North Dakota vs North Dakota State || 2/22 (1 p.m.)
311th meeting, UND leads 164-146
Grand Forks, N.D. (Betty Engelstad Sioux Center)

FULL GAME NOTES ARE HERE

GRAND FORKS, N.D. - Two longtime bitter rivals convene once again on the hardwood as North Dakota men's basketball welcomes in in-state foe North Dakota State. It will be Senior Day for the Fighting Hawks. Tip-off inside Betty Engelstad Sioux Center is set for 1 p.m. Fans can follow the action live with UND men's basketball radio play-by-play voice Paul Ralston on KSNR 100.3 FM The Cat or on the iHeart Radio app, while the action can be seen on Midco Sports and the Summit League Network. Live stats will be provided at www.FightingHawks.com.

TIPPING OFF
North Dakota enters Saturday's regular season home finale looking to build off of a key win over Oral Roberts last weekend in Grand Forks, while the Bison have won three straight games including a decisive win over South Dakota State in Brookings on Thursday.

The Bison make the jaunt up I-29 and carry with them the nation's best effective FG% at 58.6% in addition to being one of the nation's top three-point shooting teams. NDSU ranks second nationally in 3PT% at 40.3%, sixth in 3PTA with 30.3 per game and are making the second most per game of any team in the country at 12.2.

North Dakota combats as one of the league's top rebounding teams leading The Summit League in o-boards per game at 13.75, ranking second in average at 37.86 with the third highest margin at 2.8. 

Saturday's tilt will feature three of the league's top five players in regards to total points with all three ranking inside the league's top six in scoring average. NDSU's Jacksen Moni paces all SL scorers at 20.9 points per game, UND's Treysen Eaglestaff follows with the third highest at 18.8 and the Bison's Jacari White is sixth at 16.7 ppg.

SERIES HISTORY
The two Peace Garden State foes tangle for the 311th time in a series that began in March of 1905. UND leads the all-time series 164-146 and is 99-49 against the Bison in Grand Forks. UND used a last second shot from Amar Kuljuhovic to beat the Bison 60-58 in Grand Forks a season ago. The last three matchups have been decided by an average of four points. NDSU held off a surging Hawks squad in the second half of their January 25 meeting. 

MOST RECENTLY VS. NORTH DAKOTA STATE
Junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half and that effort helped spur a 15-4 North Dakota run which pulled the Hawks to within a point of the North Dakota State lead as the clock dipped under six minutes, but the host held off the visitors from Grand Forks in the game's final moments. North Dakota nearly outlasted 48 three-point attempts from the nation's second-leading three-point shooting team in the Bison. NDSU saw a third of those attempts hit the bottom of the net as the Bison shot just ten times inside the arc, while also attempting 33 free throws. The Hawks shot 41.3% from the floor for the game and hit half of their 30 attempts in the second half but struggled throughout from the stripe connecting on just 60% for the game.

PEAK CHASIN'
In early October, North Dakota was tabbed to a sixth-place finish in the Summit League preseason poll. The Hawks were one of six teams to receive a first-place vote and totaled 283 points in a wide open Summit League rankings. North Dakota was just 22 points back of projected No. 5 Oral Roberts which received two first-place nods. St. Thomas edged the Golden Eagles for fourth, while Kansas City (17), South Dakota State (12) and North Dakota State (3) went 1-2-3. The squad's sixth-place appointment, the second highest for UND under Sather, in the preseason rankings is one spot back of last season's fifth-place selection and matches the Hawks' placement prior to the start of the 2020-21 season. The nine-member mid major league produced a collective non-conference record of 69-64. 

LAST TIME OUT
vs. Oral Roberts; W, 88-77
North Dakota was due a strong start and the Hawks put one together on Saturday afternoon inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center as UND downed Oral Roberts 88-77 behind a trio of 20-point scoring efforts and a successful day at the stripe to snap a three-game Summit League losing streak. North Dakota netted a season-high 29 free throws: the most from the stripe since making 32 at Kansas City on February 18, 2023. UND's 90.6% success rate was its second highest this season and the highest in a game with 20 or more attempts since shooting 93.3% (28-of-30) vs. Denver on January 23, 2020.

TAKE A (BETTY) BOW
Saturday will be the final game inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center for three Fighting Hawks. Amar Kuljuhovic, Brian Mathews and Deng Mayar will be honored prior to the 1 p.m. tip off with the Bison. Kuljuhovic, a native of Waterloo, Iowa, crossed over 1,000 career points behind two seasons at Lake Land College and two as a Fighting Hawk. He is currently 27 rebounds shy of a collective 1,000 in his collegiate career. Mathews has played in 93 games in his UND career and is a 49% shooter from the floor. The Chicago native has totaled 275 points, 294 rebounds, 46 assists, 18 blocks and 15 steals averaging over 11 minutes per game. Mayar has seen action in 37 games across two seasons in Grand Forks. He enters Senior Day six points shy of 200 for his UND career and he has added 139 rebounds and 26 steals. This season, Deng has recorded a pair of double doubles. The trio played key roles in UND earning a Summit League-era best 18 wins last season and the program's best SL regular season finish at tied for second. 

