Next Game: at South Dakota State
The University of North Dakota men’s basketball team will look to make it two straight wins over unbeaten teams in conference play with a visit to Frost Arena to battle South Dakota State on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. Fans can catch all the action on MidcoSN 2 or tune into Paul Ralston 740 The Fan and the Home of Economy Radio Network.
Series History vs. South Dakota State
This will be the 195th all-time meeting between North Dakota and South Dakota State, with UND holding a 106-88 lead in the series. While UND owns the overall series, SDSU has dominated the Division I era by winning 10 of the 11 meetings, including nine straight.
Party Like It’s 1995
It has been a long time since UND last won a game against the Jackrabbits at Frost Arena, going back to Feb. 11, 1995 when the Sioux defeated SDSU, 84-72 in Brookings. Since then, UND has lost its last 17 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 UND’s SID, Alec Stocker Johnson, wasn’t even born yet.
Bison Slayers
UND notched another win over its in-state rival on Saturday, the 98th all-time in Grand Forks against the Bison. The Hawks also snapped NDSU’s seven-game conference winning streak, giving them its first lost in SL play since Feb. 22, 2020 against…? UND.
Home Of The Corn Palace
No, not that Mitchell. South Dakota School of Mines transfer Mitchell Sueker turned in his best performance since joining the Fighting Hawks in the overtime win over the Bison. The junior scored a team-high 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting while also grabbing four rebounds and finishing a +10. Sueker also was clutch in the final minutes of regulation and overtime, sinking 7-of-8 from the charity stripe in seal the win.
Overtime Is Fun Time
UND notched its 14th win since moving to Division I in 2008 in overtime, 11th in the single OT period and second under Paul Sather. It was also the first home win in OT since Feb. 17, 2018 vs. Northern Arizona and the first against NDSU since Feb. 7, 2004 in a 76-73 Fighting Sioux win at the Ralph Engelstad Arena, the final game between each other as Division II opponents.
Ain’t Nothing Free About That
In the loss to North Dakota State last Friday, UND did not attempt a single free throw in the contest. It is the first time in the program’s Division I era (2008-present) that UND went 0-for-0 from the charity stripe. In fact, it has not happened in this century of UND basketball.
The last time a team has gone 0-for-0 at the line in Division I basketball was Illinois State vs. Northern Iowa on Feb. 12, 2020. Since the 2010-11 season, it has only happened 28 times in all of Division I hoops.
The Hawks went 0-for-1 from the line in a 78-74 loss vs. South Dakota State on Jan. 16, 2019.
Et Tu, Bentiu?
As the lone senior on the roster, Bentiu Panoam has provided a spark off the bench for the Fighting Hawks in the losses to Oral Roberts and North Dakota State. The Anchorage, Alaska, native scored 11 points at ORU before knocking down a career-high four triples in a 12-point outing last Friday vs. the Bison.
Panoam was rewarded with a start in last Saturday’s game vs. North Dakota State, and did not disappoint with 10 points on three triples to give the senior three straight contests in double figures for the first time in his career.
Comments