North Dakota State faces Western Illinois after Kreuser's 24-point outing

Published Jan. 14, 2022 1:22 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Western Illinois Leathernecks (10-6, 2-3 Summit) at North Dakota State Bison (11-5, 3-1 Summit)

Fargo, North Dakota; Saturday, 2 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: North Dakota State hosts the Western Illinois Leathernecks after Rocky Kreuser scored 24 points in North Dakota State's 87-69 win over the Denver Pioneers.

The Bison are 7-1 in home games. North Dakota State is seventh in the Summit with 30.5 points per game in the paint led by Grant Nelson averaging 1.2.

The Leathernecks are 2-3 against Summit opponents. Western Illinois ranks sixth in the Summit shooting 34.7% from deep. Will Carius leads the Leathernecks shooting 42.4% from 3-point range.

The matchup Saturday is the first meeting this season between the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Kreuser is scoring 15.3 points per game with 8.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists for the Bison. Nelson is averaging 11.4 points over the last 10 games for North Dakota State.

Tamell Pearson is averaging 9.6 points and 6.9 rebounds for the Leathernecks. Carius is averaging 3.5 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Western Illinois.

LAST 10 GAMES: Bison: 7-3, averaging 74.2 points, 35.7 rebounds, 10.1 assists, 3.4 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 45.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.8 points per game.

Leathernecks: 6-4, averaging 80.0 points, 32.4 rebounds, 10.9 assists, 6.9 steals and 2.2 blocks per game while shooting 43.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.8 points.

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