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Duke Basketball: Bison hoping to catch fire from 3-point range on Friday

By Kevin Connelly

DAYTON, OHIO - MARCH 20: Tyson Ward #24 and Vinnie Shahid #0 of the North Dakota State Bison react during the second half against the North Carolina Central Eagles in the First Four of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at UD Arena on March 20, 2019 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
DAYTON, OHIO - MARCH 20: Tyson Ward #24 and Vinnie Shahid #0 of the North Dakota State Bison react during the second half against the North Carolina Central Eagles in the First Four of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at UD Arena on March 20, 2019 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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The North Dakota State Bison are going to need to be on fire from 3-point range on Friday night for even the possibility of an upset of the Duke Basketball team.

The North Dakota State Bison already have one game under its belt in the NCAA Tournament with a 78-74 win over North Carolina Central in the First Four.

Tyson Ward led the way for the Bison with 23 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Ward made seven of his thirteen attempts from the field, two of three from 3-point range, and seven of eight from the free throw line.

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On the season, Ward is the second leading scorer on the Bison with 12.6 points per game and is also the teams leading rebounder at 6.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 48.6% from the field and 32.9% from 3-point range.

The teams leading scorer, Vinnie Shahid, had 14 points in the win on Wednesday night. Shahid also finished with two rebounds and three assists, while making four of his ten shots and making only one of his three, 3-point attempts.

Averaging 12.9 points per game, Shahid is one of the most reliable 3-point shooters at 36.3% from the field and a sizzling 43.7% from the field. He also leads the team in assists per game at just 2.7 per game.

Two other Bison reached double figures on Thursday night as both Jared Samuelson and Sam Griesel both got to 10 points and both players have not been consistent contributors for the Bison this season.

On Wednesday, Samuelson took six shots, all from 3-point range, and making three of those shots. He also added three rebounds.

Samuelson leads the team as a 46.5% 3-point shooter, yet only averaging 7.3 points per game.

Sam Griesel was an unsuspecting player to reach double figures for the Bison. Finishing with 10 points, Griesel was four of nine from the floor and despite shooting 47.1% from the field and just 25.0% from 3-point range, he only averages 6.2 points per game.

Tyree Eady and Cameron Hunter are both excellent 3-point shooters with Eady at 41.9% and Hunter at this 41.2%.

Both players finished with seven points off the bench for the Bison against NC Central with Eady hitting his lone 3-point attempt and Hunter missing both of his attempts.

North Dakota State is going to need a lot to go in its favor if the Bison want a chance at upsetting the Duke Blue Devils, but first and foremost, NDSU needs to be hitting its 3-point shots.

Duke and North Dakota State will tipoff on Friday at approximately 7:10pm ET from Columbia, South Carolina on CBS.

Stay tuned to Ball Durham on Twitter, @Ball_Durham, and here at our website, balldurham.com, for complete coverage of the Duke Blue Devils vs. the North Dakota State Bison.

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