The North Dakota State Bison and the Denver Pioneers meet Monday in college basketball action from Hamilton Gymnasium. North Dakota State is 10-5 so far and coming off a win over Omaha. As for Denver, they’re 6-11 this season. The Pioneers beat North Dakota in their last game. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
North Dakota State went 4-2 over their first six games this year, falling to only UNLV and Arizona. The Bison went 5-2 in their next seven before a loss to South Dakota State, then beat Omaha back on Saturday.
In the matchup versus Omaha, the Bison were down 31-29 at halftime. North Dakota State bounced back with 42 second-half points in a 71-67 victory. Top scorer Rocky Kreuser finished on 25 points with eight rebounds, and Maleeck Harden-Hayes doubled on 10 points and 10 boards.
Over on the Pioneers’ side, they stumbled at 3-9 in their first dozen games with wins over Regis CO, IUPUI and Houston Baptist. It’s been a 3-2 run since then with wins over UC San Diego, St. Thomas MN and North Dakota.
In Saturday’s matchup versus North Dakota, the Pioneers scored 54 points in the first half on the way to the 93-74 victory. Both KJ Hunt and Coban Porter turned in 20 points apiece, combining for five rebounds and two assists.
The Pioneers are 6-1 ATS in their last seven at home and 9-4 ATS in their last 13 overall. The over is 39-18 in Denver’s last 57 overall.
Meanwhile, the Bison are 1-4 ATS in their last five road games and 5-1 ATS in the last six Monday games. The over is 4-1 in North Dakota State’s last five overall.
PICK: I’m probably staying with North Dakota State here. The Bison have been scoring pretty well over the last six games, with 68 or more points in each outing. North Dakota State is 5-1 in that time, with a 90-86 loss to a good South Dakota State team as their only blemish.
As for Denver, they’ve been better over their last five games and for the most part have stayed competitive throughout. I don’t think they’ve got the gas to keep up on a cover here though.