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 conference rivalies with the South Dakota State Jackrabbits and North Dakota Fighting Hawks. 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. North Dakota State has appeared five times in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, most recently in 2026.
Head coaches 1 Gil Dobie 1906–1908 17–5 0 02 Paul Magoffin 1908–1909 11–4 0 03 Arthur Rueber 1909–1913 42–6 0 04 Howard Wood 1913–1915 22–4 0 05 Paul J. Davis 1915–1918 37–10 0 06 Curly Movold 1918–1919 9–5 0 07 Stanley Borleske 1919–1922 42–14 0 08 George Dewey 1922–1925 56–15 0 09 Ion Cortright 1925–1926 22–3 0 010 Leonard Saalwaechter 1926–1933 71–68 2 011 Robert A. Lowe 1933–1946 141–102 3 012 C. P. Reed 1946–1949 32–41 0 013 Chuck Bentson 1949–1965 169–207 2 014 Doug Cowman 1965–1968 33–41 0 015 Bud Belk 1968–1972 50–55 1 116 Marv Skaar 1972–1978 93–69 0 117 Erv Inniger 1978–1992 244–150 1 218 Tom Billeter 1992–1997 97–50 1 419 Ray Giacoletti 1997–2000 48–33 0 020 Greg McDermott 2000–2001 15–11 0 021 Tim Miles 2001–2007 99–71 0 022 Saul Phillips 2007–2014 134–84 2 223 David Richman 2014–Present 238–150 5 4Overall 1906–2026 (120 years) 1722–1198
Postseason history
NCAA Division I Tournament results The Bison have appeared in five NCAA Division I Tournaments. Their combined record is 2–5. They qualified for the 2020 NCAA tournament, however, the tournament was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
2009 #14 First Round #3 Kansas L 74–84 2014 #12 First RoundSecond Round #5 Oklahoma#4 San Diego State W 80–75 OTL 44–63 2015 #15 First Round #2 Gonzaga L 76–86 2019 #16 First FourFirst Round #16 North Carolina Central#1 Duke W 78–74L 62–85 2026 #14 First Round #3 Michigan State L 67–92
From 2011–2015 the round of 64 was known as the second round, Round of 32 was Third round
NCAA Division II Tournament results The Bison appeared in eight NCAA Division II Tournaments. Their combined record is 8–8. 1971 Regional semifinalsRegional 3rd-place game Northeast Missouri StateSaint Olaf L 66–75W 96–94 1974 Regional Quarterfinals Saint Cloud State L 62–77 1981 Regional semifinalsRegional 3rd-place game Green BayCentral Missouri State L 76–82W 95–87 1983 Regional semifinalsRegional Finals Ferris StateMorningside W 71–68L 77–79 1994 Regional semifinalsRegional Finals Mesa StateSouth Dakota W 75–65 OTL 58–61 1995 Regional QuarterfinalsRegional semifinalsRegional 3rd-place game Mesa StateFort Hays StateRegis W 85–76L 63–73W 84–72 1996 Regional QuarterfinalsRegional semifinals DenverSouth Dakota State W 71–70L 88–94 1997 Regional QuarterfinalsRegional semifinals Northern StateFort Hays State W 90–89 OTL 78–82
CBI results The Bison have appeared in two College Basketball Invitationals (CBI). Their combined record is 0–2. 2012 First round Wyoming L 75–76 2013 First round Western Michigan L 71–72 OT
Summit League awards
Player of the Year Ben Woodside (2009) Taylor Braun (2014) Lawrence Alexander (2015)
First-Team All-Summit League 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) Jacksen Moni (2025) Trevian Carson (2026)
All-Defensive Team Tyree Eady (2022) Grant Nelson (2023) Trevian Carson (2026)
Newcomer of the Year Vinnie Shahid (2019)
Sixth Man of the Year Dexter Werner (2015 & 2017) Grant Nelson (2021) Tajavis Miller (2025) Noah Feddersen (2026)
All-time statistical leaders
Single-game leaders 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 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 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 Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse (Physical Education Building) 1931–1970 Bison Sports Arena 1970–2016 Scheels Center 2016-Present
References
External links