Halftime Report

North Dakota and the Jackrabbits have shown up to the game, but their offenses sure haven't. After one quarter, neither team has the match in the bag, but North Dakota leads 33-30 over the Jackrabbits. This game is far closer than the pair's previous matchup, which was decided by 19 points.

North Dakota came into the contest with some extra motivation after the defeat they were dealt the last time these two teams faced off. We'll see if they're able to flip the script or if it'll just be more of the same.

Who's Playing

Southern Dak. St. Jackrabbits @ North Dakota Fighting Hawks

Current Records: Southern Dak. St. 17-12, North Dakota 17-12

How To Watch

What to Know

Southern Dak. St. has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They and the North Dakota Fighting Hawks will face off in a Summit battle at 8:00 p.m. ET on Thursday at Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. North Dakota took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Southern Dak. St., who comes in off a win.

Last Saturday, the Jackrabbits beat the Tommies 77-72.

Southern Dak. St.'s victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Charlie Easley, who scored 17 points along with four steals. Zeke Mayo was another key contributor, scoring 23 points along with five rebounds.

Meanwhile, North Dakota's game on Saturday was all tied up 33-33 at the half, but sadly for them it didn't stay that way. They fell 73-68 to the Bison.

North Dakota's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of B.J. Omot, who scored 22 points along with seven rebounds and two blocks, and Amar Kuljuhovic who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 11 rebounds. Kuljuhovic is trending in the right direction, as he's improved his point production for three games straight.

The Jackrabbits' win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 17-12. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 81.8 points per game. As for the Fighting Hawks, their defeat ended a five-game streak of away wins and brought them to 17-12.

Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as Southern Dak. St. and the Fighting Hawks are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Southern Dak. St. hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 77.2 points per game. However, it's not like North Dakota struggles in that department as they've been averaging 75.1 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.

Southern Dak. St. is hoping to beat the odds on Thursday, as the experts think they're headed for a loss. They might be worth a quick bet since they're sitting on a four game streak of covering the spread when playing as the underdog.

Odds

North Dakota is a slight 1-point favorite against Southern Dak. St., according to the latest college basketball odds.

The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 1-point spread, and stayed right there.


The over/under is 149 points.

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Series History

Southern Dak. St. has won all of the games they've played against North Dakota in the last 4 years.

  • Dec 31, 2023 - Southern Dak. St. 80 vs. North Dakota 61
  • Feb 02, 2023 - Southern Dak. St. 96 vs. North Dakota 73
  • Jan 07, 2023 - Southern Dak. St. 60 vs. North Dakota 59
  • Jan 31, 2022 - Southern Dak. St. 70 vs. North Dakota 64
  • Jan 27, 2022 - Southern Dak. St. 96 vs. North Dakota 61
  • Jan 23, 2021 - Southern Dak. St. 85 vs. North Dakota 74
  • Jan 22, 2021 - Southern Dak. St. 92 vs. North Dakota 73
  • Dec 11, 2020 - Southern Dak. St. 74 vs. North Dakota 62
  • Feb 19, 2020 - Southern Dak. St. 94 vs. North Dakota 83
  • Jan 15, 2020 - Southern Dak. St. 87 vs. North Dakota 66