GRAND FORKS, N.D. - North Dakota will take on longtime rival South Dakota State Thursday evening at 7 p.m. Fans can follow all the action on the Jackrabbit Sports Network, as well as by tuning into Paul Ralston's call on the Home of Economy Radio Network.
Turn Back the Clock
The last time UND won at Frost Arena was Feb. 11, 1995, when the Sioux defeated the Jackrabbits, 84-72, in Brookings. Since then North Dakota has lost its last 19 against the Jacks at Frost.
On Feb. 11, 1995, the No. 1 movie at the box office was Billy Madison, the No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 was "Creep" by TLC, and Coach Sather was just wrapping up his junior year as a college student at Northern State.
Series History vs. the Jackrabbits
Saturday will be the 199th all-time meeting between North Dakota and South Dakota State. The Hawks have a 105-93 edge in the series, which dates back to 1917. However, as Summit League foes the tables have turned in favor of the Jackrabbits, who own a 10-0 edge since both became members of the league. The most recent victory for the Hawks came on December 15, 2011—an 89-70 win in Grand Forks.
SDSU took the first meeting this season 60-59 in Grand Forks.
Last Time Out
North Dakota dropped their third straight game Friday night when they fell at North Dakota State 91-75. The Hawks were within seven points at half at 53-46, but the Bison were too much for the Hawks in the second half. Matt Norman had a season high 25 points to lead the Hawks, with Tsotne Tsartsidze scoring 14 and A'Jahni Levias pouring in ten. B.J. Omot tied a season high with seven rebounds to lead the Hawks in boards.
Early on the game was close, with neither team being able to pull away in the first half. Norman scored 15 in the first half, with Levias scoring all ten of his points in the first half as well. The Hawks made nine threes in the first half, including a buzzer beater from Treysen Eaglestaff to make it a seven point game at intermission.
The Hawks shot over 47% from the floor and from downtown in the first half against the Bison, and Norman made six threes—the first player to do so since Paul Bruns last season.
Bench Boost
North Dakota enters the matchup with the most bench scoring in the Summit League and is No. 25 team nationally in that category. The Fighting Hawks are averaging 27.35 points per game from the reserves this season. The next closest bench in the league is Omaha with 23.39.
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 43, followed by Omot with 23. Danielson and Eaglestaff have also worked their ways into starting roles and have started the last ten games. Trent made his eighth consecutive start on Friday.
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.
Complete notes can be found here.
