The North Dakota State Bison and the Pacific Tigers meet Friday in college basketball action from Alex G. Spanos Center. North Dakota State is 7-4 so far this year. The Bison took out Indiana State in their last game. As for Pacific, they’re 5-6 on the season and beat UC Santa Barbara in their most recent appearance. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
North Dakota State started out the year on a 4-2 run with wins over Concordia-Moorhead, Cal Poly, Tarleton State and Idaho. Since then it’s been a 3-2 run for the Bison with wins over Northland, CSU Northridge and Indiana State.
Matched up against Indiana State on Monday, the Bison were down 43-34 at halftime. North Dakota State woke up with a 43-27 run in the second half for a 77-70 comeback win. Leading scorer Sam Griesel put up 25 points with eight rebounds and five assists.
Over on the Pacific side, their season kicked off on a 4-3 run. The Tigers took out Hawaii-Hilo, Stan State, Chicago State and AR-Pine Bluff in that stretch. After losses in the next three games, Pacific beat UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday.
In the game versus the Gauchos, Pacific held a 33-29 halftime edge but needed overtime for the 80-71 victory. Both Greg Outlaw and Alphonso Anderson scored 15 points with eight boards each as the team’s leading scorers and rebounders.
Pacific is 1-4 ATS in their last five after an ATS win and 2-8 ATS in their last 10 overall. The Tigers are 2-8-1 ATS in their last 11 Friday games.
Meanwhile, the Bison are 1-4 ATS in their last five road games and 0-5 ATS in their last five after an ATS win. North Dakota State is 1-5-1 ATS in their last seven overall.
PICK: I’m going to try North Dakota State, but probably not going near this one. The Bison have had their scoring woes this season, but the good news is that they’ve hit 68 or more points in three of the last four games. North Dakota State got into some trouble in the first half against Indiana State, but to their credit the Bison came back strong and got the win.
As for Pacific, they had a three-game run recently with 66 or fewer points in each. The Tigers had a tepid 62 prior to overtime against UCSB as well. North Dakota State is going to have to hit the gas offensively in this one, but I think they can cover if they find a good scoring rhythm.