North Dakota
How to watch: No. 6 Alabama at North Dakota
How to watch: No. 6 Alabama at North Dakota
After surviving the gauntlet stretch of its non-conference schedule, No. 6 Alabama will hope a chilly trip to the Great Plains won’t cool down its recent run. North Dakota native Grant Nelson will get a homecoming game as the Crimson Tide travels to face North Dakota on Wednesday night. The matchup will be the first leg of a two-for-one series with the Fighting Hawks traveling to Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 2025 and 2027.
Wednesday will mark the first matchup between Alabama and UND. Nelson, on the other hand, boasts a 6-1 record against the Fighting Hawks, dating back to his time at North Dakota State. The Devils Lake, North Dakota native averaged 16.8 points and 5.28 rebounds while shooting 56% from the floor, including 10 of 21 (47.6%) from beyond the arc in those seven games. That includes his last outing against UND when he dropped 36 points and seven boards while shooting 13 of 20 from the floor.
Here’s everything you need to know about Wednesday’s game.
How to watch
Who: No. 6 Alabama (8-2) at North Dakota (4-8)
When: 8 p.m. CT, Saturday, Dec. 14
Where: Betty Engelstad Sioux Center, Grand Forks, North Dakota
Watch: CBS Sports Network (play-by-play: Alex Heinert, analyst: Shon Morris, sideline Missy Heidrick)
Listen: Crimson Tide Sports Network | SIRIUS/XM 134/201 (play-by-play: Roger Hoover, analyst: Bryan Passink)
Alabama’s projected starters
Mark Sears: 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, graduate
Stats: 17.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 4.0 apg, 39.0% FG, 31.8% 3-pt
Labaron Philon: 6-foot-4, 177 pounds, freshman
Stats: 11.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.8 apg, 53.5% FG, 24.0% 3-pt
Jarin Stevenson: 6-foot-11, 215 pounds, sophomore
Stats: 4.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.0 apg, 38.5% FG, 24.1% 3-pt
Grant Nelson: 6-foot-11, 230 pounds, graduate
Stats: 12.2 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.9 apg, 51.2% FG, 27.6% 3-pt
Clifford Omoruyi: 6-foot-11, 250 pounds, graduate
Stats: 8.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 0.9 apg, 71.4% FG
North Dakota’s projected starters
Eli King: 6-foot-4, 190 pounds, junior
Stats: 6.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.7 apg, 33.8% FG, 34.3% 3-pt
Mier Panoam: 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, sophomore
Stats: 11.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.8 apg, 38.6% FG, 24.0% 3-pt
Treyshen Eaglestaff: 6-foot-6, 190 pounds, junior
Stats: 18.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.2 apg, 42.4% FG, 37.1% 3-pt
Deng Mayar: 6-foot-8, 180 pounds, senior
Stats: 4.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 0.3 apg, 41.0% FG, 35.7% 3-pt
Amar Kulijuhov: 6-foot-8, 2225 pounds, senior
Stats: 11.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.4 apg, 53.4% FG
Focus for a full 40
Nate Oats knows he’ll have far more talent on the floor than his opposition on Wednesday night. The Alabama head coach even admitted as much during his Tuesday press conference. It’s hard to find a betting line for Wednesday’s matchup, but it’s safe to say the Tide is heavily favored.
While Alabama is confident about coming back from North Dakota with a win, Oats is hoping to see his team display better focus than it has at times this season. The Tide played with its food during non-conference wins against Arkansas State and McNeese State in November. Last week, it allowed Creighton to get back into the game twice before polishing off the Bluejays for an 83-75 victory. Regardless of the score Wednesday night, Oats said he wants to see his team play winning basketball for 40 minutes.
“We’ve got some guys that are really talented, want to be good, don’t quite realize the mental side of it, staying locked in on every possession to close the game,” Oats said. “We’ve got to play every possession. We can’t play the score. We’ve got to be locked in and try to get stops every possession.”
A name to know
North Dakota guard Treysen Eaglestaff leads the Summit League averaging 18.6 points per game and has recorded at least 12 points in all of his 12 starts this season. While the majority of that production has come against mid-major opposition, the 6-foot-6, 190-pound junior scored 13 points while shooting 3 of 6 from beyond the arc during a loss at Notre Dame in November.
“He’s a good shooter, can get to the rim, get to the free-throw line,” Oats said. “He’s good, and they know he’s good. They get him the ball all kinds of different ways.”
Oats said Alabama might treat Eaglestaff the way it did North Carolina guard R.J. Davis, by putting a bigger body on him. Davis scored 18 points during Alabama’s 94-79 win at North Carolina earlier this month. However, the Tide was able to hold the reigning ACC Player of the Year to 1 of 11 shooting from beyond the arc.
