MBB-FCS: North Dakota Fighting Hawks (6-11) at Omaha Mavericks (6-11)

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – North Dakota will head back on the road this week and travel I-29 to take on Omaha this Thursday at 7 p.m. Fans can follow all the action on Mavs All-Access, as well as by tuning into Paul Ralston’s call on the Home of Economy Radio Network (100.3 FM).

Series History vs. the Mavericks
Thursday’s contest will be the 100th all-time meeting between the North Dakota and Omaha men’s basketball programs. UND holds a 56-43 series lead but is 17-28 in games played in Omaha.

In the 2021-22 season, the teams split the season series with the home team taking both meetings. Omaha won 98-82  in Nebraska on Jan. 6, 2022, while UND won 92-85 in Grand Forks on Feb. 5.

When UND joined the Summit League in 2019, the series with Omaha resumed after a five-year hiatus. Since then, the Mavericks have held the upper hand in the series, 7-2, but the Fighting Hawks have won two of the last three meetings – including an 81-69 win in Omaha on Feb. 20, 2021; the most recent win in Omaha.

Last Time Out
North Dakota fell 60-59 to South Dakota State in Grand Forks on Saturday afternoon. UND trailed 59-48 with 3:24 to go and went on an 11-0 run to tie the game with seven seconds remaining. However, a free throw from the Jackrabbits with two seconds on the clock proved to be the difference in the game.

The Hawks controlled the first half, jumping out to a 13-2 lead to start the game and led by as many as 15 in the first half. UND took a 33-20 edge into the lockr room, but the Jackrabbits fought back in the second half after UND held the lead for more than 30 minutes to begin the game.

Tsotne Tsartsidze led the Hawks in scoring with 16 points and grabbed six rebounds. The junior forward played 35 minutes and made six field goals with two of them from downtown. He also picked up a blocked shot, his ninth of the season.

Brady Danielson crashed the boards with a season high eight rebounds, while also reaching double figures with 10 points in 25 minutes of play. It was his fourth game in double figures this season.

Matt Norman was second on the team with 12 points in 15 minutes of action off the bench. It was his first game in double figures since scoring 14 against Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 27.

I-29 Bound
UND will be traveling plenty up and down Interstate 29 in the coming years as members of The Summit League and the men’s basketball program will look to continue its success over the rivals located along that stretch. UND owns winning records against four of the other five The Summit League teams that are located on I-29: North Dakota State, Omaha, South Dakota and South Dakota State, but is 2-7 against Kansas City.

Since joining the league in 2018-19, however, I-29 was a tough place to find wins for UND, as the Fighting Hawks are 9-36 against Division I opponents along the stretch. On the other hand, the Hawks are 17-15 against conference foes not positioned on I-29. 

Last Win Over I-29 Schools
Kansas City – Jan. 2, 2021 (L3)
North Dakota State – Jan. 16, 2021 (L3)
Omaha – Feb. 5, 2021 (W1)
South Dakota – Feb. 14, 2021 (L3)
South Dakota State – Dec. 15, 2011 (L13)

Bench Boost
North Dakota comes into the matchup with the most bench scoring in the Summit League and the No. 24 team nationally in that category. The Fighting Hawks are averaging 28.76 points per game from the reserves this season. The next closest bench in the league is Omaha at 23.12.

Shaking Things Up
North Dakota utilized its eighth different starting lineup of the season on Thursday, and then rolled the same five starters out on Saturday. There were nine variations of the starting lineup in the 2021-22 season. On the team, Tsotne Tsartsidze has the most active consecutive starts currently with 37, followed by B.J. Omot with 17. Brady Danielson and Treysen Eaglestaff have also worked their ways into starting roles and have starts in the last four games. Jalun Trent  made his second straight start on Saturday.

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.