North Dakota State Bison vs South Dakota Coyotes Prediction, 1/31/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: North Dakota State Bison vs South Dakota Coyotes

Date: Saturday, January 31, 2026

Location: Sanford Coyote Sports Center in Vermillion, SD

TV: ESPN+

The South Dakota Coyotes (11-11) will take on the North Dakota State Bison (18-5) at Sanford Coyote Sports Center on Saturday.

The North Dakota State Bison faced Oral Roberts and took home the win by a score of 86-58 in their last game. In regard to fouls, the Bison finished with 10 while Oral Roberts accounted for 8 fouls. They also knocked down 8 of their 23 tries from three-point range. Oral Roberts finished the game shooting 66.7% from the charity stripe by knocking down 6 of their 9 attempts. Moreover, Oral Roberts pulled down 27 rebounds (7 offensive, 20 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Oral Roberts doled out 10 dimes and had 2 steals for the contest. When talking about defense, North Dakota State allowed their opponent to shoot 43.1% from the floor on 22 out of 51 shooting. They also doled out 15 assists in the matchup in addition to forcing 12 turnovers and having 8 steals. Regarding pulling down boards, they earned 31 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. From the free throw line, the Bison made 8 of 9 attempts for a percentage of 88.9%. North Dakota State finished the contest having earned a 54.1% field goal percentage (33 of 61) and converted 12 of 24 3-pointers.

Tay Smith is one guy who was a factor in this game. He totaled 24 points on 8 out of 11 shooting. He was on the court for 29 mins played and also collected 4 boards. He shot 72.7% from the floor but had no dimes when the game ended.

Get all of our NCAA Picks Tonight

North Dakota State will take the court with a mark of 18-5 on the season. They are giving up possession 11.0 times per contest and as a team are committing 14.9 fouls per game. As a team, North Dakota State is snagging 36.0 boards per game and has earned 352 dimes for the campaign, which is 48th in the nation in terms of passing. The Bison are hitting 36.0% on shots from beyond the arc (213 of 592) and 72.5% from the free throw line. They average 81.0 points per outing (87th in the country) while hitting 46.7% from the floor.

On the defensive end, the Bison have forced 14.9 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.1 fouls. They are currently ranked 272nd in college in giving up assists to the opposition with 306 relinquished on the campaign. The Bison are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 44.3% (581 of 1,311) and they concede 32.3 rebounds per game as a squad. They give up 34.8% on shots from downtown and they are ranked 79th in college in opponents PPG (69.8).

When they last stepped on the court, the South Dakota Coyotes took a loss by a score of 90-78 against St. Thomas. When it comes to cleaning up the glass, South Dakota permitted St. Thomas to get 36 in all (10 offensive). They went 41.7% from downtown by going 10 of 24 and ended up going 20 out of 26 from the charity stripe (76.9%). The Coyotes permitted St. Thomas to convert 30 of 56 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 53.6% in this matchup. When the final whistle was blown, the Coyotes went 26 out of 59 from the field which had them shooting 44.1%. When discussing shots from distance, South Dakota made 7 of their 21 tries (33.3%). They were able to knock down 19 of them for a clip of 79.2%. St. Thomas committed 18 fouls in this contest which took the Coyotes to the free throw line for a total of 24 attempts. They turned it over 6 times, while recording 7 steals for the matchup. The Coyotes collected 17 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive boards totaling 23 for this game.

Jordan Crawford pitched in for the Coyotes for the matchup. He totaled 22 points in his 39 mins of playing time and earned 1 assist in this game. He buried 8 out of 16 in this game for a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and earned 2 rebounds.

South Dakota has a win-loss mark of 11-11 for the year. When it comes to executing on offense, the Coyotes are hitting on 46.1% from the floor, which ranks 140th in the country. South Dakota has scored 1,807 pts this season (82.1 per game) and they average 35.0 rebounds per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 12.2 times per game (312th in Division 1) and they lose possession via turnover 12.8 times per contest. The Coyotes are committing 15.8 fouls per contest and they go 74.4% from the charity stripe.

The South Dakota defense allows 32.6% on 3-point shots (141 of 433) and their opposition knocks down 72.3% of their foul shots. They give up 14.5 assists and 33.6 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 264th and 127th in Division 1. The Coyotes defensively are ranked 349th in college hoops in points allowed per game with 82.7. They have forced 12.2 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 50.6% from the field (363rd in D-1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take North Dakota State

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Get college basketball picks on every single game, or if you want our very best bets by the experts, sign up for your free $60 account with a guarantee.