North Dakota State Men’s Basketball announced a two-year home-and-home series against the Illinois State Redbirds, starting in Normal during the 2023-24 season with a return game to Fargo in 2024-25.
The first game of the series will be December 17th at 3PM at CEFCU Arena in Normal. It will be the first time the Bison and Redbirds have played each other on the basketball court.
The Redbirds return four of their top five scorers from last season, including guard Darius Burford who averaged 12.9 points with 76 assists last season and Kendall Lewis who averaged 10.9 points and a team-best 7.3 rebounds per game. Malachi Poindexter (9.4 ppg, 67 assists) and Luke Kasubke (6.8 ppg, 50 assists) also return for the ‘Birds.
Among the newcomers for Illinois State in 2023-24 include transfer portal additions of former Southern Illinois guard Dalton Banks, Illinois forward Brandon Lieb, Wisconsin guard Jordan Davis and Monmouth forward Myles Foster. ISU also picked up three freshmen during the fall signing period including 2023 Wisconsin Mr. Basketball Johnny Kinziger, Illinois class 2A first team All-State honoree Ty Pence, and Ohio Division I special mention All-State honoree Chase Walker.
Last season, North Dakota State fell in the championship game of the Summit League Tournament to Oral Roberts after topping South Dakota and South Dakota State to advance to the winner-take-all final game of the tournament, held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Bison ended the year with an 11-7 mark in the Summit League and 16-17 record overall after closing the pre-league season with a 5-10 overall record.
The Bison, led by NDSU alum David Richman, are expected to return four of their five starters from last season, including 6-5 guard Boden Skunberg who averaged 15.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in 2022-23. Also expected to return are 6-10 forward Andrew Morgan (10.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg), 6-4 guard Tajavis Miller (7.9 ppg, 53 assists), 6-3 guard Jacari White (7.5 ppg) and 6-0 guard Damari Wheeler-Thomas (7.1 ppg, 52 assists).
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