Denver Pioneers vs North Dakota State Bison Prediction, 2/5/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Denver Pioneers vs North Dakota State Bison

Date: Thursday, February 5, 2026

Location: Scheels Center in Fargo, ND

TV: ESPN+

The North Dakota State Bison (19-5) will try to beat the Denver Pioneers (10-14) at Scheels Center on Thursday.

The Denver Pioneers played Omaha and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 84-82 in their last contest. Denver walked away from the contest having earned a 44.8% field goal percentage (30 of 67) and converted 12 of their 30 shots from 3-point land. From the free throw line, the Pioneers made 10 of 13 tries for a rate of 76.9%. When it comes to grabbing rebounds, they earned 29 with 5 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 10 assists in the matchup in addition to forcing 8 turnovers and getting 3 steals. Regarding the defense, Denver allowed the other team to go 46.2% from the floor on 30 out of 65 shooting. Omaha doled out 11 assists and had 2 steals in this contest. On top of that, Omaha totaled 39 rebounds (10 offensive, 29 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Omaha went 77.3% at the free throw line by knocking down 17 of their 22 shots. They made 7 out of their 21 attempts from beyond the arc. Concerning personal fouls, the Pioneers ended up finishing with 20 and Omaha accumulated 17 personal fouls.

Carson Johnson is one guy who came through for the contest. He accounted for 19 points on 6 out of 15 shooting. He played for 38 mins played and also totaled 4 rebounds. He finished the contest at 40.0% from the field and dished out 4 dimes.

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Denver comes into this matchup with a mark of 10-14 on the year. They average 83.3 points per contest (54th in D-1) while hitting 47.9% from the field. The Pioneers are shooting 38.4% from downtown (214 of 557) and 77.0% from the charity stripe. As a team, Denver is pulling down 33.8 rebounds per game and has 273 assists so far this season, which is 305th in college hoops in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession by turning the ball over 10.3 times per contest and as a team are committing 17.4 fouls per contest.

Defensively, the Pioneers are forcing 9.4 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 18.8 personal fouls. They are ranked 258th in the nation in giving up assists with 321 relinquished on the season. The Pioneers are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 49.1% (731 of 1,490) and they surrender 35.1 boards per game as a team. They are giving up 38.1% on shots from distance while they are 353rd in D-1 in PPG allowed (84.2).

When they last stepped on the court, the North Dakota State Bison got the win with a final of 89-84 when they faced South Dakota. The Bison snagged 24 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards totaling 32 in the game. They also coughed up the ball 14 times, while getting 9 steals for the matchup. South Dakota had 9 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Bison to the free throw line for a total of 11 tries. They were able to knock down 9 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 81.8%. Concerning shots from beyond the arc, North Dakota State knocked down 10 of 22 tries (45.5%). At the conclusion of this game, the Bison walked away from this one shooting 35 out of 64 from the field which had them shooting 54.7%. The Bison allowed South Dakota to convert 27 of 57 tries from the floor which had them at 47.4% in this matchup. They went 32.3% from three-point range by hitting 10 of 31 and ended up shooting 20 of 23 at the charity stripe (87.0%). When discussing how they attacked the glass, North Dakota State allowed South Dakota to pull down 26 overall (6 on the offensive side).

Noah Feddersen ended up having an impact for the Bison for the contest. He converted 9 of 12 for the matchup for a field goal rate of 75.0%, and had 9 rebounds. He accumulated 20 points in his 25 minutes on the court, but left the arena with no assists.

North Dakota State has a record of 19-5 on the year. The Bison commit 15.0 fouls every game while shooting 72.7% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 15.3 times per game (109th in D-1) and they turn it over 11.1 times per contest. North Dakota State has tallied 1,952 points on the season (81.3 per contest) and they average 35.9 boards per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Bison are connecting on 47.0% from the floor, which has them ranked 80th in D-1.

The Bison are ranked 88th in D-1 in points given up per game with 70.4. They are forcing their opponents into 14.8 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 44.4% from the field (213th in the country). The North Dakota State defense surrenders 34.7% on 3-point shots (194 of 559) and their opposition knocks down 74.6% of their foul shots. They give up 13.3 dimes and 32.0 rebounds per contest, which ranks 181st and 56th in D-1.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Denver

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