 ppg.
• Senior A.J. Jacobson and Miller both rank inside the top 10 for career 3-pointers made at NDSU. Jacobson is averaging 8.6 ppg and shooting 47.6 percent from beyond the arc (30-for-63) this season, while Miller is 43-for-112 (38.4). Jacobson went 3-for-3 from deep in Grand Forks to finish with 12 points.
• NDSU averages 23.6 3-point attempts per game and is shooting 38.9 percent from beyond the arc as a team. That ranks second among Summit League teams.

HAWK-UMENTARY
• UND committed a season-low nine turnovers in back-to-back Big Sky wins to snap an eight-game skid. The Fighting Hawks also dished out 37 total assists in those victories after having just 38 in the four losses to start league play.
• UND's halftime lead on Idaho State was the first for the team since holding a 34-30 advantage on No. 12 Gonzaga (Dec. 16).
• UND's 53 second-half points against Weber State matched its previous high of 53 in the season-opening win against Troy (Nov. 10).
• The Fighting Hawks went 21-for-42 (50 percent) from beyond the arc in the two Big Sky victories at home last week. The 52.4 percent effort from deep against Weber State was a season-best. In their four league losses, UND went just 28-for-100 (28 percent) from 3-point range.
• UND also knocked down 54.4 percent of its shots from the floor against the Wildcats, which was the best showing against a DI opponent this season (54.7 percent vs. Presentation).
• The Fighting Hawks' 10-point win over Weber State was their first double-digit victory against the perennial Big Sky power (5-9 all-time).

-- UND --