THIS WEEK: The North Dakota State men’s basketball team (2-3) begins Summit League play on the road this week. NDSU opens against Western Illinois (3-3) at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 3, at Western Hall (5,139) in Macomb and the Bison face IUPUI (5-2) at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 5, at The Jungle (1,215) in Indianapolis. Saturday’s game is a doubleheader with the Bison women playing IUPUI at 4:30 p.m. ET.

RADIO: WDAY-AM 970 of Fargo and Bison Radio Network affiliates KFYR-AM 550 in Bismarck, KPOK-AM 1340 in Bowman, and KRCQ-FM 102.3 in Detroit Lakes, Minn., will broadcast Thursday’s game at Western Illinois with Scott Miller handling the call at 6:40 p.m. CT (5:40 p.m. MT). Saturday’s game at IUPUI will be carried on WDAY, KPOK and KRCQ with coverage beginning at 5:40 p.m. CT (4:40 p.m. MT) or at the conclusion of the Bison women’s basketball vs. IUPUI.

ON THE WEB: Live stats and live audio for both games will be available free of charge on GoBison.com. Live video will be available by subscription to GoBison.com All Access starting at $7.95 or by subscription to SummitTV on TheSummitLeague.org starting at $19.95.

THE SERIES: Thursday will be the fifth meeting between North Dakota State and Western Illinois since NDSU joined The Summit League in 2007-08. North Dakota State has won three straight and leads the series 3-1 after winning 81-64 in Fargo and 61-52 in Macomb last year. Western Illinois won the first-ever meeting 83-67 in Macomb in January 2008. ... Saturday will be the fifth meeting between North Dakota State and IUPUI since 2007-08. The series is tied 2-2 after the Bison won 55-52 in Fargo and 91-69 in Indianapolis last year, handing IUPUI its worst home loss in six seasons.

THE COACHES: Saul Phillips (Wisconsin-Platteville, 1996) is in his third season as head coach at North Dakota State with a 44-23 record. Phillips directed North Dakota State to its first Summit League championship and NCAA Division I tournament appearance in 2009. He was one of 10 finalists for the Hugh Durham Mid-Major Coach of the Year award. A Bison assistant for three seasons, Phillips came to NDSU from Wisconsin, where he was director of basketball operations for three years under Bo Ryan. He was an assistant for two seasons each at Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Lake Superior State and a graduate assistant at Wayne State in Nebraska for one year.

Jim Molinari (Illinois Wesleyan, 1977) is in his second year as head coach at Western Illinois with a 12-23 record. Molinari, former assistant coach and interim head coach for three seasons at Minnesota under Dan Monson, is in his 29th year coaching at the Division I level, including 11 years as head coach at Bradley, two at Northern Illinois, and one at Minnesota after Monson’s departure. Molinari has a 235-209 career record.

Ron Hunter (Miami Ohio, 1986) is in his 16th season as head coach at IUPUI with a 254-196 career record. Hunter was an assistant coach at Wisconsin-Milwaukee for six seasons from 1987 to 1993 and spent one year as an assistant at Miami University in Ohio before starting at IUPUI in 1994-95. He serves on the Division I Basketball Academic Enhancement Group and is a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches board of directors.

ABOUT NORTH DAKOTA STATE: The Bison are 2-3 overall after a 71-62 home loss to Wisconsin-Green Bay last Friday. Eric Carlson and Michael Tveidt had 16 points apiece to lead the Bison, who shot a season-low 32.8 percent from the floor including 3-for-21 from the 3-point line. Tveidt is the only returning starter from last year’s 26-7 NCAA tournament team that won The Summit League with a 16-2 record. He leads the Bison in scoring with 17.0 points per game and Carlson is the second leading scorer (15.0 ppg) and top rebounder (7.4 rpg).

