Bison men looking for vengeance against SDSU
Tim Miles has had enough of Frost Arena.
The men’s basketball coach hopes his team can end his unfavorable streak at South Dakota State’s arena Saturday.
After reeling off five straight wins, the NDSU men’s basketball team is looking to go for six straight this Saturday at Brookings, S.D., against the Jackrabbits of SDSU.
This will be the first meeting between the Jacks and the Bison this season. Miles is looking for his first career coaching victory at SDSU. Miles has felt the cold of Frost Arena with a 0-5 record as head coach at NDSU and 0-7 overall, with losses when he was at Mayville State and Southwest Minnesota State.
“You can take all your paper and burn it, with any rivalry game,” Miles said referring to comparing statistics and records.
Frost Arena has been a tough place to play for NDSU with only two wins in the last 14 games in Brookings, S.D. The last win for the Bison came in February 2001 under then-head coach Greg McDermott.
“It’s (Frost) a huge atmosphere, the crowd and students are right on top of you,” NDSU sophomore Brett Winkelman said.
Winkelman will be one key to the Bison’s success at Frost Arena.
Winkelman is coming off a career week after averaging 19.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, four steals and three assists in last weeks games, earning him player of the week for Division I independents.
Winkelman is second on the team in points per game for the season. The Bison are the only team in the nation that has four players averaging 15 points per game or better.
“It’s nice to know that anybody can fill the gap any night when we have four players averaging 15 plus a night,” Winkelman said.
NDSU’s continued defensive and inside dominance will also be needed to quiet the loud SDSU crowd. NDSU is only allowing 65 points per game and are out-rebounding their opponents by a margin of seven.
The Bison’s defense will need to stop sophomore Matt Cadwell for the Jacks in order to continue their defensive dominance. The 6-foot-3 guard is averaging 14 points per game and adds four rebounds per game .
“Matt Cadwell can go anywhere on the court and is going to make a play,” Miles said.
Without the injured Luke Moormann, NDSU will still have a size advantage over South Dakota State. The Jacks start a three guard lineup and two forwards that are 6-foot-6. With the size advantage, Miles and the Bison know that they will still be a tough match up.
“South Dakota State always play physical and rebound the ball well,” Miles said. “We are a short on physicality right now with Tom Lunde and Luke Moormann out.”