NDSU men’s basketball hot start fueled by 3-point shooting

North Dakota State has started the 2024-25 season 10-4 thanks to their hot shooting from 3

FARGO (KVRR) – It has been a great season thus far for the North Dakota State Bison men’s basketball program. Sitting at 10-4 on the year, they’ve been dominating teams from the 3-point line and shooting 41.5% from downtown as a team.

And after a huge win over Butler from the Big East on Dec. 10, the Bison have set their sights on a potential fun at the Summit League.

“Extremely proud of our guys,” said NDSU Head Coach Dave Richman. “They’ve embraced our process and the culture. For me, selfishly, for our staff, it’s just a really fun group to be around. There’s no coincidence that that fun, that excitement, that energy that they have off the court. How much they like each other, translates into who they are on the courts, on both ends of the floor.”

One of the big reasons behind NDSU’s success has been the play of their top two scorers in Jacksen Moni (17.6 ppg) and Jacari White (17.2 ppg). Both are shooting over 44% from downtown (45.2% for Moni and 44.3% for White) and averaging over 17 points a game. They’ve been unlocked as well thanks to the roster that has stepped up. Playing defense, shooting threes and working as a cohesive unit.

“They’re able to do the things that they can do based on the parts around them and who they are defensively, right? You’re not going to get on the floor of North Dakota State if you’re not going to guard and do those things,” said Coach Richman. “And again, I think you become a sum of all of your parts. A guy like Watkins against Butler, six assists, two turnovers, can’t take him off the floor. That’s just countless examples of those things. And those two are playing at a high clip right now. They’re shooting the ball, they’re unselfish, but that unselfishness is making those around them better and coming back and taking care of them. And that’s really the premise of our program.”

Moni is a senior from Sheyenne High School in West Fargo and has been a huge boost to their performance on the court. After three years at Division II Northern State, Moni returned to the region to give the Bison a big forward that score down low and stretch the floor from three.

“When you look at our team, we shoot a lot of threes but I think what people don’t realize is that we get to the paint and we create for others. A lot of our three pointers are created by other people and just knowing that we’ve got confidence and everybody just go out there and play the game.” said Moni.

For White, he too is a senior playing at a high level. Highlighted by his scoring output on the court, the senior guard from Orlando, FL, is setting the tone for the Bison squad. He scored 30 points against Samford in November, and then 27 against Butler in that upset win. He’s not just a scorer for this NDSU program as shown in the game against Western Michigan on Dec. 15 where White dished out five assists.

As the Bison prepare for the conference schedule coming up in January, White and this team know what their goals are in the end. After getting to Fargo in 2022, the guard has found a frozen home away from the warm temperatures in Florida.

“Finding a home away from home. Just somewhere you can be comfortable enough to allow people around you to help you grow. And it just means something you can’t put a price on.” said White.

The Bison have more game in 2024 and that is set for the 23rd at 7:00 p.m. against CSU-Bakersfield at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex in north Fargo.