North Dakota Fighting Hawks (Overall: 22-9, Conf: 14-4)
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Team Strengths
North Dakota (+100,000) is making its NCAA Tournament debut, but it would be overly optimistic for us—even for them—to expect the Fighting Hawks to move past the first round against a second-seeded powerhouse in Arizona. The Big Sky champs should still have enough to flirt with an upset, however.
They have a variety of options to choose from for their offense that racks almost 80 points per contest on a solid 48 percent shooting. There’s Quinton Hooker (19.1), Geno Crandall (15.6) and Corey Baldwin (10.3), the team’s double-digit scorers this season.
Team Weaknesses
Defense and rebounding. Those are the areas where the Fighting Hawks are totally vulnerable. They average just 35.1 boards as a team, a result of their lack in size, and allow opposing teams to score 75 points against them.
Team Statistics (from teamrankings.com)
| Category | Stat | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Points Per Game | 78.7 | #45 |
| Rebounds Per Game | 35.1 | #190 |
| Blocks Per Game | 2.8 | #227 |
| 3-Point Percentage | 38.4 | #36 |
| Free Throw Percentage | 73.2 | #88 |
Starting Lineup
| Position | Name | PPG |
|---|---|---|
| F | Drick Bernstine | 7.9 |
| F | Conner Avants | 9.8 |
| G | Geno Crandall | 15.6 |
| G | Corey Baldwin | 10.3 |
| G | Quinton Hooker | 19.1 |
Writer’s Prediction
Again, North Dakota (+100,000) gets eliminated in the first round.
Create a betting account now and place your bets already for March Madness 2017.
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