Next Game: vs. South Dakota
The University of North Dakota will return home on Monday to host South Dakota in men's basketball action inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Opening tip is slated for 7 p.m. (CT), and fans can catch all the action on Midco Sports and ESPN+, 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. USD
This will be the 196th all-time meeting between North Dakota and South Dakota. UND has a 103-92 series lead, including a 58-32 advantage at home. The series is now tied in the Division I era, with the teams both picking up eight wins in the 16 meetings. The Fighting Hawks are currently riding a four-game winning streak over the Coyotes and picked up a 3-0 sweep in the series last season.

Last Time Out
Five different players reached double-digits to help lead Denver over North Dakota, 93-74, in Summit League men's basketball action Saturday afternoon inside Hamilton Gymnasium. The Pioneers shot 56.7 percent as a team, while the Hawks finished hitting 51.0 percent of their shots in the game.

Paul Bruns led UND and just missed a double-double, netting 20 points and hauling in nine boards. Tsotne Tsartsidze and Mitchell Sueker were the only other Hawks in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Most Recently for USD
In their first game since Dec. 22, South Dakota fell 84-65 to South Dakota State inside the Sanford Coyotes Sports Center on Saturday night. In the game, South Dakota State started on an 11-0 run and never trailed, while also burying 10 triples.

Mason Archambault scored 16 points to lead USD, while three other Coyotes finished in double figures.

Hawks Reschedule Previous COVID-19 Canceled Games
The University of North Dakota men's basketball home games originally scheduled against South Dakota (Dec. 30) and South Dakota State (Jan. 1) have been rescheduled, with the Fighting Hawks taking on the Coyotes (Jan. 10) and the Jackrabbits (Jan. 31), The Summit League announced Tuesday afternoon. Opening tip of the rescheduled games will be 7 p.m. and both games will be carried on Midco Sports. 

The Summit League's Joint Council voted unanimously on Tuesday morning to alter its rescheduling policy based on COVID-19 protocols for the remainder of the basketball seasons.

The League office, in conjunction with its member institutions, will attempt to reschedule all games that have been previously canceled and any future postponements due to COVID-19 protocols.

Rescheduling will be done based upon an agreed set of guidelines, including prioritizing the rescheduled games in the order they were lost. The rescheduled games will likely occur on Mondays or Tuesdays and the conference will also take into consideration travel complexities along with trying to avoid having teams play more than six games during a 12-day stretch among other principles during the process.

The first wave of rescheduled games is set to take place on Monday, Jan. 10, and will include North Dakota vs. South Dakota at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Along with the Jan. 10 game, North Dakota will also take on South Dakota State at home on Jan. 31. Subsequent scheduling adjustments will be announced weekly moving forward.

If 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.

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 8-26 against Division I opponents along the stretch. On the other hand, the Hawks are 16-8 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 (W4)
South Dakota State - Dec. 15, 2011 (L11)

Ballin' with Bentiu
Bentiu Panoam currently leads the team with 28 consecutive starts and has dished out a team-high 34 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. Panoam has a season-best 20 points vs. UT-Martin at the Paradise Classic earlier this season and corralled a career-high six boards vs. Eastern Washington.

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 nine collegiate starts this season. He currently leads all freshmen in the Summit League, averaging 13.6 points per game and 16.0 points per game as a starter. Bruns has knocked down at least one three-pointer in each of the last 11 games.

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 11 double-digit scoring performances and three 20-point performances this season. The Jefferson, S.D., native has a team leading 37 made trifectas and averages 1.3 steals per game to lead the team. His 13.6 points per game is also a team high.

Stormin' Norman
Sophomore transfer Matt Norman worked his way back into the starting lineup and led the kelly green and white with 20 points at Omaha on Thursday night. He now has two 20-point performances as a Hawk, including a 23-point performance in the 110-65 victory over North Central on Dec. 14, burying seven shots from beyond the arc and dishing out a career-high six assists in the victory. Norman currently ranks second on the team in made triples with 26 makes from deep and is a 35.1 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 11.3 per game. Prior to scoring six points at Omaha on Thursday, Sueker had missed the last three games due to injury. On Saturday, Sueker was third on the team in scoring with 10 points at Denver. He currently ranks second on the team in total points this season with 147.

Sueker currently sits third on the team in free throw makes this season with 30 and is a 78.9 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.

On Dec. 22 against the Bison, Tsartsidze knocked down a career-best seven shots for a new career high of 18 points. Tsartsidze has seven double-digit scoring performances this season, including a 13-point performance at Omaha on Thursday evening and an 11-point scoring total at Denver on Saturday.

Defensive Danielson
Brady Danielson has played in more games than any other player on the active roster, playing in 73 games and starting seven of them. Despite being best known for his defense, Danielson threw in a season-high 10 points and corralled a career-high seven rebounds at Omaha on Thursday night.

Defensively, Danielson has already drawn nine offensive fouls this season to lead the team. He 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 20 trifectas on 61 attempts. His shooting percentage from beyond the arc is currently 32.8 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  418 shots from beyond the arc and knocking down 138 of them for an average of 33.0 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 109 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 1,127 points this season with the newbies pouring in 640 of them and the returners amassing 487 points. In total, the newcomers have scored 56.79 percent of UND's total points this season, while the returners have accounted for 43.21 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 Monday. On the team, Bentiu Panoam has the most active consecutive starts currently with 28, followed by Paul Bruns with nine. The next most common starter is Tsotne Tsartsidze with five, trailed by Mitchell Sueker and Matt Norman with two each.

COMPLETE GAME NOTES CAN BE FOUND HERE.