The North Dakota Fighting Hawks meet their in-state rival, the North Dakota State Bison, in the Summit League Championship in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Tip-off is set for 9:00 p.m. EDT on CBS Sports Network.
UND seeks its second NCAA Tournament appearance since becoming a Division I program back in 2009. A bid for NDSU would be its fifth in program history and third under Dave Richman.
NDSU is favored by -10.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -650. The total is set at 144.5 points.
Here’s my North Dakota vs. NDSU predictions and college basketball picks for March 8, 2026.
North Dakota vs NDSU Prediction
My Pick: North Dakota +9.5 (-110)
My North Dakota vs NDSU best bet is on the Fighting Hawks to cover the spread. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
North Dakota vs. NDSU Odds
| North Dakota Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+10.5 -105 | 144.5 -115o / -105u | +475 |
| NDSU Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-10.5 -115 | 144.5 -115o / -105u | -650 |
North Dakota vs NDSU Betting Preview
North Dakota Basketball
UND is a major underdog story. The Hawks were picked eighth in the Summit preseason poll but scrapped and clawed their way to a third-place conference finish. Despite that, they were dogs in their opening round matchup with 6-seeded Denver and double-digit dogs to St. Thomas last night.
UND ranks over 150 spots below NDSU and St. Thomas in KenPom. But March is mad.
UND has been one of the best ATS teams in the country all season and are 4-1 over its last five games, but facing NDSU has been a different story.
Both games against the Bison came in February this year, and both games were blowouts with final margins of 17 and 33. The Hawks jumped out to quick leads in both games but neither ended up competitive.
They’ll need some more of that March magic to win and even cover the 9.5-point spread.
The Hawks’ strength on offense is their ability to take care of the ball – they rarely make mistakes, rank top 25 nationally in turnover rate, and won the turnover battle against NDSU in both contests this year.
A balanced offense that ranked fourth in Summit play hits the glass and gets to the line at a high rate, but it has no real stars and no real lopsided tendencies. That can be a challenge in a Tourney setting when a team doesn’t have an obvious power source you can focus on shutting down.
Spectacular freshman point guard Greyson Uelman will have the ball in his hands most of the night and run off countless ball screens – he had 28 points against St. Thomas on Saturday.
Ultimately, though, Paul Sather’s M.O. is scrapping. His Fighting Hawks, well, fight and find a way to win.
NDSU Basketball
NDSU won the Summit by two games this season after a dominant league slate. The Bison cruised past Oral Roberts and Omaha in their two Summit Tourney games and should punch a ticket to the Dance if they simply play their game.
The key for them might just be not taking this game too lightly after blowing out their in-state rival twice in the past four weeks.
Shooting is NDSU’s core strength, and they’re a blazing 26/54 (48.1%) from deep against North Dakota this season – the Hawks are one of the nation’s worst 3-point defenses.
The Bison have shooters galore with Damari Wheeler-Thomas, Treyson Anderson, Andy Stefonowicz, Trevian Carson, and Tay Smith all shooting at above 37% from deep this year.
They’ll rain fire down on the Hawks… and then they’ll grab the misses. NDSU is the Summit’s #1 offensive rebounding squad, and UND is weak on the defensive glass.
When shots aren’t falling, NDSU can play through its terrific frontcourt trio on the block. Markhi Strickland, Niah Feddersen and Anderson are all capable post scorers.
North Dakota vs. NDSU Betting Analysis
NDSU shouldn’t have any trouble winning this game tonight, but March – like a car side mirror – has a way of making things closer than they appear.
UND is a scrappy bunch hungry to fight their rival tooth and nail to the bitter end. We’re backing the 'dogs tonight.
My Pick: North Dakota +9.5 (-110, bet365)
