Western Illinois hosts North Dakota State after Barisic's 25-point outing

North Dakota State Bison (17-8, 9-4 Summit) at Western Illinois Leathernecks (14-10, 5-7 Summit)

Macomb, Illinois; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Western Illinois faces the North Dakota State Bison after Luka Barisic scored 25 points in Western Illinois' 91-82 loss to the UMKC Kangaroos.

The Leathernecks have gone 7-4 in home games. Western Illinois is second in the Summit with 35.4 points per game in the paint led by Trenton Massner averaging 0.9.

The Bison are 9-4 in conference games. North Dakota State ranks sixth in the Summit shooting 35.3% from 3-point range.

The teams square off for the second time this season in Summit play. The Leathernecks won the last meeting 90-79 on Jan. 15. Massner scored 31 points points to help lead the Leathernecks to the victory.

TOP PERFORMERS: Massner is scoring 16.8 points per game with 5.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists for the Leathernecks. Barisic is averaging 17.1 points and 7.5 rebounds while shooting 43.8% over the past 10 games for Western Illinois.

Tyree Eady is averaging 10 points for the Bison. Rocky Kreuser is averaging 19.3 points and 8.1 rebounds over the past 10 games for North Dakota State.

LAST 10 GAMES: Leathernecks: 4-6, averaging 79.0 points, 35.0 rebounds, 12.2 assists, 6.4 steals and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 45.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 80.2 points per game.

Bison: 7-3, averaging 76.2 points, 34.6 rebounds, 9.7 assists, 4.5 steals and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting 46.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.1 points.

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