Check out our free North Dakota State vs South Dakota State pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Brookings. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.
North Dakota State vs South Dakota State Pick & Preview: Saturday, February 4th Betting Odds
Bison vs Jackrabbits Matchup at a Glance
- Sport: NCAAB
- Teams: North Dakota State Bison at South Dakota State Jackrabbits
- Where: Brookings at Frost Arena
- Date: Saturday, February 4th
- Betting Odds: North Dakota State +6.5, NDKST +233 | SDKST -295 O/U 144.0
Bison Preview:
Through 23 games, the North Dakota State Bison have an overall record of 9-14. On the road, the Bison will be playing their 13th game of the season, having gone 4-9. So far, the Bison have been the underdog 14 times, going 3-11 straight up. Heading into today’s contest, they are the +6.5 underdogs on the spread.
Grant Nelson comes into today’s game as the Bison’s leading scorer at 16.8 points per contest. Not only has Nelson been key to the team’s scoring efforts, but he is North Dakota State’s top rebounder at 8.05 boards per contest. Behind Nelson, the team has benefited from the strong play of Boden Skunberg, who is second on the team in scoring at 13.82 points per game. Overall, he has hit 42.6% of his shots and is adding 4.68 boards per game.
On offense, North Dakota State comes into the game looking to control the pace of play, as they are just 434th in possessions per game. Even with their preference to slow the game down, the Bison’s are scoring at a rate similar to the NCAA average at 74.8 points per game. So far, 37.33% of their shots have come from beyond the arc, where they have connected at a rate of 35.8%.
Jackrabbits Preview:
South Dakota State heads into this matchup having played 24 games and have an overall record sitting at 13-11. Currently, the Jackrabbits have been the home team 9 times, sitting with a record of 7-2. The Jackrabbits’ are sitting with a betting line that is -6.5 points in their favor. For the season, South Dakota State has been favored to win in 15 games, sitting with a mark of 10-5.
South Dakota State will be counting on another strong performance from the team’s leading scorer Zeke Mayo who is averaging 17.17 points per game for the Jackrabbits. Mayo is also important to the team’s ability to score on the perimeter. So far, he leads the team in 3-point shots made. Also key to the Jackrabbits’ offensive game plan is the play of Matt Dentlinger who has hit 55.8% of his field goal attempts on his way to averaging 10.92 points per game.
Through 24 games, South Dakota State has been playing well on offense, averaging 86.7 points per game. Even though the team has been methodical with their pace, the Jackrabbits’ shooters have been hot from outside, hitting 44.9% of their shots per game. This strong shooting percentage has equated to an average of 9.38 made 3’s per contest.
Free Spread Prediction: South Dakota State Jackrabbits -6.5
For this showdown between the South Dakota State Jackrabbits and North Dakota State Bison, our analysis points to 3-point shooting being a key factor in the outcome of this game. Both team’s come into the game with above average numbers in made 3’s per game. So far, South Dakota State and North Dakota State are 83rd and 274th in that department, respectively. After crunching the numbers, we anticipate South Dakota State continuing to shoot the ball well. For the season, they have hit 44.9% of their looks from deep. With a point spread sitting at -6.5 in favor of South Dakota State, we like them to not only win but cover the spread.
