Next Game: vs. South Dakota
North Dakota will open 2023 hosting South Dakota at 7 p.m. inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center on Thursday, Jan. 5. Fans can follow all the action on Midco Sports, as well as by tuning into Paul Ralston’s call on the Home of Economy Radio Network.
Series History vs. the Coyotes
Thursday’s game will be the 198th all-time meeting between the UND and USD men’s basketball teams. North Dakota holds a 103-94 series lead and is 58-33 in games played in Grand Forks. Last season, the Coyotes took both games of the series. USD won 75-68 inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center on Jan. 10, 2022, and also took the second game by a score of 71-58 in Vermillion on Jan. 29. North Dakota’s last win between the two squads was an 85-81 victory in Grand Forks on Feb. 14, 2021, which capped a four-game winning streak over South Dakota at the time.
Last Time Out
North Dakota fell 71-49 to North Dakota State in Grand Forks on Friday, Dec. 30. In the game, the Bison made 48.1 percent of its shots, while the Fighting Hawks were held to a season-low 30.2 percent from the field. A’Jahni Levias was the only Hawk to hit double figures, netting 10 points and recording two steals. Tsotne Tsartsidze just missed double digits, adding nine points and dishing out a team-high three assists.
Going Deep
North Dakota comes into the matchup with the No. 1 team in bench scoring in the Summit League and the No. 16 team nationally in that category. The Fighting Hawks average 30.73 points per game from the reserves this season. The next closest bench in the league is the Omaha Mavericks with 23.53 points coming from its bench.
Watch and Listen
All North Dakota men’s basketball games, home and away, can be heard on stations across the Home of Economy Radio Network, as well as through the iHeart Radio app, with Paul Ralston calling the action. UND home games this season will also all be available through Midco Sports Plus with a subscription. A vast majority of the home games will also be aired on Midco Sports or Midco Sports Two.
Record Rewind
The North Dakota men’s basketball program holds a 1,622-1,142 all-time record since Dr. George Sweetland led the first team onto the court in 1904-05. UND is 976-313 all-time when it comes to defending its home court. The 2022-23 season is the 15th at the Division I level for the program (2008-09) and the Fighting Hawks are 201-248 in those contests.
UND is 0-13 since 2000 against ranked Division I opponents, with the 2019 matchup at No. 8/7 Gonzaga being the highest-ranked regular season opponent since the No. 3 ranking held by Kansas when the Jayhawks visited Grand Forks in 2001. The Fighting Hawks played No. 9 Creighton earlier this season and fell 96-61 in Omaha. North Dakota also fell at No. 23 Iowa State this season, 63-44, despite trailing by only two at the break.
