North Dakota vs North Dakota State Expert Picks & How to Watch Summit Tournament Final

• The North Dakota State Bison are 9.5-point favorites vs the North Dakota State Fighting Hawks in the Summit League ChampionshipFinal
• The Bison won by double digits in both matchups this season
• See below for my North Dakota vs North Dakota State prediction, best bets and how to watch tonight

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The North Dakota State Bison (26-7, 14-2 Summit) are one win away from clinching an automatic berth for the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

All they have to do is stop the North Dakota Fighting Hawks (18-16, 10-6 Summit), a team they’ve already hammerred in two previous matchups this season — and why they opened as big favorites in the college basketball odds.

Action gets underway tonight at 9:00 pm ET. Read below for my North Dakota vs North Dakota State prediction.

North Dakota vs North Dakota State Odds & Betting Lines

Odds as of March 8. The interactive table above will automatically update as the college basketball odds move over the course of the day. New customers can claim a FanDuel promo code to get a bonus to bet on college basketball.

The Bison are favored by 9.5 points, with the payout at -105 odds. Taking North Dakota State and those points comes in at -115 odds.

The total is set at 149.5 points, with -110 odds either way, courtesy of DraftKings.

North Dakota vs North Dakota State Prediction

• North Dakota State -9.5 (-105) at DraftKings

The Fighting Hawks came into the Summit League Tournament having lost three of four, but the 3rd-seeded squad dumped Denver in the quarterfinals before outlasting the 2-seed, St Thomas Minnesota in a 67-66 thriller.

A late turnover pushed North Dakota in transition, where George Natsvlishvili was fouled on a layup attempt with 0.1 seconds remaining. Natsvlishvili made 1-of-2 for the victory.

Now they’ll have to do something they’ve yet to do this season: play the North Dakota State Bison tough.

MADNESS IN THE SUMMIT LEAGUE!

ST THOMAS FOULS UND WITH 0.1 OF A SECOND REMAINING pic.twitter.com/kyAFbZus1Z

— Mid Major Hoops (@MidMajorMania_) March 8, 2026

Their two matchups this year have been blowouts. NDSU crushed them 83-66 on February 14, and then for good measure, blew them out of the water two weeks later by a 96-63 score.

The Bison carved them up physically in the first matchup, outscoring the Fighting Hawks 40-26 in the paint and dominating the glass by a 36-23 margin.

NDSU lit them up from distance in the rematch, shooting an absurd 16-for-29 from 3-point range — a 55% clip — to win going away. It showcased how good the Bison were, a team ranked in the Top 3 of every statistical category in the conference.

North Dakota vs North Dakota State Key Summit League Stats

While there’s always a chance that the Fighting Hawks can pull off the upset, I think their championship game was in the semifinal.

North Dakota State has looked solid during the Summit League Tournament, fending off Oral Roberts in a 76-65 decision, before hammering Omaha 74-50 to get to the final.

The Bison are able to win in a variety of ways, both scoring inside and lighting it up from deep, with a defense that has held its opponents to 66 points or less in six of the last seven games.

NDSU has been the best team in the Summit all year, and they put their final exclamation mark on it Sunday.

How to Watch North Dakota vs North Dakota State

This one tips off at 9pm ET from the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The game can be seen live on CBS Sports Network (CBSSN). The Bison were 14-2 in conference play this season, while the Fighting Hawks finished 10-6 in Summit League play.