UMKC hosts King and North Dakota

By Canadian Press on January 9, 2026.

North Dakota Fightin’ Hawks (8-11, 2-1 Summit League) at UMKC Roos (4-13, 1-2 Summit League)

Kansas City, Missouri; Saturday, 8 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: North Dakota takes on UMKC after Eli King scored 21 points in North Dakota’s 90-79 loss to the Omaha Mavericks.

The Roos are 3-4 in home games. UMKC is fifth in the Summit League in rebounding with 31.3 rebounds. Jerome Palm paces the Roos with 7.2 boards.

The Fightin’ Hawks are 2-1 in conference games. North Dakota is 5-8 against opponents over .500.

UMKC is shooting 42.3% from the field this season, 4.9 percentage points lower than the 47.2% North Dakota allows to opponents. North Dakota averages 75.5 points per game, 6.8 fewer points than the 82.3 UMKC gives up to opponents.

The matchup Saturday is the first meeting this season between the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Karmello Branch is shooting 36.0% from beyond the arc with 2.8 made 3-pointers per game for the Roos, while averaging 13.4 points. Kasheem Grady II is shooting 43.6% and averaging 11.8 points over the past 10 games.

Anthony Smith III is averaging 8.2 points for the Fightin’ Hawks. King is averaging 12.9 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Roos: 3-7, averaging 74.4 points, 32.5 rebounds, 12.9 assists, 6.7 steals and 2.9 blocks per game while shooting 43.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 80.5 points per game.

Fightin’ Hawks: 5-5, averaging 76.2 points, 33.2 rebounds, 12.1 assists, 8.5 steals and 2.9 blocks per game while shooting 42.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 74.1 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press