North Dakota State vs North Dakota 1/27/23 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The North Dakota Fighting Hawks and the North Dakota State Bison meet Friday in college basketball action from Scheels Center. North Dakota is 7-15 on the year so far. The Hawks lost to Western Illinois in their last game. As for North Dakota State, they’re 8-13 this year after a loss to UMKC last weekend. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place. 

North Dakota Fighting Hawks

North Dakota went 6-9 through their first 15 games this  year, beating Incarnate Word, Elon, Wisconsin-Stout, Utah Tech, CSUF and North Central MN. The Fighting Hawks are just 1-6 since then however, with a lone win over UMKC. 

On Monday versus Western Illinois, the Hawks took a 41-36 advantage into the break. North Dakota was outscored 56-39 from there and ended up losing 92-80. Tsotne Tsartsidze was the top scorer on 19 points and eight rebounds. 

North Dakota State Bison

Over on the North Dakota State side, they won just five of their first 16 over Crown College, Portland, Waldorf, North Dakota and South Dakota State. The Bison are 3-2 since then, losing to Oral Roberts and UMKC in their latest pair. 

Back on Saturday versus UMKC, North Dakota State was down 46-37 going into the second half. The Bison made a run at it from there but couldn’t come back and lost 75-73. Andrew Morgan posted 29 points and eight rebounds in the defeat. 

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’m going to stick with North Dakota State. The Bison have been struggling a bit over their last couple of games, but they’re still scoring well. North Dakota State has hit 69 or more points in five straight games. The last time these teams met up back on December 30, North Dakota State posted a blowout 71-49 win at the Betty. I like North Dakota to be more competitive in this one, as they’ve hit 71 or more points in four straight games. I’m leaning toward the Hawks cover-wise, though.