ABOUT WESTERN ILLINOIS: The Leathernecks are 3-3 overall after an 84-46 rout of Greenville College last Saturday. Forward James Granstra and guards Tommie Tyler and David Nurse are the three starters back from last year’s 9-20 team that tied for eighth place in The Summit League with a 6-12 record. Guards Ceola Clark (13.7 ppg) and Matt Lander (11.2 ppg), a junior college transfer from John A. Logan College in Illinois, are the Leathernecks’ top two scorers.

ABOUT IUPUI: The Jaguars are 5-2 after a 70-57 loss to Kansas State last Saturday and will host South Dakota State on Thursday night. Preseason All-Summit League forward Robert Glenn, the league’s reigning Newcomer of the Year, headlines a group of four starters back from IUPUI’s 16-14 team that placed fourth in The Summit League last year with a 9-9 record. Forward Alex Young and guard Leroy Nobles lead the Jaguars with 16.3 points per game each and Glenn is IUPUI’s third leading scorer (15.9 ppg) and top rebounder (6.0 rpg).

BISON AT HOME: North Dakota State rolled up an impressive 48-5 home record at the Bison Sports Arena over the past four seasons, but NDSU is 1-2 this year and back-to-back home losses against Idaho and Wisconsin-Green Bay on Nov. 21 and 27 marked the first time in six years that the Bison have lost twice in a row at home. NDSU shot 32 percent in both games and went a combined 8-for-44 from the 3-point line. Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech were the opponents Nov. 21-22, 2003, when the Bison last dropped consecutive home games.

BIG NIGHT FOR BIG FRESHMAN: Six-foot-9 freshman forward Jordan Aaberg had his biggest night in a North Dakota State uniform last Friday in the 71-62 loss to Wisconsin-Green Bay. Aaberg had season highs of 12 points, eight rebounds, six blocked shots and five field goals. His six blocks were the second most in NDSU single-game history and one shy of the school record. Aaberg had 10 points and three blocks in the final 5 minutes, 41 seconds of the first half to help keep the Bison within three points at halftime, 27-24.

LARGEST COMEBACK IN THREE YEARS: North Dakota State’s 15-point comeback for a 63-62 victory at UC Davis on Nov. 24 was NDSU’s largest comeback in three seasons. The Bison trailed 17-2 but tied the game at 24 with a 15-0 run midway through the first half. NDSU led by as many as eight points late in the game, but the Bison committed turnovers on the final four possessions and went scoreless over the final 3 mintues, 31 seconds. The 15-point comeback was NDSU’s biggest since 2006-07 when the Bison erased a pair of 15-point deficits against Princeton (W, 57-50) and Southwest Minnesota State (W, 72-68).

BISON PICKED FIFTH IN THE SUMMIT: North Dakota State was picked to finish fifth out of 10 teams in The Summit League according to a preseason poll of the league’s head coaches, sports information directors and media. Oakland received 34 of 35 first-place votes, Oral Roberts was picked second, IUPUI was third with one first-place vote, and South Dakota State was picked fourth. Oakland guard Johnathon Jones was voted Preseason Player of the Year. NDSU forward Michael Tveidt was named to the preseason second team.

THE SUMMIT LEAGUE: This is North Dakota State’s third season as a member of The Summit League, an NCAA Division I athletics conference that sponsors 19 championship sports. Other member institutions are Centenary College in Shreveport, La., Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Oakland University in suburban Detroit, Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla., South Dakota State University, Southern Utah University and Western Illinois University. NDSU is also a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and the Western Wrestling Conference.

BISON IN THE PROFESSIONAL RANKS: North Dakota State has four former players active in professional basketball, including three starters from last year’s Summit League championship team. Forward Brett Winkelman (2005-09) signed with Edimes Pavia in Italy’s Lega 2, guard Ben Woodside (2005-09) is with BCM Gravelines Dunkerque in France’s Pro A division, and guard Mike Nelson (2005-09) is with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League. The fourth player is forward Andre Smith (2005-07), who is with Pinar Karsiyaka in Turkey after professional stops in Germany and Japan.