GRAND FORKS, N.D. - North Dakota will continue its homestand on Saturday, hosting South Dakota State at 1 p.m. inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. 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 (1440 AM).

Series History vs. the Jackrabbits
Saturday's contest will be the 198th all-time meeting between the North Dakota and South Dakota State men's basketball programs. UND holds a 105-92 series lead and is 62-27 in games played at home.

In the 2021-22 season, SDSU won both games of the series. The Jackrabbits took the first game by a score of 96-61 in Brookings on Jan. 27 and then won in Grand Forks four days later by a score of 70-64. 

South Dakota State has dominated the games played in the Division I era by winning 14 of the 15 meetings and it has currently won the last 13 games of the series. North Dakota's last win between the two squads was an 89-70 victory in Grand Forks on Dec. 15, 2011.

Turn Back the Clock
It has been a decade since UND last won at home against SDSU, going all the way back to Dec. 15, 2011. In that game, Patrick Mitchell scored a season-high 22 points, connecting on his first six three-pointers of the contest to lead North Dakota past South Dakota State 89-70 inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The 19-point victory over the Jackrabbits was the largest since the 1990-91 team beat SDSU at home on Feb. 12, 1991 (W, 82-63).

On Dec. 15, 2011, the No. 1 movie at the box office was New Year's Eve, the No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 was "We Found Love" by Rihanna, and the most recent No. 1 NBA Draft pick was John Wall by the Washington Wizards.

Last Time Out
North Dakota fell 62-60 to South Dakota in Grand Forks on Thursday evening. The game was knotted up at 60-60 following a B.J. Omot turnaround jumper with 20.5 seconds left. A Kruz Perrot-Hunt jumper in the paint with 1.4 seconds left was the difference.

On the game-winner, Perrott-Hunt was well guarded by Brady Danielson, who forced him to take a fadeaway shot that rattled home. North Dakota had 1.4 seconds left to create a shot and had an open look when an inbounds pass from Danielson found its way to Treysen Eaglestaff at the three-point line. Eaglestaff got the would-be game-winner off in time, but it fell short and allowed South Dakota to escape with the 62-60 victory.

Eaglestaff was the top Hawk, pouring in a season-high 18 points. He also hauled in five rebounds, which was good for a season best. Eaglestaff finished with a pair of steals defensively in his 28 minutes of play.

Fellow freshman Omot was next in scoring for UND, throwing down 15 points in 27 minutes of play. Twelve of his 15 points came in the second half alone.

Jalun Trent was the final North Dakota player to net double figures, adding 10 points and grabbing five boards. In his performance, Trent knocked down a season-best four makes at the free throw line.

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 9-35 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)

Going Deep
North Dakota comes into the matchup with the No. 1 team in bench scoring in the Summit League and the No. 23 team nationally in that category. The Fighting Hawks average 29.31 points per game from the reserves this season. The next closest bench in the league is Oral Roberts with 23.47 points coming from its bench.

Shaking Things Up
North Dakota utilized its eighth different starting lineup of the season on Thursday. 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 36, followed by B.J. Omot with 16. Brady Danielson and Treysen Eaglestaff have also worked their ways into starting roles and have starts in the last three games. Jalun Trent returned to action as a starter on Thursday.

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.

Follow Us
Receive live updates during all UND men's basketball games by following @UNDmbasketball on Twitter. Fans can also follow the Fighting Hawks on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @UNDmbasketball. FightingHawks.com will have up-to-the-minute stories, stats and more.

FULL GAME NOTES ARE HERE.