Denver Pioneers vs North Dakota Fighting Hawks Matchup

Read on to get betting odds and analysis in our North Dakota vs Denver NCAA Basketball prediction and preview and see who we think will win and cover the spread in Denver.

North Dakota vs Denver Prediction

Don't miss out on the NCAA showdown between the Fighting Hawks and Pioneers. The game is starting at 9:00 ET on Summ, and it's hosted by the Pioneers at Hamilton Gymnasium in Denver, CO. Get ready to place your bets! North Dakota is favored by -1.5 in this Summit conference matchup the against Denver. The over/under for the game is set at 154.5 points.

North Dakota vs. Denver Matchup At A Glance

Sport: NCAAB
Teams: North Dakota Fighting Hawks at Denver Pioneers
Where: Denver at Hamilton Gymnasium
Date: Thursday, January 9th
Betting Odds NDAK -1.5, NDAK -123 | DEN +101 O/U 154.5

Fighting Hawks Preview: Will the Fighting Hawks Secure A Victory as Road Favorites?

North Dakota’s season continued to be a struggle as they fell to 3-12 after an 88-80 loss to St. Thomas (MN) on Saturday. The Fighting Hawks were +6 point underdogs at home and failed to cover the spread. The game’s total points of 168 exceeded the O/U line of 156.5.

North Dakota trailed 41-29 at halftime but made a push in the 2nd half, scoring 51 points. However, they couldn’t tighten up defensively, allowing 47 points in the 2nd half, which ultimately cost them the game.

Fighting Hawks Offense Breakdown

North Dakota put up 80 points in their last game, shooting 39.7% from the field and 32.3% from beyond the arc (10/31). Their effective field goal percentage was 46.6%, and they connected on 92.3% of their free throws (12/13). The team grabbed 13 offensive rebounds and dished out 14 assists.

Miles Barnstable led the way with 30 points, hitting 4 of 9 from three-point range. Mier Panoam added 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Eli King and Dariyus Woodson each contributed 14 points. Ben Oosterbaan was efficient off the bench, shooting 75% from deep (3/4) in just 13 minutes.

Fighting Hawks Team Defense

Despite North Dakota's defensive efforts, they gave up 88 points in their last game, with their opponent shooting 39% from the field, including 19/42 (45%) on two-point attempts.

From beyond the arc, North Dakota allowed 10 threes on 31 attempts (32%). Their opponent also capitalized at the free-throw line, hitting 12/13 (92%). North Dakota gave up 13 offensive rebounds.

Pioneers Preview: Will the Pioneers Defense Show Up at Home?

Denver’s season continued to be a struggle as they fell to 3-11 after a 91-84 road loss to South Dakota on Saturday. The Pioneers entered the game as +9.5 underdogs but managed to keep it closer than expected.

After trailing 43-37 at halftime, Denver put up 47 points in the 2nd half but allowed 48. The game’s total points of 175 went over the pre-game line of 164.5.

Pioneers Offense Breakdown

In their recent game, the Denver Pioneers put up 84 points, shooting 48.4% from the field with an effective field goal percentage of 54.8%. They connected on 55.3% of their two-point attempts and hit 37.5% from beyond the arc, making 9 of 24 threes. At the free-throw line, they struggled, converting just 57.7% of their 26 attempts.

Chase Forte led the way with 22 points and 7 rebounds, while Isaac Bruns added 21 points. Sebastian Akins contributed 12 points and dished out 8 assists. Nicholas Shogbonyo grabbed 12 rebounds to go with his 13 points, and the Pioneers collected 14 offensive boards as a team.

Pioneers Team Defense

Despite Denver allowing 91 points, they did limit their opponent’s three-point shooting to 27%, with just 5 made threes on 18 attempts. However, their defense struggled inside, giving up 57% shooting on two-pointers, with 22 makes from 38 attempts.

The Pioneers also sent their opponent to the line 51 times, where they converted 32 free throws at a 62% rate. Denver allowed 16 offensive rebounds in the game.

Fighting Hawks vs Pioneers Betting Odds, Trends & Analysis

Although North Dakota has a straight up record of 3-7 in their last ten road games, they have not held up as well vs the spread going 6-4. The team averaged 70 points per game in these games.
When looking at their past five home matchups, Denver has an ATS record of 3-2 while averaging 75 per game. The team went 1-4 overall in these games.
Spanning across their last three games as the betting underdog, the Pioneers have gone 1-2 vs the spread. Their overall record in these games was 0-3.
As the betting favorite, the Fighting Hawks have an ATS mark of just 0-3 in their last three games. North Dakota posted a straight up mark of 0-3 in these matchups.