#1 Duke Ends Bison’s Season in NCAA Tournament

COLUMBIA, S.C. – #16 North Dakota State falls to #1 overall seed Duke 85–62 in an NCAA Tournament first round game.

The Bison’s first shot by Sam Griesel was blocked by Duke star Freshman Zion Williamson and many possibly thought if it was a sign of things to come for NDSU. That wasn’t the case as they started the game off hot going on a 9-0 run and leading 12-5 in the first few minutes.

The Bison led for most of the first 11 minutes of the game, but Duke, feeling fresh after a week off of games, put North Dakota State on a 6:20 drought late in the first half.

The Bison kept it close as they were behind by only four points at halftime with a score of 31-27. It was Duke’s second lowest score at half for the season.

“We thought we could come in shoot and win. They’re well coached. A really good team,” Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski said in an interview with CBS at halftime.

The Blue Devils began to pull away as the Bison went only 1-7 from the field to begin the second half.

The Bison were led by junior guard Vinnie Shahid who scored 20 points and added three rebounds.

#1 Duke will now take on the winner of #8 VCU or #9 UCF on Sunday.

The Bison finish the season at 19-16. NDSU is 2-4 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.