Phillips Going "Barefoot for Bare Feet" Sunday when NDSU Hosts UND at Fargodome

FARGO, N.D. - North Dakota State University head coach Saul Phillips will go "Barefoot for Bare Feet" this Sunday, Dec. 9, when the Bison men's basketball team hosts the University of North Dakota at the Fargodome.  Game time is 4 p.m.

Phillips and UND head coach Brian Jones will coach without shoes in an effort to call awareness to the needs of children around the world who don't have shoes and the opportunities shoes mean.

Barefoot for Bare Feet is a movement of groups and individuals committed to involving others in accomplishing the goals of the organization known as Samaritan's Feet.

Organizers hope to raise enough sponsorships and donations to bring 10,000 pairs of shoes and hope to 10,000 children around the world.  Samaritan's Feet founder - and NDSU grad school alum - Manny Ohonme believes that if this lofty goal is possible anywhere, it's here in North Dakota.

Before, during and after the game, donations can be made via text, at a booth staffed by volunteers during the game, or online at tiny.cc/coachphillips.  A $10 donation buys one pair of shoes.

NDSU and UND are meeting for the third time as Division I opponents.  NDSU won 81-55 in the Fargodome two years ago and UND won 59-54 at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks last year.  UND leads the all-time series 158-127 dating back to March 1905.

North Dakota State is 7-2 overall after Wednesday night's 69-57 win at Morehead State in Kentucky.  The Bison led by as many as 31 points in the second half and Taylor Braun scored six of his game-high 23 points at the foul line in the final 66 seconds to seal the win.

North Dakota is 1-5 overall after a 73-70 home loss to Kansas City on Wednesday night.  UND nearly overcame a 14-for-30 game at the foul line and a 41-28 rebounding deficit, but missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.  Jamal Webb scored a season-high 20 points for UND.

Sunday's game can be heard on KVOX-AM 740 The Fan in Fargo and Bison Radio Network affiliate KLTC-AM 1460 in Dickinson with Scott Miller calling the play-by-play and Jeremy Jorgenson as color analyst.  A live audio stream will be available on NDSU All Access and the NDSU Bison mobile app for Android, iPhone and iPod Touch.

Midco Sports Network will televise the game live with Jay Elsen handling the play-by-play and Brad Newitt as color analyst.  The live video stream will be available to NDSU All Access subscribers on GoBison.com.