South Dakota Coyotes vs North Dakota Fighting Hawks Prediction, 1/17/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: South Dakota Coyotes vs North Dakota Fighting Hawks

Date: Saturday, January 17, 2026

Location: Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in Grand Forks, ND

TV: ESPN+

Betty Engelstad Sioux Center is the location where the North Dakota Fighting Hawks (9-11) will attempt to beat the South Dakota Coyotes (9-9) on Saturday.

The South Dakota Coyotes faced off with Denver and went home with a win by a final score of 82-72 in their last game. Concerning fouls, the Coyotes left the arena with 12 and Denver totaled 15 fouls. They also buried 5 of their 23 shots from 3-point range. Denver went 84.6% at the free throw line by making 11 of 13 shots. Moreover, Denver collected 35 rebounds (10 offensive, 25 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Denver totaled 11 assists and had 3 steals for this game. Pertaining to defense, South Dakota allowed the other team to go 43.1% from the floor on 28 out of 65 shooting. They also distributed 14 assists for this contest while creating 10 turnovers and earning 8 steals. In relation to rebounding, they compiled 31 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Coyotes knocked down 16 of their 22 shots for a percentage of 72.7%. South Dakota finished the game having earned a 50.9% field goal percentage (29 out of 57) and knocked down 8 out of their 21 shots from distance.

Cameron Fens is one guy who came through in this matchup. He racked up 23 points on 10 of 12 shooting. He saw the court for 31 mins and grabbed 12 rebounds. He walked away from this one shooting 83.3% from the field and also distributed 1 assist.

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South Dakota will play this contest with a record of 9-9 on the campaign. They turn it over 13.1 times per game and as a unit they commit 16.0 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, South Dakota is collecting 36.1 boards per contest and has totaled 213 assists this year, which is 304th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. The Coyotes are shooting 34.9% on shots from beyond the arc (124 of 355) and 73.2% from the free throw line. They average 82.3 points per contest (84th in D-1) while hitting 45.9% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Coyotes are forcing 12.8 turnovers per game and they draw 20.4 fouls. They give up 32.5% on shots from distance while they are 343rd in college hoops in PPG allowed (82.6). The Coyotes defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 50.7% (558 of 1,100) and they relinquish 33.3 rebounds per contest as a group. They are currently ranked 314th in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 273 conceded this season.

The last time they took the court, the North Dakota Fighting Hawks walked away with a victory by a final of 81-79 when they faced UMKC. The Fighting Hawks were able to pull down 13 defensive boards and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 23 in this matchup. They also coughed up the ball 5 times, while earning 9 steals for the game. UMKC earned 15 personal fouls for the game which took the Fighting Hawks to the charity stripe for 24 attempts. They were able to make 14 of the free throw tries for a rate of 58.3%. When it comes to shooting from distance, North Dakota made 9 out of 22 tries (40.9%). When this game wrapped up, the Fighting Hawks went 29 out of 62 from the field which gave them a percentage of 46.8%. The Fighting Hawks permitted UMKC to knock down 27 of 50 attempts from the floor which had them at 54.0% in this game. They shot 63.2% from three-point range by going 12 out of 19 and finished the game at 13 out of 14 from the charity stripe (92.9%). In relation to cleaning up the glass, North Dakota allowed UMKC to grab 33 in total (8 offensive).

Garrett Anderson was important for the Fighting Hawks for the matchup. He had 22 points in his 33 minutes on the hardwood and totaled 1 assist for the game. He knocked down 8 out of 16 in the game for a field goal rate of 50.0%, and had 2 rebounds.

North Dakota has a mark of 9-11 on the year. The Fighting Hawks are responsible for committing 20.3 fouls per game and they hit 68.6% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 11.8 times per game (330th in college) and they are turning it over 10.8 times per contest. North Dakota has totaled 1,515 pts on the season (75.8 per game) and they pull in 34.0 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Fighting Hawks are shooting 42.9% from the floor, which is 293rd in college hoops.

The North Dakota defense surrenders 34.7% on three-point shots (159 of 458) and opponents are knocking down 69.9% of their foul shots. They surrender 15.3 assists and 36.4 rebounds per game, ranking them 301st and 277th in those categories. The Fighting Hawks on defense are ranked 249th in the country in PPG allowed with 76.1. They are able to force 15.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 47.6% from the floor (331st in the country).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take North Dakota

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