North Dakota State Bison
2019-2020 Overall Rank: #107
Conference Rank: #1 Summit
For most of the 2018-2019 season, North Dakota State was not garnering much attention. The Bison were a mid-level team in the Summit League, entering the conference tournament with a 9-7 record in Summit League action. But the Bison made a nice run through the conference tournament to earn their second NCAA Tournament berth in Coach David Richman’s five years leading the program. With ten of their 11 players in the regular rotation returning, NDSU will be able to ride that late season accomplishment into lots of success in 2019-2020.
2018-19 Record: 19-16, 9-7
2018-19 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: David Richman
Coach Record: 96-67 at North Dakota State, 96-67 overall
Key Departed Players:
Deng Geu, Forward, 9.6 ppg
Key Returning Players:
Vinnie Shahid, Senior, Guard, 13.1 ppg
Tyson Ward, Senior, Guard, 12.4 ppg
Rocky Kreuser, Junior, Forward, 8.7 ppg
Jared Samuelson, Senior, Guard, 7.1 ppg
Sam Griesel, Sophomore, Guard/Forward, 6.1 ppg
Cameron Hunter, Junior, Guard, 6.8 ppg
Tyree Eady, Sophomore, Guard, 6.5 ppg
Jordan Horn, Junior, Guard, 4.4 ppg
Jarius Cook, Sophomore, Guard, 3.4 ppg
Chris Quayle, Senior, Guard, 2.1 ppg
Jason Knotek, Sophomore, Guard, 1.6 ppg
Key New Players:
Noah Christensen, Freshman, Forward
Maleeck Harden-Hayes, Freshman, Guard
Odell Wilson IV, RS Freshman, Forward
Tyler Witz, Junior, Forward, JC Transfer
Projection:
North Dakota State does not have a superstar. Instead, they have a team that often went 11 deep last season. That depth was extremely important during the conference tournament run and will continue to be a huge asset. The backcourt will be led by the senior trio of Vinnie Shahid, Tyson Ward and Jared Samuelson. Shahid is the most dynamic of the bunch and is equally dangerous attacking the basket and shooting from long range. Ward does most of his damage attacking the basket and, at 6-6, is also the team’s best rebounder. Samuelson is mostly a shooter and he does that extremely well. He hit 46.2 percent of his 145 attempts from beyond the arc. The frontcourt depth is an area for potential concern. Rocky Kreuser is an experienced 6-10 junior and Sam Griesel is a promising 6-6 wing. But without Deng Geu, experienced depth is an issue and North Dakota State will have to rely on their newcomers, most notably junior college transfer Tyler Witz. The lack of size should not be a major issue during Summit League play, but it could limit North Dakota State’s productivity in non-conference play and in the postseason.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 73.0 (156th in nation, 6th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 72.6 (210, 2)
Field-Goal Percentage: 45.4 (115, 6)
Field-Goal Defense: 46.1 (300, 7)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 9.5 (33, 3)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 36.5 (72, 7)
Free-Throw Percentage: 77.7 (9, 2)
Rebound Margin: -1.7 (251, 8)
Assists Per Game: 11.5 (300, 8)
Turnovers Per Game: 10.5 (20, 2)
