North Dakota State Bison men's basketball

North Dakota State Bison men's basketball
2024–25 North Dakota State Bison men's basketball team
UniversityNorth Dakota State University
Head coachDavid Richman (11th season)
ConferenceSummit League
LocationFargo, North Dakota
ArenaScheels Center
(capacity: 5,460)
NicknameBison
ColorsGreen and yellow[1]
   
Uniforms
Home jersey
Team colours
Team colours
Home
Away jersey
Team colours
Away
Alternate jersey
Team colours
Alternate
NCAA tournament round of 32
1981*, 2014
NCAA tournament appearances
1971*, 1974*, 1981*, 1983*, 1994*, 1995*, 1996*, 1997*, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2019
*at Division II level
Conference tournament champions
2009, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2020
Conference regular season champions
North Central Conference: 1932, 1933, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1952, 1954, 1971, 1981, 1995
Summit: 2009, 2014, 2015, 2020

The North Dakota State Bison men's basketball team is a part of the athletic program at North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota, U.S. They are members of the NCAA Division I and have been part of The Summit League since May 2007. Home games are played at the Scheels Center which is located on the NDSU campus in Fargo, ND. The team shares a conference rival with the South Dakota State Jackrabbits. The Bison men's head coach is David Richman. On March 10, 2009 the Bison made their biggest comeback in school history with a 66–64 win over Oakland University to win the Summit League tournament championship and became the first team since Southwestern Louisiana (now Louisiana-Lafayette) in 1972 to advance to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship in their first year of eligibility.

Prior to their transition to Division I, the Bison competed in NCAA Division II as a member of the North Central Conference.

Head coaches

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# Name Years Record Conference
Titles
NCAA Berths
1 Gil Dobie 1906–1908 17–5 0 0
2 Paul Magoffin 1908–1909 11–4 0 0
3 Arthur Rueber 1909–1913 42–6 0 0
4 Howard Wood 1913–1915 22–4 0 0
5 Paul J. Davis 1915–1918 37–10 0 0
6 Curly Movold 1918–1919 9–5 0 0
7 Stanley Borleske 1919–1922 42–14 0 0
8 George Dewey 1922–1925 56–15 0 0
9 Ion Cortright 1925–1926 22–3 0 0
10 Leonard Saalwaechter 1926–1933 71–68 2 0
11 Robert A. Lowe 1933–1946 141–102 3 0
12 C. P. Reed 1946–1949 32–41 0 0
13 Chuck Bentson 1949–1965 169–207 2 0
14 Doug Cowman 1965–1968 33–41 0 0
15 Bud Belk 1968–1972 50–55 1 1
16 Marv Skaar 1972–1978 93–69 0 1
17 Erv Inniger 1978–1992 244–150 1 2
18 Tom Billeter 1992–1997 97–50 1 4
19 Ray Giacoletti 1997–2000 48–33 0 0
20 Greg McDermott 2000–2001 15–11 0 0
21 Tim Miles 2001–2007 99–71 0 0
22 Saul Phillips 2007–2014 134–84 2 2
23 David Richman 2014–Present 172-114 4 3
Overall 1906–2023 (118 years) 1656-1162


The 14th-seeded Bison played the defending national champion and 3rd-seeded Kansas Jayhawks in Round 1 of the 2009 NCAA Tournament, held in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The game had an estimated 10,000 NDSU fans in attendance in the Bison 84–74 loss.[2]

Postseason history

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NCAA Division I Tournament results

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The Bison have appeared in four NCAA Division I Tournaments. Their combined record is 2–4. They qualified for the 2020 NCAA tournament, however, the tournament was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Year Seed Round Opponent Result
2009 #14 First round #3 Kansas L 74–84
2014 #12 Second Round
Third round
#5 Oklahoma
#4 San Diego State
W 80–75 OT
L 44–63
2015 #15 Second Round #2 Gonzaga L 76–86
2019 #16 First Four
First round
#16 North Carolina Central
#1 Duke
W 78–74
L 62–85

From 2011–2015 the round of 64 was known as the second round, Round of 32 was Third round

NCAA Division II Tournament results

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The Bison appeared in eight NCAA Division II Tournaments. Their combined record is 8–8.

Year Round Opponent Result
1971 Regional semifinals
Regional 3rd-place game
Northeast Missouri State
Saint Olaf
L 66–75
W 96–94
1974 Regional Quarterfinals Saint Cloud State L 62–77
1981 Regional semifinals
Regional 3rd-place game
Green Bay
Central Missouri State
L 76–82
W 95–87
1983 Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
Ferris State
Morningside
W 71–68
L 77–79
1994 Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
Mesa State
South Dakota
W 75–65 OT
L 58–61
1995 Regional Quarterfinals
Regional semifinals
Regional 3rd-place game
Mesa State
Fort Hays State
Regis
W 85–76
L 63–73
W 84–72
1996 Regional Quarterfinals
Regional semifinals
Denver
South Dakota State
W 71–70
L 88–94
1997 Regional Quarterfinals
Regional semifinals
Northern State
Fort Hays State
W 90–89 OT
L 78–82

CBI results

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The Bison have appeared in two College Basketball Invitationals (CBI). Their combined record is 0–2.

Year Round Opponent Result
2012 First round Wyoming L 75–76
2013 First round Western Michigan L 71–72 OT

The Summit League awards

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Player of the Year

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First-Team All-Summit League

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  • Brett Winkelman (2008 & 2009)
  • Ben Woodside (2008 & 2009)
  • Taylor Braun (2012–14)
  • Lawrence Alexander (2015)
  • Paul Miller (2017)
  • Vinnie Shahid (2020)
  • Tyson Ward (2020)
  • Rocky Kreuser (2021 & 2022)
  • Sam Griesel (2022)
  • Grant Nelson (2023)

All-Defensive Team

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Newcomer of the Year

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  • Vinnie Shahid (2019)

Sixth Man of the Year

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  • Dexter Werner (2017 & 2018)
  • Grant Nelson (2021)

All-time statistical leaders

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Single-game leaders

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  • Points: Ben Woodside (60, 2008)
  • Assists: David Ryles (16, 1987)
  • Rebounds: Gene Gamache (24, 1955), Robert Lauf (24, 1954), Roger Erickson (24, 1960)
  • Steals: David Ryles (8, 1986)
  • 3 point FG made: Jared Samuelson (9, 2018)
  • Free Throws made: Ben Woodside (30, 2008)

Single-season leaders

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  • Points: Ben Woodside (766, 08–09)
  • Assists: David Ryles (230, 86–87)
  • Rebounds: John Wojtak (298, 70–71)
  • Steals: David Ryles (86, 86–87)

Career leaders

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  • Points: Ben Woodside (2315, 05–09)
  • Assists: Jeff Askew (684, 1979–83)
  • Rebounds: Brett Winkelman (874, 05–09)
  • Steals: David Ryles (275, 1983–87)

Arenas

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  • Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse (Physical Education Building) 1931–1970
  • Bison Sports Arena 1970–2016
  • Scheels Center 2016-Present

References

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  1. ^ NDSU Bison Graphic Standards (PDF). May 23, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  2. ^ Chip Scroggins, Aldrich returns home, puts on dunkfest for Jayhawks, Star Tribune, March 21, 2009, Accessed March 23, 2009.
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