GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The North Dakota men’s basketball team added one more former North Central Conference foe to its 2012-13 schedule on Monday as ESPN officials announced that Omaha will play host to the Green and White during their annual Ramada Worldwide BracketBusters weekend. The game will take place Saturday, Feb. 23 at Omaha’s Ralston Arena. Tipoff time is set for 1 p.m.
This will be the final season of an 11-year run for the event that pits 122 NCAA Tournament hopefuls from 15 different mid-major conferences against each other. Omaha is in its second season of transition to the NCAA Division I level and first in the Summit League.
The Mavericks are currently 8-17 overall and 5-7 in the Summit League, which puts them fifth in the standings of the nine-team conference. UND is currently 9-12 overall and 6-6 in its first season in the Big Sky. The .500 league mark puts UND in fifth alone in the 11-team conference entering Monday’s play (5-6 Sacramento State hosts 4-7 Northern Arizona later tonight).
“We have a lot of respect for that school and the coaching staff down there,” UND head coach Brian Jones said. “I think this is a natural matchup with them being a former NCC foe and an opponent that our fans know.”
UND owns a 54-34 advantage in the all-time series that dates back to the 1934-35 season. The last matchup before North Dakota made its own move to Division I was a 75-68 victory for the Mavericks in the 2008 NCC Tournament quarterfinals.
Omaha has won four straight in the series since stopping a five-game winning streak by UND with a 52-50 victory in February of 2007.
Jones was an assistant coach at Nebraska-Omaha from 1996-1998, while he was working on his master’s degree that he received from the school in 2003.
UND has already played former NCC foes North Dakota State and South Dakota State this season.
UND has already played former NCC foes North Dakota State and South Dakota State this season.
— Go UND —
