The North Dakota Fighting Hawks (4-4) will be at home in Betty Engelstad Sioux Center when they square off with the North Dakota State Bison (3-5). North Dakota is a 1.5-point favorite on the opening line, while the Over/Under (O/U) for the game opened at 147 points. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 9, 2017.
North Dakota State Bison at North Dakota Fighting Hawks Odds Preview
The last time the Bison played, they fell to the Missouri State Bears, 71-58. With 16 points on 6-for-13 shooting, Paul Miller led North Dakota State in scoring. Missouri State held the Bison to an offensive rebounding percentage of 11.8 (below their season average of 20.7). North Dakota State, meanwhile, did an excellent job of making free throws (8-11; 72.7 percent).
The Fighting Hawks are trying to rebound after their 111-68 loss to the Creighton Bluejays in their last outing. With 16 points, Cortez Seales played well for North Dakota. Creighton’s 27.3 offensive rebounding percentage was their biggest advantage over North Dakota, who had a mark of 11.4. The Bluejays mark was above their season average of 24.9, while the Fighting Hawks was below their season average of 27.0.
It will be a showdown of contrasting tempos as the fast-paced Fighting Hawks will look to push the slower-paced Bison. Since the 2016-17 season, the Fighting Hawks rank 34th in possessions per game while the Bison are 253rd.
These two teams are complete opposites in terms of the O/U total. North Dakota State games have finished under 60.0 percent of the time, while games involving North Dakota have gone over 100.0 percent of the time. The Fighting Hawks have the sizable advantage straight up (SU) (4-4 vs. 3-5), but both teams have the same against the spread (ATS) record (2-3).
Each team won one of the two games played against each other last season. In the last contest, the Bison won 87-70. The Bison dominated nearly every stat category in the game. They had a fantastic effective field goal percentage of 0.605 and an offensive rebounding percentage of 25.0. For those same stats, the Fighting Hawks were 0.482 and 20.0, respectively.
North Dakota State Bison vs. North Dakota Fighting Hawks Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – North Dakota, ATS Winner – North Dakota State, O/U – Over
Betting Notes (2016-Present):
- The Fighting Hawks rank 174th in rebounds per game (35.7) while the Bison rank 235th (34.4).
- North Dakota ranks 21st in blocks allowed per game (2.5) while North Dakota State ranks 68th (3.0).
- North Dakota ranks 27th in steals per game (8.0) while North Dakota State ranks 192nd (5.8).
- The Fighting Hawks rank 85th in assists per game (14.8) while the Bison rank 228th (12.4).
- North Dakota State ranks 142nd in three pointers attempted per game (21.9) while North Dakota ranks 235th (19.1).
