Bison Sports Update: February 25th

This week, the Bison had a really nice time.

Men's Basketball
NDSU Men's Basketball hosted St. Thomas on Thursday of this week. The Bison struggled to start the game, but found their footing towards the end of the 1st half and cruised to a 64-50 victory. Then, on Saturday, the Bison hosted in-state rival UND for a doubleheader. NDSU was able to claim victory in an instant classic that reminded more seasoned fans of the older days of this rivalry. The Bison won 73-68 in front of a SHAC record crowd of 5,058!
This week, the Bison will close out the regular season. NDSU will first hit the road on Thursday to play South Dakota in Vermillion, and they hope to avenge their loss to the Coyotes they took at home back in late December. That game will tip off at 7 PM CT and will be broadcast on the Summit League Network. Then, on Saturday, the Bison will close out the regular season at home against their archrivals from SDSU. That game will start at 1 PM CT and will be broadcast on WDAY Xtra and the Summit League Network.
With only a week to go in the season, I figure I should update y'all on the scenarios for the Bison as far as seeding goes. In order for NDSU to nab the 1 seed (which is still possible) this needs to happen:
NDSU needs to win both games this week, SDSU needs to lose both games, UND needs to beat SDSU but lose on Saturday, and KC needs to win one or more games.
If something doesn't happen in there and the Bison win their games, then NDSU will most likely claim the 2 or 3 seed. If NDSU loses both games, they could drop all the way down to 6 at worst.
North Dakota State Men's Basketball is 8-6 in Summit League play and 15-14 overall on the season.

Women's Basketball
NDSU Women's Basketball went on a brief roadtrip on Thursday to play St. Thomas. The Bison ended the game practically 2 mins into the 2nd quarter, and set the car to cruise control en route to a 96-53 blowout victory. On Saturday, the Bison played the second half of the UND doubleheader and thoroughly handled their in-state rivals for the second time this season, winning 107-80 in front of the largest home crowd this team has since in their Division I era. Its also the first time in program history that the Bison have scored 100+ points in both games against UND in a season.
With their wins this week, NDSU clinched their spot as the number 2 seed in the Summit League tournament. Along with the Bison, SDSU clinched their number 1 seed spot for the third straight year, and ORU and USD clinched their spots at 3 and 4. Also, the Bison now have won 7 games in a row, which is the longest winning streak in their Division I history.
This week, the Bison will host South Dakota on Thursday for Senior Night as they will say goodbye to Summit League standout Heaven Hamling. That game will tip off at 7 PM CT and will be broadcast on WDAY Xtra and the Summit League Network. Then, on Saturday, NDSU will close out the regular season with a road game against SDSU. That game will start at 2 PM CT and will be broadcast on the Summit League Network.
North Dakota State Women's Basketball is 12-2 in Summit League play and 18-9 overall on the season.

Softball
NDSU Softball took a trip to College Station, Texas this past weekend for the Texas A&M Invitational. However, the Bison struggled and lost all 5 games, three in under 7 innings. Friday included a 1-5 decision loss to SE Louisiana and a 10-0 thrashing by 18th ranked Texas A&M in 5 innings. Saturday played out with an 3-8 loss to Kansas as well as yet another 10-0 5 inning defeat by the Aggies. Sunday concluded with a 6 inning 15-6 explosion by Kansas. This concludes the month of February for NDSU. 
In the month of March, NDSU will play a few tournaments before starting Summit League play in Omaha at the end of the month.
This week, the Bison will head over to Nashville, Tennessee to play in the Purple/Gold Challenge. They will play Georgetown and host Lipscomb on Friday, Murray State and Lipscomb (again) on Saturday, and then conclude with Georgetown (again) on Sunday.
North Dakota State Softball is 6-11 on the season.

Baseball
NDSU Baseball finished their stay in California this week. Their game with Long Beach State got cancelled due to bad field conditions. The Bison lost to Cal Poly on Wednesday after leading. Then, on Friday, they began their 3-game series against Pacific. On Friday, they lost 6-7. However, on Saturday and Sunday, they won their first games of the season with 9-7 and 6-4 victories.
This week, the Bison will travel up the coast to play Oregon State in a rare 4-game series. On Thursday they will finish the month of February when they begin the series. If you are interested in watching the Bison play, they will be on an online stream in each of the four games.
North Dakota State Baseball is 2-5 on the season.

​Go Bison!!