Next Game: at Oral Roberts
The University of North Dakota will travel to Tulsa, Okla., for Summit League action vs. Oral Roberts on Thursday at 7 p.m. (CT). Fans can catch all the action on Oral Roberts Sports Nation, as well as by tuning into Paul Ralston's call on the Home of Economy Radio Network (100.3 FM/790 AM).
 
Series History vs. ORU
This will be the eighth all-time meeting between the Fighting Hawks and Golden Eagles, with the teams splitting the regular-season series last year before falling to the eventual Sweet Sixteen Oral Roberts team, 76-65, in the Summit League Tournament Quarterfinal. Currently, ORU holds a 4-3 edge in the series and UND is 1-3 in games in the series played in Tulsa.
 
Last Time Out
North Dakota trailed by 16 late in the first half and battled back to a one possession game with under a minute remaining, but two turnovers in the final minute proved costly as the Fighting Hawks fell 73-68 to Western Illinois inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center on Thursday night. The Hawks out-shot the Leathernecks 43.1 percent to 40.9 percent, while WIU finished with a 22-16 advantage in points off turnovers, including 11 steals to North Dakota's two.
 
Matt Norman led UND with a career-high 27 points, netting 20 points in the second half alone. Bentiu Panoam was next in scoring with a season-high 18 points, while Tsotne Tsartsidze cleaned the glass with a career-high 13 boards to go with seven points.
 
Most Recently for ORU
Oral Roberts won 84-72 at Kansas City on Saturday. The Golden Eagles outscored the Roos 29-14 in the pain and shot 45.6 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from deep. KC finished hitting at 43.3 percent and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. ORU out-rebounded KC, 39-28.
 
Max Abmas led all scorers with 26 points. Kareem Thompson was the next most productive Golden Eagle with 15 points, nine rebounds and a game-high six assists. Elijah Lufile pulled down a team leading 10 boards to go with four points.
 
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 2-5 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 8-27 against Division I opponents along the stretch. On the other hand, the Hawks are 16-9 against conference foes not positioned on I-29.
 
Last Win Over I-29 Schools
Kansas City - Jan. 2, 2021 (L1)
North Dakota State - Jan. 16, 2021 (L1)
Omaha - Feb. 20, 2021 (L1)
South Dakota - Feb. 14, 2021 (L1)
South Dakota State - Dec. 15, 2011 (L11)
 
Ballin' with Bentiu
Bentiu Panoam currently leads the team with 30 consecutive starts and has dished out a team-high 38 assists. Panoam has been filling the position of point guard most recently after Caleb Nero went down with an injury against San Jose State on Dec. 3. Most recently, Panoam poured in a season-best 18 points vs. Western Illinois on Thursday night.
 
Early last season, Panoam provided a spark off the bench for the Fighting Hawks and worked his way into a starting role, earning his place in the starting lineup for the final 13 games of the season. He decided to exercise his COVD-19 extra year of eligibility and is playing for the Fighting Hawks once again in 2021-22.
 
In 2020-21, the Anchorage, Alaska, native netted double-figure performances in five of his last six starts, recording back-to-back 20+ point games in that stretch. Panoam recorded a new career-high with 25 points against South Dakota and set a new career-high in made triples with five at Omaha.
 
Fearless Freshman
Freshman Paul Bruns has played a key role for UND this season and has 11 collegiate starts. He currently leads all freshmen in the Summit League, averaging 13.7 points per game and 15.7 points per game as a starter.
 
Bruns had a highlight-reel performance at North Dakota State on Dec. 22, pouring in a season-high 27 points and pulling down 11 boards for the first double-double of his career. He has 12 double-digit scoring performances and four 20-point performances this season. He has made a team leading 40 trifectas and leads the team with 14.1 points per game.
 
The Jefferson, S.D., native averages 29.4 minutes per game, which ranks 15th in The Summit League. Bruns also sits fourth in the league in steals per game with 1.3, which is also a team-high.
 
Stormin' Norman
Sophomore transfer Matt Norman worked his way back into the starting lineup and led NoDak with a career-high 27 points on Thursday, netting 20 points alone in the second half.
 
With his most recent performance, Norman now has three 20-point performances as a Hawk, including a 23-point game in 110-65 victory over North Central on Dec. 14, burying seven shots from beyond the arc and dishing out a career-best six assists in the victory.
 
Norman currently ranks second on the team in made triples with 31 makes from deep and is a 35.6 percent three-point shooter.
 
Sueker Sinks Them
Mitchell Sueker has continued his hot streak from the end of last year and has seven double digit scoring performances this year, averaging 9.9 per game. Sueker has had limited action while recovering from an injury and scored 10 points at Denver on Jan. 8. He currently ranks
fourth on the team in total points this season with 149.
 
Sueker currently sits third on the team in free throw makes this season with 32 and is an 80.0 percent free throw shooter. Last season, Sueker drained 56-of-67 at the charity stripe to lead the team with an 83.6 percentage at the free throw line. In his career, the Marshall, Minn., native is 202-260 at the stripe, good for a free throw percentage of 77.7 percent.
 
Sueker averaged 7.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game last year and has career-highs in points (32), rebounds (12) and assists (5). His best free throw performance came against Kansas City last year when he went 11-for-12 at the line in the 52-45 win.
 
Finding A Groove
Sophomore transfer Tsotne Tsartsidze is coming into his own at post and had a highlight reel performance against Dixie State, rejecting a career-best four shots and just missing out on a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds.
 
Most recently, Tsartsidze cleaned the glass against Western Illinois on Thursday with a career-high 13 rebounds to go with seven points, while also pacing the offense with three assists.
 
