GAME NOTES -- NORTH DAKOTA STATE at SAMFORD (PDF)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford men's basketball teams host a four-team event this week as North Dakota State, Utah Valley, and West Georgia all make their way to the Pete Hanna Center. The Bulldogs open the week with the Bison on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 6:30 p.m. followed by a game the next day against the Wolverines at the same time. 

The Samford Bulldogs are riding a 21-game home-winning streak into the matchup with the Bison. The meeting will be the first all-time between Samford and North Dakota State. The Dogs are coming off an 83-75 defeat at Michigan State in their last outing.

The Bulldogs sit 5th in the nation in scoring at 93.8 points per game. The Bulldogs are top-30 in the nation in assists per game, led by point guard Ryaln Jones who is tied for 10th in the country with 42 assists. Samford sits tied for 12th with 11.3 three-pointers made per game.

Coach Bucky McMillan continues to show the depth in his squad as 11 different players average double-figure minutes per game and the team sits sixth in bench scoring at 41.1 points per game. Samford men's basketball enters the night in the top-25 in turnover margin and in the top 10 in forced turnovers per game. 

Jaden Brownell leads the team in scoring at 16.2 ppg and in rebounding at 5.7 rpg while Josh Holloway and Lukas Walls are coming off career-high games for the Bulldogs in their game at Michigan State with 14 and 12 points respectively.

North Dakota State enters the game with a 3-3 record and is coming off a 67-60 win over Minnesota Crookston. The Bison's best win of the season came at Santa Clara where they won in overtime 88-80. NDSU was picked third in the preseason Summit League basketball poll.

Jacari White was named preseason all-league second team for the Bison and is leading the team in scoring with 17 ppg. Head coach David Richman is in his 11th season in charge of the NDSU program and has led his side to the NCAA Tournament three times.

Utah Valley opens up the tournament with a game against West Georgia on Tuesday before facing the Bulldogs on Wednesday night. The Wolverines enter the week 3-1 on the season with their lone defeat coming at a strong South Dakota side.

UVU is led by Dominick Nelson who is averaging 15.3 points per game but the side has five players who are averaging double-figures. The Wolverines are led by head coach Todd Phillips who is in his second season as head coach, leading the Wolverines to a DI program-best 16 wins last year.

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For the latest news and information on Samford men's basketball, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at SamfordSports.com. Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media at /SamfordSports (Facebook), @SamfordMBB (Twitter), and @SamfordMBB (Instagram).