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Rachael Keating

NDSU, UND to Visit Western Hall

| By: WIU Athletic Communications

Western Illinois men's basketball will face both teams for the second time this season.

The Opponents | North Dakota State, North Dakota
When | Thursday (Feb. 10), 6 p.m. CT, Saturday (Feb. 12), 2 p.m. CT
Where | Western Hall – Macomb, Ill.
Social media | Instagram + Twitter + Facebook + #TRADITIONofTOUGH

Matchup history: Thursday's game marks the 33rd time in program history that Western Illinois and North Dakota have faced one another, and it's the fourth time during the Rob Jeter era. Under Coach Jeter the Leathernecks are 1-2, beating the Bison 90-79 in overtime back on Jan. 15 in Fargo. Trenton Massner scored 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Leathernecks went on a 13-2 run in overtime to claim their first victory in Fargo since Feb. 14, 2013. Against North Dakota, Western holds a 5-7 all-time record and is 2-1 since Jeter's arrival in Macomb. These two teams have played once this season, with the Leathernecks earning a 73-68 victory in Grand Forks on Jan. 13. Will Carius scored 26 points on 6-14 shooting from deep, bringing his career average against the Fighting Hawks to 26.3 points per game across three appearances in the last two seasons.

Scouting the opponent: The Bison are currently 17-8 (9-4 in the Summit League) and in the midst of a three-game winning streak, most recently defeating South Dakota 76-74 in a home game on Monday (Feb. 7). Fueled by nearly 17 points and eight rebounds per game from Rocky Kreuser, the Bison are 6-6 when playing on the road and 4-2 during road matchups against Summit League opponents. Grant Nelson, who is second on the team in scoring at 11.8 per game, did not appear against the Leathernecks earlier this season but is coming off a 19-point performance against USD and appears primed to play this time against the Leathernecks. North Dakota is 5-20 this season and holds a 1-11 record against Summit League opponents. The Fighting Hawks are coming off a weekend that saw the team earn its first Summit League victory of the season, defeating Denver 92-85 in Grand Forks. Paul Bruns continues to be a revelation for UND, as the 6-4 freshman is averaging a team-high 14.4 points per game while shooting 81.8% at the line. Against Denver, Bruns scored 21 and grabbed six rebounds.

Players to watch: Will Carius is the second-leading scorer on this Leatherneck team, averaging 15.7 points per contest while shooting 37.4% from deep and 79.3% from the line. Carius has had a great deal of success against North Dakota in particular, and scored 34 points against them last season while putting 26 on the board earlier this season. A graduate student from Bettendorf, Iowa, Carius has scored in double figures in three of his last four games and averaged 18.5 points and four rebounds per contest during last weekend's road trip to Oral Roberts and Kansas City. Luka Barisic has been a tremendously impactful player for Western Illinois in recent weeks, averaging 19.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game across his last five appearances. In that stretch, the Croatian big man is shooting 47.4% from the field, 43.3% from deep and 80% at the line. Barisic had back-to-back 20-point games last weekend and hit a clutch three-pointer in his first matchup with the Bison, and has connected on each of his last ten attempts from the free-throw line.  

What's next: After hosting the North Dakota schools, Western Illinois men's basketball will head back on the road, this time to South Dakota. Tip-off against South Dakota State is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 17), while the Saturday game (Feb. 19) is slated for 4 p.m. against South Dakota. 
 
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