North Dakota State Bison vs UMKC Kangaroos Prediction, 1/8/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: North Dakota State Bison vs UMKC Kangaroos

Date: Thursday, January 8, 2026

Location: Swinney Center in Kansas City, MO

TV: ESPN+

The North Dakota State Bison (12-5) are en route to Swinney Center on Thursday where they will go up against the UMKC Kangaroos (4-12).

The North Dakota State Bison faced Oral Roberts and notched a win by a score of 79-77 in their last contest. North Dakota State wrapped up the game with a 38.8% FG percentage (26 of 67) and buried 8 of their 23 three-point shots. From the free throw line, the Bison made 19 of 31 tries for a percentage of 61.3%. Regarding rebounding, they earned 45 with 21 of them being offensive. They also doled out 13 assists for the matchup in addition to forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and getting 5 steals. When talking about the defense, North Dakota State let their opponent shoot 39.7% from the floor on 27 out of 68 shooting. Oral Roberts dished out 16 dimes and had 8 steals in the game. In addition, Oral Roberts collected 30 rebounds (9 offensive, 21 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Oral Roberts finished 84.6% at the free throw line by converting 11 of their 13 attempts. They also buried 12 out of their 39 attempts from three-point range. Regarding fouls, the Bison walked away with 14 while Oral Roberts recorded 23 fouls.

Markhi Strickland is one guy who came through in this game. He recorded 15 points on 6 of 11 shooting. He played 32 minutes played and also grabbed 5 boards. He finished 54.5% from the field and also totaled 1 assist.

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North Dakota State heads into this contest with a win-loss record of 12-5 on the season. They are averaging 80.9 pts per contest (108th in the nation) while connecting on 45.7% from the floor. The Bison are shooting 34.0% from downtown (147 of 432) and 71.3% from the charity stripe. As a unit, North Dakota State is grabbing 37.2 boards per game and has earned 261 assists for the campaign, which is 53rd in D-1 in terms of passing. They lose possession via turnover 11.7 times per game and as a team they commit 15.2 fouls per contest.

On defense, the Bison are forcing 15.6 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.4 personal fouls. They are relinquishing 34.0% on 3-point attempts and they are 101st in college hoops in PPG allowed (70.1). The Bison defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 43.6% (428 of 981) and they relinquish 33.0 boards per game as a team. They are ranked 274th in college in giving up assists to the opposition with 223 surrendered so far this year.

In their last game, the UMKC Kangaroos got the victory with a final of 73-66 against Omaha. The Kangaroos were able to corral 22 defensive boards and 5 offensive boards for a total of 27 in the matchup. They also turned it over 7 times, while recording 11 steals for this game. Omaha had 20 personal fouls for this game which got the Kangaroos to the free throw line for 22 tries. They were able to bury 18 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 81.8%. In terms of shots from beyond the arc, UMKC knocked down 7 out of 18 tries (38.9%). When this game wrapped up, the Kangaroos finished the game shooting 24 for 56 from the field which gave them a rate of 42.9%. The Kangaroos allowed Omaha to knock down 26 of their 54 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 48.1% in this matchup. They finished 36.8% from downtown by going 7 of 19 and finished the game at 7 out of 11 from the free throw line (63.6%). Concerning how they attacked the glass, UMKC allowed Omaha to grab 33 in all (6 offensive).

Karmello Branch was important for the Kangaroos in this matchup. He made 5 out of 9 for the matchup for a field goal percentage of 55.6%, and had 1 rebound. He recorded 20 points in his 28 minutes on the hardwood, but finished this game without an assist.

UMKC has a mark of 4-12 this season. When it comes to offensive execution, the Kangaroos are hitting on 41.9% from the floor, which is 319th in college hoops. UMKC has 1,148 pts for the campaign (71.8 per game) and they snag 35.0 rebounds per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 12.1 times per contest (318th in the nation) and they are giving up possession 13.9 times per contest. The Kangaroos commit 17.1 fouls per contest and they connect on 71.6% from the free throw line.

The UMKC defense gives up 32.5% on shots from 3-point land (120 of 369) and their opponents are making 69.7% of their foul shots. They have conceded 15.9 assists and 38.9 rebounds every game, which has them ranked 318th and 339th in those categories. The Kangaroos on defense are ranked 335th in Division 1 in PPG given up with 81.4. They have forced 12.9 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 47.7% from the field (330th in college).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take UMKC

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