South Dakota vs North Dakota Prediction 1/17/2026 Today’s College Basketball Picks

The South Dakota Coyotes and the North Dakota Fighting Hawks meet Saturday in college basketball action from the Betty in Grand Forks. Here’s a South Dakota vs North Dakota prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best South Dakota vs North Dakota pick. We will examine the recent form and player performances for both teams, as well as the recent betting trends and streaks pertaining to this matchup. As we conclude, we will tie it all together with a summary that produces a sensible pick for a favorable betting outcome in this game.

South Dakota Coyotes Betting Preview

The Coyotes opened the season on a 5-3 stretch featuring losses to Utah Tech, Creighton and Missouri. After losses to Portland State, Northern Colorado and Wyoming, South Dakota would hit a 4-3 stretch with losses to Kansas State, North Dakota State and St. Thomas-MN alongside wins ver Prairie View, Dakota State, Mount Marty and Denver. That would give the team a .500 record over the first 18 games at 9-9 overall.

In the Thursday matchup with Kansas City the Coyotes were in the driver’s seat pretty early, hitting the locker room with a 56-36 edge. South Dakota finished on a 47-43 deficit, cruising to the eventual home win 99-83. Leading the team in scoring with a double-double was Cameron Fens with 31 points and 15 rebounds. Isaac Bruns added 22 points with seven rebounds and four assists in the win.

North Dakota Fighting Hawks Betting Preview

Over on the North Dakota side, they limped to a rough 3-8 record over their first 11 games this year. The only wins in that time came versus Mayville State, UC Riverside and Western Illinois. The Hawks would improve from there on a 6-3 stretch over the next nine games, losing to only Western Illinois, Nebraska and Omaha in that time. North Dakota would hold a 9-11 run over their first 20 games.

On Thursday in the matchup versus St. Thomas-MN, the Fighting Hawks were down by one point 37-36 going into the second half. North Dakota didn’t end up getting any closer than that on a 54-44 run and took the loss 91-80 in the end. Leading the team in scoring were Greyson Uelmen and Anthony Smith, each with 19 points and two rebounds. Both Eli King and Garrett Anderson chipped in 11 points apiece as well.

South Dakota Coyotes @ North Dakota Fighting Hawks Betting Trends: January 17, 2026

Why the North Dakota Fighting Hawks will win

• North Dakota has won each of its last six home day games against Conference opponents.
• South Dakota has lost each of its last six road day games against the Summit League.
• North Dakota has won the first half in four of its last five games against South Dakota.

Why the South Dakota Coyotes will win

• South Dakota has won eight of its last 10 day games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

South Dakota vs North Dakota Prediction

I’ll lean toward South Dakota but this should be a pretty good matchup. The Coyotes dispatched a struggling Kansas City team without too much trouble this week, shooting 50.7 percent from the field and 21-of-25 (84 percent) from the line. South Dakota added a 36-25 rebounding advantage and just nine turnovers in the win. The Coyotes have won three of their last five games now, scoring 82 or more points in four of those.

As for North Dakota, they couldn’t keep pace with a pretty good St. Thomas-MN team in their last outing, thanks mostly to 65.1 percent from the field and 66.7 percent (16-of-24) from 3-point range allowed on defense. The 13 turnovers didn’t help either. That makes two losses in the last three games for North Dakota, but they’ve scored 79 or more points in all three of those. We should have a pretty solid total in this one.

Andrew Jett's Pick: South Dakota Coyotes -1.5