G LEAGUE DEBUT LOADING
Former North Dakota standout and 2022-23 Summit League Sixth Man of the Year Matt Norman is set to continue his professional career in the Lone Star State as the Orem, Utah native has signed with the Texas Legends, the NBA G League affiliate of the Dallas Mavericks. Norman comes back stateside after spending the 2023-24 season with BC Iverioni Gori of the Georgian Superleague. He averaged 13.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists, while shooting over 45% from the floor and 40% from range, while averaging 28 minutes per game. 

Norman played in 63 games for the Hawks over two seasons. He averaged over 10 ppg and shot 42.6% from the field. Norman grabbed 175 rebounds, dished out 100 assists and collected 21 steals as he helped the Hawks win 19 games. 

SHARP SHOOTERS
North Dakota's efforts against South Dakota State and Omaha resulted in the squad's top two shooting efforts this season. UND shot 55.2% in a home win against SDSU and most recently fired a clip of 54.2% in a buzzer-beating loss on the road at Omaha. Additionally, the Hawks two best three-point percentage efforts have come in the previous two games. UND hit threes at a 56.3% clip against Omaha and drained 52.6% of their attempts against SDSU.

LONG TIME COMING
North Dakota's five-point win over the Jackrabbits snapped an 18-game losing streak to SDSU. It was the first win against South Dakota State since an 89-70 decision on December 15, 2011 in Grand Forks. It marked the first Summit League win for UND against the Jackrabbits and just the second in its Division I Era (2008-09).

CROWN HIM
Known for his all around ability to fill up any stat column in a box score, junior guard Eli King's scoring prowess has been on display in the month of February. In the home victory over South Dakota State, King's career-best 24 points, the fourteenth time he has crossed over double-figures in his UND career, came behind career highs in shot attempts (16) and shots made (10). Two weeks later, King matched that scoring effort with another two dozen points on eight made shots and a career-best 17 attempts. He nailed four three-point shots and was one of five Hawks to hit multiple free throws as UND notched a season-high 29 makes from the stripe. King has now led UND at least once in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks in a single game this season.

MIER-IAD OF POINTS
Sophomore Mier Panoam's first season in Grand Forks can be labeled with multiple descriptors. One of which is impactful. The Tulane transfer enters the final stretch of Summit League play with the 12th best scoring average overall (13.4) and the 12th highest scoring average (16.0) against league opponents. Panoam has scored in double figures 21 times this season with six twenty-point games and a career-high 28 in UND's road win at Denver. 

SCORING NUGGETS
While effort on the defensive end of floor has been the focus of late for the Hawks, scoring has not been an issue. Some scoring nuggets to consider as the Hawks roll down the stretch of Summit League play:
*Treysen Eaglestaff is one of just two SL players to score 40 points in a game this season with his career-high 40 coming against Alabama and he is one of just two players with multiple games of 30 or more points (NDSU's J. White).
*Four SL players have made 12 or more shots in a game this season. Two of them reside on UND's roster in Eaglestaff (league-best 15 vs. Alabama) and Mier Panoam (12 vs. Denver).
*Five different Hawks have recorded 20-point games this season (Eaglestaff, Panoam, Woodson, King, Kuljuhovic)

HANDLE WITH CARE
The Hawks have committed nine or fewer turnovers in seven of its 13 Summit League games with UND averaging just under eight per conference win. North Dakota committed just six turnovers in the win against SDSU, none of which occurred in the first half. The Hawks are +1.69 in turnover margin in Summit League play which is currently the third-best such mark in the conference and only the fourth above even. UND's 1.25 assist-to-turnover ratio in 13 SL contests is the fourth-best clip in the league.

NOW BOARDING
The offensive glass has been controlled by UND in 21 of the squad's 28 games and the Hawks have been out-rebounded on the offensive glass four times. 

UND has grabbed 12+ offensive rebounds in 23 of 28 games. Nine Hawks have recorded 10+ offensive boards this season led by Amar Kuljuhovic's 83. Mier Panoam follows with 62 and Brian Mathews has added 42.

North Dakota ranks 16th nationally in offensive rebounds per game at 13.75; a mark that leads the Summit League. The squad's overall rebounding average of 37.86 ranks second in the league and is in the top 65 nationally. Overall, the Hawks have out-rebounded their opposition 17 times this season. 

