St. Thomas (MN) vs North Dakota Prediction College Basketball Picks 1/4/25

The St. Thomas Tommies and the North Dakota Fighting Hawks meet Saturday in college basketball action from the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a St. Thomas vs. North Dakota prediction.

St. Thomas Recap

The St. Thomas Tommies come into this game looking to build some steam after picking up a huge win over North Dakota State by a final score of 89-85 to climb to 11-5 on the year. After this game, St. Thomas will head home for a matchup with South Dakota State.

Tommies Looking To Keep Momentum Up

Miles Barnstable leads the Tommies in scoring with 13.7 PPG while Kendall Blue has added 11.6 PPG with 4.1 RPG and 2.3 APG. Drake Dobbs has 11.8 PPG with a team-high 3.5 APG to lead the Tommies in assists, capping off the group of double-digit scorers for St. Thomas so far this season. Carter Bjerke has 9.1 PPG with 3.4 RPG and Nolan Minessale also has 9.9 PPG with 3.3 RPG. As a team, St. Thomas is averaging 85.3 PPG on 49.6% shooting from the field, 39.1% from three and 78.3% from the foul line this season.

Why the St. Thomas Tommies will win

• St. Thomas (MN) has won seven of its last eight games.
• North Dakota has lost four of its last five games against the Summit League.

North Dakota Recap

The North Dakota Fighting Hawks come into this game looking to bounce back from a 95-85 loss to Omaha in their last matchup, falling to 6-10 on the year. After this game, North Dakota will head on the road to take on Denver.

Fighting Hawks Looking For Upset To Bounce Back

Treysen Eaglestaff leads the Hawks in scoring and assists with 19.8 PPG and 2.1 APG along with 2.9 RPG while Mier Panoam has 11.9 PPG with 4.8 RPG and Dariyus Woodson’s also chipped in 11.3 PPG and 3.9 RPG to round out the group of double-digit scorers for North Dakota so far this season. Amar Kuljuhovic has 9.7 PPG with 6.8 RPG to lead North Dakota on the glass and Eli King’s also added 6 PPG and 5 RPG this year. As a team, North Dakota is averaging 75.7 PPG on 41.6% shooting from the field, 31.6% from three and 69.3% from the foul line this season.

Why the North Dakota Fighting Hawks will win

• St. Thomas (MN) has lost five of its last six road day games against the Summit League.
• North Dakota has won four of its last five day games against the Summit League at Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

Total Points Facts

• Thirty of North Dakota’s last 33 day games have produced a total of 159 or fewer points.
• Seven of St. Thomas (MN)’s last eight games have produced a total of 160+ points.

St. Thomas vs. North Dakota Prediction

I’m on St. Thomas here. I get the allure of a home underdog in spots and St. Thomas could be in for a letdown after such a big conference win over the Bison, who I still have as my frontrunners for the Summit League this season. However, North Dakota’s defense is horrendous, and the offense isn’t good enough to make up for all of the shortcomings that the defense has. Give me the Tommies in this one.