North Dakota will take on longtime rival South Dakota Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. Fans can follow all the action on Midco +, as well as by tuning into Paul Ralston’s call on the Home of Economy Radio Network.
Series History vs. the Coyotes
Saturday will be the 199th all-time meeting between North Dakota and South Dakota. The Hawks have a 103-95 edge in the series, which dates back to 1923. However, as Summit League foes the tables have turned in favor of the Coyotes, who own a 7-4 edge since both became members of the league. The most recent victory for the Hawks came on Valentine’s Day 2021—an 85-81 win in Grand Forks.
USD took the first meeting this season 62-60 in Grand Forks.
Last Time Out
North Dakota dropped their fourth straight game Thursday night when they fell at South Dakota State 96-73. The Hawks were within nine points at half at 44-35, but the Jackrabbits were too much for the Hawks in the second half. Tsotne Tsartsidze had his second double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Matt Norman and B.J. Omot each scored 17 and Brady Danielson added 11.
Bench Boost
North Dakota enters the matchup with the most bench scoring in the Summit League and is No. 27 team nationally in that category. The Fighting Hawks are averaging 27.12 points per game from the reserves this season. The next closest bench in the league is Omaha with 23.71.
Solidify the Five
North Dakota has used eight different starting combinations this season, but the same five have started the last eight games (Jalun Trent, Treysen Eaglestaff, Brady Danielson, B.J. Omot and Tsotne Tsartsidze). There were nine variations of the starting lineup last season. On the team, Tsartsidze has the most active consecutive starts currently with 44, followed by Omot with 24. Danielson and Eaglestaff have also worked their ways into starting roles and have started the last 11 games. Trent made his ninth consecutive start on Friday.
