# North Dakota State Bison men's basketball

The North Dakota State Bison men's basketball team is a part of the athletic program at North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota, U.S. They are members of the NCAA Division I and have been part of The Summit League since May 2007. Home games are played at the Scheels Center which is located on the NDSU campus in Fargo, ND. The team shares a conference rival with the South Dakota State Jackrabbits. The Bison men's head coach is David Richman.
On March 10, 2009 the Bison made their biggest comeback in school history with a 66–64 win over Oakland University to win the Summit League tournament championship and became the first team since Southwestern Louisiana (now Louisiana-Lafayette) in 1972 to advance to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship in their first year of eligibility. North Dakota State has appeared four times in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, most recently in 2019.

## Head coaches

| # | Name | Years | Record | Conference Titles | NCAA Berths |
| 1 | Gil Dobie | 1906–1908 | 17–5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Paul Magoffin | 1908–1909 | 11–4 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Arthur Rueber | 1909–1913 | 42–6 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Howard Wood | 1913–1915 | 22–4 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Paul J. Davis | 1915–1918 | 37–10 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Curly Movold | 1918–1919 | 9–5 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Stanley Borleske | 1919–1922 | 42–14 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | George Dewey | 1922–1925 | 56–15 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Ion Cortright | 1925–1926 | 22–3 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Leonard Saalwaechter | 1926–1933 | 71–68 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | Robert A. Lowe | 1933–1946 | 141–102 | 3 | 0 |
| 12 | C. P. Reed | 1946–1949 | 32–41 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Chuck Bentson | 1949–1965 | 169–207 | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | Doug Cowman | 1965–1968 | 33–41 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Bud Belk | 1968–1972 | 50–55 | 1 | 1 |
| 16 | Marv Skaar | 1972–1978 | 93–69 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Erv Inniger | 1978–1992 | 244–150 | 1 | 2 |
| 18 | Tom Billeter | 1992–1997 | 97–50 | 1 | 4 |
| 19 | Ray Giacoletti | 1997–2000 | 48–33 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Greg McDermott | 2000–2001 | 15–11 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Tim Miles | 2001–2007 | 99–71 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Saul Phillips | 2007–2014 | 134–84 | 2 | 2 |
| 23 | David Richman | 2014–Present | 211–142 | 4 | 3 |
| Overall | | 1906–2025 (120 years) | 1695–1190 |

## Postseason history
### NCAA Division I Tournament results

The Bison have appeared in four NCAA Division I Tournaments. Their combined record is 2–4. They qualified for the 2020 NCAA tournament, however, the tournament was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
| Year | Seed | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 2009 | #14 | First round | #3 Kansas | L 74–84 |
| 2014 | #12 | Second Round Third round | #5 Oklahoma #4 San Diego State | W 80–75 $^{OT}$ L 44–63 |
| 2015 | #15 | Second Round | #2 Gonzaga | L 76–86 |
| 2019 | #16 | First Four First round | #16 North Carolina Central #1 Duke | W 78–74 L 62–85 |
From 2011–2015 the round of 64 was known as the second round, Round of 32 was Third round

### NCAA Division II Tournament results

The Bison appeared in eight NCAA Division II Tournaments. Their combined record is 8–8.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 1971 | Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game | Northeast Missouri State Saint Olaf | L 66–75 W 96–94 |
| 1974 | Regional Quarterfinals | Saint Cloud State | L 62–77 |
| 1981 | Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game | Green Bay Central Missouri State | L 76–82 W 95–87 |
| 1983 | Regional semifinals Regional Finals | Ferris State Morningside | W 71–68 L 77–79 |
| 1994 | Regional semifinals Regional Finals | Mesa State South Dakota | W 75–65 $^{OT}$ L 58–61 |
| 1995 | Regional Quarterfinals Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game | Mesa State Fort Hays State Regis | W 85–76 L 63–73 W 84–72 |
| 1996 | Regional Quarterfinals Regional semifinals | Denver South Dakota State | W 71–70 L 88–94 |
| 1997 | Regional Quarterfinals Regional semifinals | Northern State Fort Hays State | W 90–89 $^{OT}$ L 78–82 |

### CBI results

The Bison have appeared in two College Basketball Invitationals (CBI). Their combined record is 0–2.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 2012 | First round | Wyoming | L 75–76 |
| 2013 | First round | Western Michigan | L 71–72 $^{OT}$ |

## Summit League awards
### Player of the Year

* Ben Woodside (2009)
* Taylor Braun (2014)
* Lawrence Alexander (2015)

### First-Team All-Summit League

* Brett Winkelman (2008 & 2009)
* Ben Woodside (2008 & 2009)
* Taylor Braun (2012–14)
* Lawrence Alexander (2015)
* Paul Miller (2017)
* Vinnie Shahid (2020)
* Tyson Ward (2020)
* Rocky Kreuser (2021 & 2022)
* Sam Griesel (2022)
* Grant Nelson (2023)
* Jacksen Moni (2025)

### All-Defensive Team

* Tyree Eady (2022)
* Grant Nelson (2023)

### Newcomer of the Year

* Vinnie Shahid (2019)

### Sixth Man of the Year

* Dexter Werner (2017 & 2018)
* Grant Nelson (2021)
* Tajavis Miller (2025)

## All-time statistical leaders
### Single-game leaders

* Points: Ben Woodside (60, 2008)
* Assists: David Ryles (16, 1987)
* Rebounds: Gene Gamache (24, 1955), Robert Lauf (24, 1954), Roger Erickson (24, 1960)
* Steals: David Ryles (8, 1986)
* 3 point FG made: Jared Samuelson (9, 2018)
* Free Throws made: Ben Woodside (30, 2008)

### Single-season leaders

* Points: Ben Woodside (766, 08–09)
* Assists: David Ryles (230, 86–87)
* Rebounds: John Wojtak (298, 70–71)
* Steals: David Ryles (86, 86–87)

### Career leaders

* Points: Ben Woodside (2315, 05–09)
* Assists: Jeff Askew (684, 1979–83)
* Rebounds: Brett Winkelman (874, 05–09)
* Steals: David Ryles (275, 1983–87)

## Arenas

* Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse (Physical Education Building) 1931–1970
* Bison Sports Arena 1970–2016
* Scheels Center 2016-Present