North Dakota Fighting Hawks vs South Dakota State Jackrabbits Prediction, 2/21/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: North Dakota Fighting Hawks vs South Dakota State Jackrabbits

Date: Saturday, February 21, 2026

Location: First Bank & Trust Arena in Brookings, SD

TV: ESPN+

First Bank & Trust Arena is the site where the South Dakota State Jackrabbits (12-16) will try to defeat the North Dakota Fighting Hawks (15-14) on Saturday.

The North Dakota Fighting Hawks faced North Dakota State and took a loss by a final of 83-66 in their last contest. North Dakota finished with a 43.1% FG percentage (22 of 51) and made 8 out of their 24 shots from beyond the arc. From the free throw line, the Fighting Hawks converted 14 of their 20 tries for a rate of 70.0%. In the matter of pulling down boards, they compiled 19 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 10 assists for the matchup as well as forcing 14 turnovers and getting 6 steals. In relation to defense, North Dakota allowed 55.6% from the floor on 30 out of 54 shooting. North Dakota State recorded 20 dimes and had 7 steals for this contest. Moreover, North Dakota State collected 32 rebounds (10 offensive, 22 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. North Dakota State shot 76.5% at the charity stripe by knocking down 13 of their 17 attempts. They also converted 10 of 25 attempts from three-point range. When discussing personal fouls, the Fighting Hawks walked away with 16 and North Dakota State accumulated 15 personal fouls.

Greyson Uelmen is one guy who played a role in this game. He finished 54.5% from the field and also totaled 4 dimes. He played 34 minutes and also snagged 2 rebounds. He ended up with 16 points on 6 of 11 shooting.

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North Dakota will play this game with a record of 15-14 so far this season. They currently have an average of 77.1 points per game (153rd in the nation) while hitting 43.9% from the field. The Fighting Hawks are connecting on 32.9% on shots from distance (228 of 692) and 70.0% from the charity stripe. As a unit, North Dakota is collecting 33.4 boards per contest and has 322 assists for the season, which ranks 300th in the nation in terms of passing. They are turning it over 9.8 times per game and as a team they commit 20.1 fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on defense, the Fighting Hawks are forcing 14.9 turnovers per game while drawing 18.6 fouls. They rank 348th in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 451 surrendered for the campaign. The Fighting Hawks are allowing an opponent FG percentage of 48.4% (760 of 1,571) and they surrender 35.8 boards per contest as a squad. They are surrendering 35.7% on shots from beyond the arc and they rank 279th in D-1 in points per game allowed (77.4).

When they last stepped on the court, the South Dakota State Jackrabbits took a loss by a score of 74-66 against North Dakota State. The Jackrabbits earned 25 defensive boards and 5 offensive rebounds for a total of 30 in this contest. They also coughed up the ball 10 times, while getting 4 steals in this contest. North Dakota State had 17 personal fouls in this contest which got the Jackrabbits to the charity stripe for a total of 14 shots. They were able to convert 8 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 57.1%. With regard to 3-point shots, South Dakota State made 8 out of 26 tries (30.8%). At the conclusion of this game, the Jackrabbits shot 25 for 56 from the floor which had them at 44.6%. The Jackrabbits allowed North Dakota State to knock down 25 out of their 52 tries from the field which had them sitting at 48.1% in the matchup. They finished shooting 28.6% from 3-point land by going 6 out of 21 and walked away from this one shooting 18 out of 26 from the charity stripe (69.2%). When talking about how they attacked the glass, South Dakota State permitted North Dakota State to get 30 in all (3 on the offensive side).

Damon Wilkinson pitched in for the Jackrabbits in this contest. He earned 18 points in his 28 mins of playing time and earned 2 dimes in this contest. He converted 8 of 10 in the game for a field goal percentage of 80.0%, and had 8 rebounds.

South Dakota State has a win-loss record of 12-16 this season. The Jackrabbits commit 16.5 personal fouls every game and they shoot 69.8% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 14.4 times per game (150th in college hoops) and they lose possession via turnover 11.1 times per contest. South Dakota State has accounted for 2,112 points so far this year (75.4 per contest) and they grab 36.8 rebounds per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Jackrabbits are hitting on 46.4% from the field, which has them ranked 114th in Division 1.

The South Dakota State defense surrenders 33.3% on shots from 3-point land (256 of 768) and opponents are converting on 73.5% of their free throw attempts. They surrender 13.4 assists and 33.4 boards per contest, which ranks them 179th and 119th in college hoops. The Jackrabbits are ranked 144th in college in PPG given up with 72.6. They are forcing 10.7 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 42.9% from the field (110th in the nation).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take North Dakota

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