On Dec. 22 against the Bison, Tsartsidze knocked down a career-best seven shots for a new career high of 18 points. Tsartsidze has eight double-digit scoring performances this season and is third on the team in total points scored this year with 153.
 
Defensive Danielson
Brady Danielson has played in more games than any other player on the active roster, playing in 75 games and starting seven of them. Despite being best known for his defense, Danielson threw in a season-high 10 points and corralled seven rebounds at Omaha on Jan. 6.
 
Against the Coyotes on Jan. 10, Danielson's defense shined with him hauling in a career-high tying eight boards and recording a career-best four steals.
 
This season alone, Danielson has drawn a team-high 11 offensive fouls. Most recently, he drew a pair of offensive fouls against the Fighting Leathernecks on Thursday. He also drew a season-high three charges against Dixie State on Dec. 18.
 
Last season, Danielson appeared in 25 games off the bench and averaged 13.0 minutes per game while putting in just under two points per game and just over one rebound per game. He dished out a career-high four assists at Minnesota last season.
 
In his career, Danielson erupted for 18 points at Oregon State, while making a career-best six field goals.
 
Let's Go Igbanugo
Ethan Igbanugo has always been known as a sharpshooter and that has continued this season, with him currently third on the team for made triples this season, knocking down 21 trifectas on 67 attempts. His shooting percentage from beyond the arc is currently 31.3 percent. He knocked down a career-high five shots from beyond the arc against Dixie State on Dec. 18.
 
The Lakeville North Product appeared in every game last season with 16 starts, averaging 27 minutes per game. He was a cool customer from downtown, leading the team in made triples with 40 and hitting a three in every game except one.
 
Igbanugo poured in a career-high 18 points against North Dakota State late last season, while averaging 8.3 points per game. The Lakeville, Minn., native also went a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe against Purdue Fort Wayne during the 2019-20 season.
 
Heat Check
North Dakota proved the three-point threat exists on Dec. 14 against North Central University, breaking the school record for made triples in a game with 17. The previous UND record for made shots beyond the arc in a single game was 16, which was tied three times, most recently on Dec. 17, 2019, in a 109-50 victory over Northland College inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
 
The Fighting Hawks are familiar with shots from deep and that has not changed this season, with the kelly green and white firing off  462 shots from beyond the arc and knocking down 152 of them for an average of 32.9 percent made from three-point land. In the record-breaking game vs. NCU, the Hawks finished 17-of-31 from deep for an average of 54.8 percent.
 
North Dakota has hit at least one triple in every game dating back to March 1, 2018. The last time the Hawks did not make a three came on Feb. 24, 2018, when UND went 0-for-8 from downtown at Northern Colorado in a 79-66 loss. North Dakota has hit at least one three in each of the last 111 games played.
 
Keeping Things Even
North Dakota had five returners in 2021-22 and eight newcomers and so far, they are keeping things close as a team. The Fighting Hawks have scored 1,263 points this season with the newbies pouring in 728 of them and the returners amassing 535 points. In total, the newcomers have scored 57.64 percent of UND's total points this season, while the returners have accounted for 42.36 percent of North Dakota's made shots.
 
Shaking Things Up
North Dakota has utilized seven different variations of its starting lineup so far this season and may try its eighth different starting lineup on Saturday. On the team, Bentiu Panoam has the most active consecutive starts currently with 30, followed by Paul Bruns with 11. The next most common starter based on active streaks is Tsotne Tsartsidze with seven, trailed by Mitchell Sueker and Matt Norman with four each.
 
Nero the Hero
North Dakota has been without its starting point guard the last nine games after going down with an injury on Dec. 3, against San Jose State. Despite not playing the last nine games, Nero is second on the team in points per game (12.1) and leads the team in both assists per game (2.8) and with a free throw percentage of 85.2.
 
Nero appeared in all 26 games last season and started 13 of them. The Tulsa, Okla., native proved to be a leader off the bench last season, leading all players off the bench with 8.7 points per game and 22.9 minutes per contest. He also led all guards on the team with a shooting percentage of 41.8 percent from the field and was second on the team in crunch time with an 83.3 percentage from the charity stripe.
 
In his career, Nero has piled up 25 games where he has netted double digits in points and has 17 games where has dished out three assists or more. In the season finale last season, Nero poured in 11 points in 21 minutes while grabbing three rebounds against Oral Roberts in the Summit League Quarterfinals.
 
Rolling with the Changes
North Dakota has already had three games rescheduled due to COVID-19 protocols and is constantly dealing with a changing schedule. The Hawks already made up their previously scheduled Dec. 30 matchup with the Coyotes on Monday, Jan. 10, and fell in a 75-68 decision.
 
The two upcoming rescheduled home games are against South Dakota State and St. Thomas in games that were originally scheduled to be played on Jan. 1 and Jan. 15, respectively. The Hawks will now host the Jackrabbits at 7 p.m. (CT) on Monday, Jan. 31, and the Tommies on Tuesday, Feb. 22 at Noon (CT). Both games will be aired on the Home of Economy Radio Network, with the Jan. 31 game being carried on Midco Sports. Further game coverage for the Feb. 22 game is still to be announced.
 
If rescheduled games are still unable to be made up due to COVID-19 protocols, those will be considered a "no contest".
 
For seeding purposes regarding The Summit League Basketball Championships, if teams have played a different number of League games due to no contests, winning percentage will be used as the first criteria to determine seeds. St. Thomas is not eligible for the Summit League Tournament this season, so the top eight teams in the conference will earn bids to the Summit League Basketball Championships at the conclusion of the regular season.

COMPLETE GAME NOTES CAN BE FOUND HERE.