Oral Roberts Golden Eagles vs North Dakota Fighting Hawks Prediction, 1/1/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Oral Roberts Golden Eagles vs North Dakota Fighting Hawks

Date: Thursday, January 1, 2026

Location: Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in Grand Forks, ND

TV: ESPN+

Betty Engelstad Sioux Center is the site where the North Dakota Fighting Hawks (6-10) will go up against the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles (5-10) on Thursday.

The Oral Roberts Golden Eagles took the court against UT Arlington and took a loss by a score of 69-57 in their last contest. Oral Roberts finished with a 30.9% FG percentage (17 of 55) and converted 2 of 20 3-pointers. From the charity stripe, the Golden Eagles made 21 of 25 tries for a rate of 84.0%. In regard to grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 29 with 9 of them being offensive. They also distributed 7 assists in this matchup in addition to forcing the other team into 14 turnovers and getting 11 steals. When discussing defense, Oral Roberts let their opponent shoot 47.1% from the field on 24 of 51 shooting. UT Arlington doled out 14 dimes and had 11 steals in the game. Moreover, UT Arlington pulled down 32 rebounds (7 offensive, 25 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. UT Arlington shot 65.0% from the charity stripe by making 13 of 20 shots. They made 8 out of their 18 tries from long range. When discussing fouls, the Golden Eagles walked away with 16 while UT Arlington finished the game with 17 fouls.

Ty Harper is someone who was important for the game. He finished the game shooting 29.4% from the field and recorded 2 dimes. He played 34 minutes played and totaled 4 boards. He ended up walking away with 18 points on 5 out of 17 shooting.

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Oral Roberts heads into this contest with a record of 5-10 on the campaign. They turn it over 15.0 times per contest and as a squad are committing 19.2 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Oral Roberts is collecting 33.7 rebounds per game and has 168 assists this season, which is 269th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. The Golden Eagles are connecting on 33.4% on 3-point shots (133 of 398) and 77.4% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 73.7 points per outing (271st in Division 1) while connecting on 41.8% from the floor.

On defense, the Golden Eagles are forcing 12.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 18.9 personal fouls. They are ranked 263rd in the country in giving up assists to the opposition with 186 surrendered so far this season. The Golden Eagles are giving up a shooting percentage of 45.3% (399 of 881) and they surrender 35.5 rebounds per game as a unit. They are relinquishing 32.5% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 262nd in college in PPG allowed (76.5).

When they last played, the North Dakota Fighting Hawks walked away with a victory by a final of 88-56 against Dakota State. When discussing rebounding, North Dakota permitted Dakota State to snag 28 in total (4 offensive). They finished shooting 40.0% from distance by going 4 of 10 and walked away from this one shooting 18 of 29 at the charity stripe (62.1%). The Fighting Hawks allowed Dakota State to make 17 out of their 40 tries from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 42.5% for the contest. When the final whistle blew, the Fighting Hawks finished 32 out of 67 from the floor which had them shooting 47.8%. When it comes to shooting from beyond the arc, North Dakota made 9 out of their 30 attempts (30.0%). They were able to knock down 15 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 75.0%. Dakota State committed 18 personal fouls in this contest which got the Fighting Hawks to the free throw line for a total of 20 tries. They also turned it over 6 times, while recording 10 steals in the game. The Fighting Hawks were able to pull down 23 defensive boards and 13 offensive boards totaling 36 in the matchup.

Matthew Bothun ended up being a factor for the Fighting Hawks for the contest. He accumulated 15 points in his 16 minutes on the court and had 1 assist for this contest. He knocked down 5 of 5 in the matchup for a field goal rate of 100.0%, and had 1 rebound.

North Dakota has a mark of 6-10 so far this year. As an offense, the Fighting Hawks are shooting 42.7% from the floor, which ranks them 298th in Division 1. North Dakota has accumulated 1,193 pts for the campaign (74.6 per game) and they collect 34.0 boards per game. They are getting an assist 12.0 times per contest (326th in the nation) and they are losing possession via turnover 11.2 times per contest. The Fighting Hawks commit 20.3 fouls every game and they go 68.3% from the free throw line.

The North Dakota defense gives up 33.1% on shots from behind the 3-point line (123 of 372) and their opponents are making 68.0% of their shots from the free throw line. They have relinquished 15.7 assists and 37.1 boards per game, which ranks 301st and 293rd in Division 1. The Fighting Hawks on defense are ranked 234th in college hoops in points per game surrendered with 75.3. They are able to force 16.3 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 47.1% from the field (318th in D-1).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take North Dakota

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