Dominic Taylor

NOTES: North Dakota Opens Summit League Play at Home Against Oral Roberts on New Year’s Day

12/31/2025 10:55:00 AM | By: Corey Lichtman, FightingHawks.com

Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. at Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The first 200 fans will receive trading cards of Greyson Uelmen, Ryan Erikson and Anthony Doppler.

North Dakota (6-10) vs. Oral Roberts (5-10)
17th career meeting | ORU leads series 10-6 | Last meeting, Feb. 15, 2025 | UND 88, ORU 77

Grand Forks, N.D. (Betty Engelstad Sioux Center)
Watch: Midco Sports / Summit League Network
Listen: 1440 AM The Fan (PxP Paul Ralston)
Full Game Notes are here

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The North Dakota men's basketball begins Summit League play on Thursday against Oral Roberts at 1 p.m. from Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Coverage can be seen on Midco Sports / Summit League Network and heard on 1440 AM The Fan.

It is the 17th meeting all-time between the Hawks and the Golden Eagles, with Oral Roberts leading the all-time series, 10-6. UND won the last meeting between the two squads on Feb. 15, 2025, by a score of 88-77. Eli King had a team-high 24 points across 37 minutes in the win.

UND is coming off an 88-56 win over Dakota State on Sunday. The Hawks forced 18 Trojans turnovers, having five players score in double figures. Matthew Bothun had a career-high 15 points, on 5-of-5 shooting and 3-for-3 from deep. Bothun was the first Hawks player since Kienan Walter on Nov. 26, 2018 to have 15 or more points on 100% shooting.

Scouting the Opposition
Oral Roberts is 5-10 on the season, coming off a 69-57 loss to UT Arlington on Dec. 22. The Golden Eagles are led by Youngstown State transfer, Ty Harper, who is averaging 16.9 points per game. Harper has scored 10 or more points in all 15 games this season, ranking fifth in the Summit League in points per game.

The Golden Eagles are 0-6 on the road this season, losing by an average of 16.3 points per contest. Oral Roberts is coached by first year head coach, Kory Barnett.

Pregame Notes

UND is 2-4 in Summit League openers under Paul Sather
North Dakota owns a 38-62 record overall and a 23-27 record at home in Summit League play under Sather
The Hawks had a season-low six turnovers on Sunday against Dakota State
UND has hit 32 three pointers over its last three games, good for the second most in the Summit League over that time
UND was picked to finish eighth in the conference and Oral Roberts was projected to finish ninth
The Hawks recorded 10 steals against Dakota State, with Greyson Uelmen and Garrett Anderson each having four
NoDak owns a 6-1 record this season when scoring more points in the paint than its opponent and is 0-9 when scoring less
In five games at home this season against Division l opponents, games have been decided by a total of 21 points (UND is 1-4 in those contests)