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FARGO, N.D. - A matchup
with the presumed No. 1 team in the nation highlights the 30-game North Dakota
State men's basketball schedule head coach Saul Phillips announced
Wednesday, Aug. 8.
North Dakota State will
play Indiana on Monday, Nov. 12, in the Bloomington Regional of the Legends
Classic. The Hoosiers, with five
starters back from last year's 27-9 team that lost to Kentucky in the NCAA
regional semifinals, are listed first in preseason rankings from college
basketball writers at ESPN, CBS and The Sporting News.
The Legends Classic
includes three games Nov. 19-21 at Duquesne as part of the Pittsburgh
Subregional, where the Bison will face Youngstown State, Duquesne and James
Madison in consecutive days.
NDSU plays at Green Bay on
Nov. 24 before the Summit League opener Nov. 29 at home against Omaha. Other non-conference games include a
home-and-home series with Morehead State in December, road games at Minnesota
and Towson, and a return to the Fargodome on Sunday, Dec. 9, to play North
Dakota.
"This season's schedule
will be very challenging, but we feel we have a team in place that can
compete," Phillips said. "Certainly the
Indiana game is a highlight. Add in
Minnesota, and Morehead State who has been in the NCAA tournament recently,
along with A-10, Colonial and Horizon League teams, and we have a stiff test
for our group of young men."
North Dakota State will
play a 16-game schedule in the nine-team Summit League with the addition of
Omaha and the departure of Southern Utah and Oral Roberts. South Dakota State visits Fargo on Dec. 29 to
start a stretch of 14 straight league games.
NDSU goes on the road Feb.
23 in the annual ESPN BracketBusters series and the Bison also have a
non-conference home game with Utah Valley on Feb. 26 before the regular-season
finale at Omaha on March 2.
The eight-team Summit
League tournament runs March 9-12 at the Sioux Falls Arena in Sioux Falls,
S.D., where the winner earns the league's automatic berth in the 68-team NCAA
tournament.
North
Dakota State returns four starters and its top five scorers from last year's
17-14 team that tied for fourth place in the Summit League with a 9-9 record
and played in the College Basketball Invitational presented by Zebra Pen.
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