North Dakota at Kansas City || 2/8 (5 p.m.)
15th meeting, KC leads 8-6
Kansas City, Mo. (Swinney Center)

FULL GAME NOTES ARE HERE

GRAND FORKS, N.D. - North Dakota men's basketball heads to Kansas City to take on the Roos and their top Summit League scoring defense. The Hawks are tasked with putting a heartbreaking loss at Omaha behind them, while Kansas City aims to snap an eight-game losing streak in league play after starting 2-0. The two sides are in the thick of a seeding race in the Summit League standings. Tip-off from inside the Swinney Center is set for 5 p.m. on Saturday, February 8. 

TIPPING OFF
The Roos boast the best defensive effort in the league ranking first in scoring defense (67.0), steals per game (7.8), three point percentage defense (31.3). Additionally, KC leads the Summit in FT% (77.4%) and ranks second in rebound margin (5.0).

Both teams rank in the top three in three-point attempts per game with each hoisting 26 per night on average. 

KC's Davontae Hall leads the SL in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.89), while Jamar Brown is tops in the SL in FT% (87.8%). Two of the league's top four rebounders overall and on the offensive end of the floor will meet on Saturday. UND's Amar Kuljuhovic ranks third in total rebounds, third in offensive average and fourth in overall average. Brown ranks second on the offensive end, third in per game average and fourth overall.

FOLLOW LIVE 
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.

SERIES HISTORY
The two sides meet for the 15th time overall in a series that first tipped off in 2008. The two sides each picked up road victories in the series last season, while the Hawks won at home earlier this campaign. KC holds an 8-6 lead in the series, while UND has won four of the past five. The Hawks are an even 3-3 against Kansas City on the road. 

MOST RECENTLY VS. KC
Sophomore guard Mier Panoam delivered his second double-double of the season with a 21-point, 10-rebound effort and North Dakota employed a gritty effort on the defensive end of the floor to earn a 76-72 Summit League victory over visiting Kansas City on Saturday afternoon from inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
 
The physical contest saw 13 ties and ten lead changes, the time leading differed by just over two and a half minutes and the back-and-forth affair came down to the last handful of possessions. Panoam dribbled down into the right elbow, gave a slight shoulder fake to engage his defender and then spun around his opposition for an easy finish and a key bucket late as the Hawks grabbed a 73-69 advantage with 29.2 seconds remaining.

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 Omaha; L,77-80
North Dakota junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff hit an off balanced running three-point attempt with under 15 seconds remaining in Thursday night's Summit League affair at league-leading Omaha to tie the contest with the Mavericks at 77. However, the host would get the final say as JJ White hit a wing triple, after having it tipped away courtesy of a solid defensive effort from junior guard Eli King, near the Omaha bench with no time remaining to help the league leaders escape the Fighting Hawks 80-77 inside Baxter Arena.

SHARP SHOOTERS
North Dakota's last two trips to the floor have 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 was on full display on Saturday against SDSU. His 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). With his effort on Saturday, 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 tenth best scoring average overall (13.9) and the sixth highest scoring average (18.1) against league opponents. Panoam has scored in double figures 19 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).
*Four different Hawks have recorded 20-point games this season (Eaglestaff, Panoam, Woodson, King)

HANDLE WITH CARE
North Dakota committed just six turnovers in the win against SDSU, none of which occurred in the first half. The Hawks are +2.10 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 has turned the basketball over less than nine times in six of its ten league contests and has committed nine or fewer turnovers in eight of their past 12 games. UND's 1.41 assist-to-turnover ratio in ten SL contests is the second-best clip in the league.

NOW BOARDING
The offensive glass has been controlled by UND in 19 of the squad's 25 games and the Hawks have been out-rebounded on the offensive glass four times, including twice in the past two games. However, there have been far fewer opportunities as the Hawks have posted their top two shooting efforts of the season.

UND has grabbed 12+ offensive rebounds in 21 of 25 games. Nine Hawks have recorded 10+ offensive boards this season led by Amar Kuljuhovic's 73. Mier Panoam follows with 48 and Brian Mathews has added 42.

North Dakota ranks 21st nationally in offensive rebounds per game at 13.68; a mark that leads the Summit League. The squad's overall rebounding average of 37.88 ranks second in the league and is in the top 75 nationally. Overall, the Hawks have out-rebounded their opposition 15 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 began during the 2009-10 season.

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 tied at No. 23 on the scoring list with 1,189 points. He is 11 points shy of becoming the 21st player in program history to reach 1,200 and he is 41 points shy of moving into the program's top 20.

A SCORING STORY
Eaglestaff has developed into one of the league's top scorers as he ranks third among Summit League players with 18.1 points per game, while his 452 total points are a top 25 total nationally and the league lead. He ranks third in the Summit League in field goals (151) and first in field goal attempts (374), which ranks 12th nationally.

TR3Y-POINT LAND
Eaglestaff eyes a move up the program record books as he is currently fifth in career three-pointers with 198 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 two made threes away from becoming 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 (61) and fourth in three-pointers per game (2.44). He leads the league in attempts from range (179). 

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 13 games and during that time he is shooting 44% from deep (22-of-50) and 48.2% overall from the floor, while averaging 13.8 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 540 points in 56 games as a Fighting Hawk. 

The scoring milestone isn't the only one in reach for Kuljuhovic as he is 52 rebounds shy of 1,000 for his career. He registered 511 at LLC and currently has 437 as a Fighting Hawk with 156 coming on the offensive end of the floor. 

3DARIYUS
First-year Fighting Hawk, Dariyus Woodson, a TJC transfer and Baytown, Texas native, ranks seventh with 134 attempts from three-point range and 13th with 43 makes from three.  

HELPING HANDS
Three Hawks have recorded 50+ assists this season. Mier Panoam leads UND with 58 assists, while Eli King follows with 55 and Treysen Eaglestaff with 53. 

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 eight of then 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
35- 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.
21- UND's national rank in offensive rebounds/game. The squad's mark of 13.68 leads the Summit League. UND has grabbed a dozen or more offensive rebounds in 21 of 25 games this season which is the most by a Sather-led UND team.
18.1- The average number of points per game scored by Mier Panoam ten games into Summit League action. He delivered three-straight games of 20+ points to start conference play, five total since January 1 and has a pair of double doubles.
2.10- North Dakota's turnover margin in ten Summit League games which is third overall in the league and second among teams that have played ten contests. The Hawks have turned it over nine or fewer times in six of ten SL games.
2- The number of three-point makes needed by junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff to reach 200 for his career. He would become the fourth player in program history with 200 or more makes from three-point range and the first exclusively Division I player in program history to do so.

A UND WIN WOULD
» Be the Hawks' third on the road this season
» Give the Hawks a fifth season of no fewer than ten wins under Sather
» Pull the Hawks to within a game of evening the all-time series with Kansas City
» Be better than a loss