Nebraska-Omaha vs North Dakota Prediction College Basketball Picks 1/2/25

The Omaha Mavericks are visiting the North Dakota Fighting Hawks on Wednesday, January 1st at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s an Omaha Mavericks vs North Dakota Fighting Hawks Prediction.

North Dakota Fighting Hawks Preview

The North Dakota Fighting Hawks have a 6-9 record this season and are sitting in the third to last place of the Summit League. North Dakota is coming off a 97-57 win over Waldorf. The Fighting Hawks are 7-5 against the spread, and 8-4 in over/under while having a 4-2 home record.

Offensively, North Dakota is averaging 75.1 points per game, which ranks 203rd in the nation. Defensively, they allow 75.3 points per game (288th). The Fighting Hawks shoot 41.5% from the field (330th) and 31.8% from beyond the arc (216th). The Fighting Hawks shoot 68.8% from the free-throw line (261st) and are grabbing 40.7 rebounds per game (29th).

Treysen Eaglestaff leads North Dakota in scoring this season, with 20.1 points and 3 rebounds, while Mier Panoam adds 11.1 points and 4.7 rebounds. North Dakota will face St. Thomas and Denver following this one.

Omaha Mavericks Preview

The Omaha Mavericks have a 6-9 record this season and are sitting in the second to last place of the Summit League. Omaha is coming off an 81-51 win over Mount Mary. The Mavericks are 9-4 against the spread, and 5-8 in over/under while having a 2-6 road record. 

Offensively, Omaha is averaging 70.1 points per game, which ranks 303rd in the nation. Defensively, they allow 73.9 points per game (255th). The Mavericks shoot 42.6% from the field (301st) and 33% from beyond the arc (220th). The Mavericks shoot 69.5% from the free-throw line (235th) and are grabbing 35.3 rebounds per game (238th).

Marquel Sutton leads Omaha in scoring with an average of 16.1 points and a team-high 7.4 rebounds, while Tony Osburn adds 11.1 points. Omaha will meet North Dakota State after this game.

Why the North Dakota Fighting Hawks will win

• Omaha has lost each of its last seven Thursday road games against the Summit League.
• The home team has won each of Omaha’s last four games.
• North Dakota has won the first half in each of its last eight night games against the Summit League.

Why the Omaha Mavericks will win

• North Dakota has lost three of its last four night games.
• Omaha has won three of its last four games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Omaha has won the first half in three of its last four games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Omaha Mavericks vs North Dakota Fighting Hawks Prediction

Omaha is 6-4 in their last 10 meetings against North Dakota and is 4-1 against the spread in their last 5 meetings. Over is 5-3 in their last 8 meetings and in their most recent meeting last season, Omaha won 73-72 on the road. In this Omaha Mavericks vs North Dakota Fighting Hawks Prediction, North Dakota is coming as a -4 home favorites. North Dakota is better offensively, scoring 5 points more than Omaha, while Omaha is better defensively, allowing 1.4 points less. The Fighting Hawks are losing by an average of 0.2 points this season, while the Mavericks are losing by 3.8 points. Both teams are struggling offensively this season, scoring just 145.1 points per game combined, and Omaha is a bottom-60 team in points scored. Both teams also sit in the bottom 60 of the nation in field goal percentage, so I expect points to be at a premium in this game. Take the under.