Halftime Report
Utah Valley is on the road but looking no worse for wear. They have jumped out to a quick 34-33 lead against North Dakota.
If Utah Valley keeps playing like this, they’ll bump their record up to 3-0 in no time. On the other hand, North Dakota will have to make due with a 1-2 record unless they turn things around (and fast).
Who’s Playing
Utah Valley Wolverines @ North Dakota Fighting Hawks
Current Records: Utah Valley 2-0, North Dakota 1-1
How To Watch
What to Know
North Dakota will be in front of their home fans on Thursday, but a look at the spread shows they might need that home-court advantage. They will host the Utah Valley Wolverines at 1:00 p.m. ET at Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
North Dakota will roll into the contest after a wild two-game stretch: they didn’t score any points on Saturday, then bounced right back against Dickinson State on Tuesday. North Dakota put a hurting on Dickinson State to the tune of 85-54. With the Fighting Hawks ahead 44-25 at the half, the matchup was all but over already.
Meanwhile, Utah Valley humbled UTEP with an 89-60 smackdown. The oddsmakers were on the Wolverines’ side, but they didn’t give the team enough credit as the margin was unexpectedly wide.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Utah Valley to victory, but perhaps none more so than Dominick Nelson, who went 6 for 10 en route to 21 points plus eight rebounds. Another player making a difference was Hayden Welling, who went 5 for 8 en route to 15 points plus three blocks.
Utah Valley was working as a unit and finished the game with 23 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as UTEP only racked up eight.
North Dakota made their fans wait, but they earned their first win of the season to make their record 1-1. As for Utah Valley, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 2-0.
North Dakota came up short against Utah Valley in their previous matchup back in November of 2018, falling 74-68. Will North Dakota have more luck at home instead of on the road?
Odds
Utah Valley is a solid 6-point favorite against North Dakota, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The line has drifted a bit towards the Wolverines, as the game opened with the Wolverines as a 4.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 146 points.
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Series History
Utah Valley has won both of the games they’ve played against North Dakota in the last 7 years.
- Nov 24, 2018 – Utah Valley 74 vs. North Dakota 68
- Nov 25, 2017 – Utah Valley 83 vs. North Dakota 75