BTI Classic, Longtime Rival Highlight Men’s Basketball Schedule

           FARGO, N.D. - North Dakota State head men's basketball coach Saul Phillips on Tuesday announced his team's 28-game regular-season schedule, which includes a trip to Oregon for the Basketball Travelers Classic on opening weekend and a December home game with longtime rival North Dakota.

        "What jumps out immediately to most Bison fans is the renewal of the UND game," Phillips said.  "With such a storied rivalry, we thought it was appropriate to play the game in the Fargodome where as many as 10,000 fans can experience the event."

        NDSU and UND will play at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 11.  It will be the first Bison game in the Fargodome since the Dakota Magic Classic in December 1999.  NDSU also hosted the 1994 North Central Conference tournament at the Fargodome.

        North Dakota State opens the regular season with a three-game trip to Eugene, Ore., where the Bison will face Oregon, Denver and UC Santa Barbara in the Basketball Travelers Classic on Nov. 12-14.

        "The opening tournament is extremely challenging," Phillips said.  "In addition to a PAC-10 team, Denver and UC Santa Barbara are both quality programs.  UCSB returns five starters from an NCAA tournament team."

        The regular-season home opener is Nov. 20 against Mayville State at the Bison Sports Arena.  NDSU will play at Minnesota on Nov. 24 and Wisconsin-Green Bay on Nov. 27 before hosting Valley City State on Nov. 29.

        The 18-game Summit League schedule begins at South Dakota State on Dec. 4 before the Bison continue non-conference play with UND and UC Davis at home and Fresno State on the road.

        The first home Summit League games are Jan. 6-8 against Oral Roberts and Centenary.  NDSU will be home for four straight in late January after the start of spring semester Jan. 20-22 against IPFW and Oakland, and Jan. 27-29 against Southern Utah and UMKC.

        North Dakota State will play Saturday night doubleheaders with the Bison women's team Jan. 8 against Centenary, Jan. 22 against Oakland, Jan. 29 against UMKC, and Feb. 12 against IUPUI.  The women will start at 5 p.m. and the men at 7:30.

        The regular-season schedule wraps up Feb. 25 with a home game against South Dakota State.  The top eight teams in the league will advance to the Summit League tournament March 5-8 in Sioux Falls, S.D.

        North Dakota State returns three starters from last year's team that went 11-18 overall and placed sixth in The Summit League with an 8-10 record.  All-Summit League second team forward Michael Tveidt returns for his senior year after leading the Bison with 15.7 points per game.  Junior forward Eric Carlson was an all-league honorable mention as NDSU's leading rebounder (6.9 rpg) and second leading scorer (14.8 ppg).