THE BIG O
Following his historic effort against #6 Alabama and a home win over South Dakota Mines, junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff was recognized on the national stage as he was one of five players named an Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games of the week ending Sunday, Dec. 22. Eaglestaff was joined by Donovan Dent (New Mexico), Caden Pierce (Princeton), Erik Reynolds (Saint Joseph's) and Bruce Thornton (Ohio State). He is the first Hawk to receive the honor since the award's inception in 2009-10.

PO1NTS, PO1NTS, PO1NTS
Eaglestaff's 40 points against Alabama, the 20th such game by a Fighting Hawk all-time, vaulted the junior guard into the 1,000-point club at UND. He became the 39th player in program history to reach the mark and the 12th to do it in UND's Division I era (2008-09). Currently, Eaglestaff is No. 18 on the scoring list with 1,262 points. He is 38 points shy of becoming the 18th player in program history to reach 1,300 and he is just 71 points shy of moving into the program's top 15.

A SCORING STORY
Eaglestaff has developed into one of the league's top scorers as he ranks third among Summit League players with 18.8 points per game, while his 525 total points are a top 25 total nationally and the third most in the league. He ranks fourth in the Summit League in field goals (171) and first in field goal attempts (420), which ranks 16th nationally.

TR3Y-POINT LAND
Eaglestaff eyes a move up the program record books as he is currently fourth in career three-pointers with 208 which makes him the program's leader in made three pointers among players that played their entire career in UND's D1 era. The Bismarck native is the fourth player in program history with 200 career made three-pointers. Additionally, Eaglestaff moved into third all-time on the Hawks' D1 three-point attempt list and he is currently fourth on the all-time list. 

This season, he ranks third in the Summit League in made three-pointers (71) and fourth in three-pointers per game (2.54). He is second in the league in attempts from range (200). 

KRAFTHREE
Redshirt freshman Zach Kraft has placed himself firmly in UND's rotation after totaling just 48 minutes with two three-point makes in six attempts through the season's first nine games. Since jumping onto the scene with a memorable performance against Alabama (9 pts), Kraft has seen action in each of UND's 16 games and during that time he is shooting 42.1% from deep (24-of-57) and 46.2% overall from the floor, while averaging 13.0 minutes per. 

1KULJUHOVIC
Senior forward Amar Kuljuhovic reached a personal milestone at Utah Valley. The Waterloo, Iowa product crossed over 1,000 career points in his collegiate career with a 13-point night against the Wolverines. He recorded 624 points in two seasons at Lake Land College and currently has 586 points in 59 games as a Fighting Hawk. 

The scoring milestone isn't the only one in reach for Kuljuhovic as he is 27 rebounds shy of 1,000 for his career. He registered 511 at LLC and currently has 462 as a Fighting Hawk with 166 coming on the offensive end of the floor. 

3DARIYUS
First-year Fighting Hawk, Dariyus Woodson, a TJC transfer and Baytown, Texas native, ranks 11th with 141 attempts from three-point range and 16th with 44 makes from three.  

HELPING HANDS
Three Hawks have recorded 58+ assists this season. Mier Panoam leads UND with 65 assists, while Eli King (58) and Treysen Eaglestaff (57) near 60. 

MORE MAYAR
Mayar posted his fourth double-figure scoring effort of the season with 13 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the floor at Omaha. He's been a valuable rotation piece for the Hawks having played 20 or minutes in nine of 11 SL games.

He registered back-to-back double double efforts in a weekend home-and-home with UTSA. In two games against the Roadrunners, Mayar averaged 27.1 minutes and shot 53.3% (8-of-15) from the floor with a 50% (3-of-6) rate from three-point range. He went 5-of-7 from the line to average 12.0 points over the pair of contests. Mayar led UND in rebounding with 10.5 boards per game, including the second-most offensive rebounds at eight. 

UND BY THE NUMBERS
36- The number of Summit League wins for the Hawks under head coach Paul Sather. The Hawks won a program-best 10 Summit League games a season ago and have won seven or more league games in a season three times under Sather.
18.8- Junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff's scoring average in 28 games. It ranks as the third highest in the SL and is a top 50 mark nationally. His 525 total points this season rank in the top 25 nationally and are the third most in a single season in UND's SL history.
16- UND's national rank in offensive rebounds/game. The squad's mark of 13.75 leads the Summit League. UND has grabbed a dozen or more offensive rebounds in 23 of 28 games this season which is the most by a Sather-led UND team.
4- The number of Hawks that have recorded 200 made three-point shots in a single career after junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff surpassed the mark at Kansas City. He is UND's first exclusively Division I player in program history to do so.
3- The number of double doubles by Mier Panoam in Summit League play this season. Panoam recorded double doubles in both games against Kansas City and against St. Thomas. 

A UND WIN WOULD
» Be the 100th against the Bison in Grand Forks
» Be the 165th all-time against the Bison
» Keep the Hawks a game above Denver in the standings and in sixth place outright with two games remaining
»Give UND its 13th DI season with no fewer than 11 wins
» Be better than a loss