St. Thomas Tommies vs North Dakota Fighting Hawks Prediction, 1/15/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: St. Thomas Tommies vs North Dakota Fighting Hawks

Date: Thursday, January 15, 2026

Location: Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in Grand Forks, ND

TV: ESPN+

The North Dakota Fighting Hawks (9-11) will go up against the St. Thomas Tommies (14-4) at Betty Engelstad Sioux Center on Thursday.

The St. Thomas Tommies faced Oral Roberts and went home with a win by a final score of 82-71 in their last contest. St. Thomas walked away from the contest having earned a 48.2% FG percentage (27 out of 56) and converted 5 of 21 3-point shots. From the free throw line, the Tommies made 23 of 31 attempts for a rate of 74.2%. With regard to grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 36 with 10 of them being offensive. They also distributed 10 assists for this contest in addition to creating 8 turnovers and having 5 steals. When it comes to defense, St. Thomas allowed their opponent to shoot 46.3% from the floor on 25 of 54 shooting. Oral Roberts recorded 12 assists and had 4 steals in the matchup. Additionally, Oral Roberts totaled 28 rebounds (6 offensive, 22 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Oral Roberts went 54.5% at the free throw line by knocking down 12 of 22 attempts. They converted 9 of 26 attempts from 3-point land. When it comes to personal fouls, the Tommies ended up finishing with 20 and Oral Roberts finished the game with 24 personal fouls.

Nick Janowski is one player who was a factor for this contest. He walked away from this one shooting 40.0% from the floor and distributed 2 assists. He played 34 minutes played and also pulled down 12 rebounds. He walked away with 23 points on 6 of 15 shooting.

Get all of our NCAA Picks Today

St. Thomas heads into this one with a record of 14-4 so far this year. They cough up possession 9.1 times per game and as a team are committing 15.8 personal fouls every game. As a unit, St. Thomas is pulling down 32.7 rebounds per contest and has racked up 309 assists for the year, which has them ranked 27th in the country in terms of passing the ball. The Tommies are shooting 33.9% from downtown (158 of 466) and 70.5% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 82.4 points per outing (84th in college hoops) on 50.1% from the field.

Defensively, the Tommies are forcing 13.2 turnovers per game while drawing 18.2 personal fouls. They give up 33.0% from 3-point land and they are ranked 144th in the country in points per game allowed (72.0). The Tommies defense is giving up an opponent FG percentage of 43.7% (461 of 1,055) and they relinquish 34.5 boards per game as a unit. They are currently ranked 299th in college in allowing assists to the opposition with 263 surrendered on the campaign.

The last time they took the hardwood, the North Dakota Fighting Hawks got the win with a final of 81-79 when they played UMKC. The Fighting Hawks were able to pull down 13 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 23 for the game. They turned the ball over 5 times, while recording 9 steals in the matchup. UMKC had 15 personal fouls for the game which took the Fighting Hawks to the free throw line for a total of 24 tries. They were able to bury 14 of those for a percentage of 58.3%. In relation to shooting from beyond the arc, North Dakota knocked down 9 out of 22 attempts (40.9%). When the final whistle blew, the Fighting Hawks ended up shooting 29 out of 62 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.8%. The Fighting Hawks allowed UMKC to bury 27 of 50 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 54.0% for the game. They finished the game shooting 63.2% from three-point range by shooting 12 of 19 and ended up shooting 13 of 14 from the free throw line (92.9%). In relation to cleaning up the glass, North Dakota permitted UMKC to collect 33 overall (8 on the offensive glass).

Garrett Anderson pitched in for the Fighting Hawks in this matchup. He converted 8 of 16 for this contest for a rate of 50.0%, and had 2 rebounds. He earned 22 points in his 33 minutes on the court and totaled 1 assist in this game.

North Dakota has a record of 9-11 for the year. The Fighting Hawks are committing 20.3 personal fouls every game and they hit 68.6% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 11.8 times per game (328th in college hoops) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 10.8 times per contest. North Dakota has scored 1,515 points on the year (75.8 per game) and they collect 34.0 boards per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Fighting Hawks are shooting 42.9% from the floor, which ranks 293rd in college.

The Fighting Hawks are ranked 251st in college hoops in points allowed per contest with 76.1. They are able to force 15.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 47.6% from the field (331st in Division 1). The North Dakota defense gives up 34.7% on shots from behind the 3-point line (159 of 458) and their opposition knocks down 69.9% of their free throw shots. They give up 15.3 assists and 36.4 rebounds on a nightly basis, which ranks 302nd and 277th in those categories on the defensive end.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take North Dakota

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.