Game notes
— Wednesday’s matchup will feature two of the best rebounding teams in the nation. North Dakota ranks No. 8, averaging 15.08 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Alabama ranks No. 8, averaging 30.4 defensive boards.
— Nelson currently ranks fifth in the SEC averaging 8.0 rebounds per game.
— Wednesday’s game will be a drop in competition for an Alabama team that has faced eight programs that currently rank inside KenPom’s top 100. Six of those rank inside the top 50.
— Paul Sather is in his sixth season at North Dakota. With 65 victories, he is one of eight coaches in program history to reach the 60-win mark.
— North Dakota was picked to finish sixth in the Summit League while Eaglestaff and Amar Kuljuhaovic earned First Team All-Summit League recognition.
Three years after a deal with Fairview was called off, South Dakota-based Sanford Health is getting into the Twin Cities market with a new merger.
On Friday, the health system announced that it will combine with North Memorial Health.
Fairview, Sanford call off planned merger
Under the merger, Sanford says the organization will invest $600 million to strengthen the Robbinsdale hospital and double the Maple Grove hospital’s size.
Sanford is the largest rural nonprofit health system in the country, with 58 hospitals and roughly 56,000 employees across the Dakotas, Iowa, Wisconsin, Wyoming and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. North Memorial operates two hospitals in Robbinsdale and Maple Grove, along with several other clinics, employing more than 6,500 people.
If completed, the health systems plan to keep some local leadership in place, including North Memorial CEO Trevor Sawallish, and two North Memorial board members will serve on the combined system’s board. However, the overall company will be led by Sanford CEO Bill Gassen.
The companies say they expect the merger to close later this year, as long as regulatory processes don’t cause delays.
Sanford’s previous attempt to merge with Fairview was called off in 2023, eight months after initially announcing the planned merger. Many Minnesotans raised concerns about that transaction, including Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, although some of that was due to the University of Minnesota’s partnership with Fairview and the possibility of an out-of-state company running the state’s flagship medical school.
As with most mergers, concerns are still likely to arise about possible cutbacks and the impact on the state’s healthcare quality. However, the deal seems more likely to be completed than Sanford’s past attempts.
Reaction
SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa, who represents over 1,000 workers at North Memorial, called the news “worrisome.”
“At a time when healthcare costs are skyrocketing for Minnesota families and frontline healthcare workers are getting squeezed by short staffing levels, this latest attempt at consolidation brings many concerns. It is especially concerning because previous merger attempts by Sanford Health to come into Minnesota have failed due to their values and corporate behavior,” the union said.
SEIU also called on Ellison “to use all of his office’s powers within the law to provide oversight into this proposed merger and ensure the interests of Minnesota’s workers and patients are protected.”
Ellison’s office is asking the public to submit information through an online Community Input Form.
“As we have done and are currently doing with other healthcare transactions, we are conducting a thorough review of this potential acquisition to ensure it complies with the law and is in the public interest,” Ellison daid. “Proposed health care consolidation requires careful examination. As long as I am Attorney General, I will use the full range of regulatory tools to protect Minnesotans’ access to quality, affordable healthcare.”
The Minnesota Nurses Association released a statement saying it is “deeply concerned” by the merger announcement, warning it “could have far-reaching consequences for patients, healthcare workers, and the communities they serve.”
This is a breaking news story. Follow 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS on social media and on the KSTP app below for more updates.
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – Here’s something North Dakotans can take pride in: North Dakota has the third-highest average IQ in the nation, tying with Vermont at 103.8. That is 3.5 points above the national average.
The state with the highest average is Massachusetts at 104.3 and the state with the lowest average is Mississippi at 94.2.
Ninety-four percent of North Dakotans graduate high school, making it the state with the sixth-highest graduation rate in the nation.
Copyright 2026 KFYR. All rights reserved.
WEST FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – Authorities have identified the man killed and the driver involved in a fatal overnight crash in West Fargo.
Jose Rodriguez, 38, of West Fargo, died after being struck by a vehicle early Wednesday morning, according to the North Dakota State Patrol.
The driver, Carly Vizenor, 25, of West Fargo, was not injured. Charges and restraint use remain under investigation.
The crash happened at approximately 2:46 a.m. Wednesday near the intersection of 32nd Avenue South and 9th Street West.
According to the State Patrol, a 2016 Ford Fusion was traveling westbound on 32nd Avenue South when it struck Rodriguez, who was crossing the street approximately 20 to 30 yards east of the 9th Street intersection.
The driver left the scene and returned approximately 10 minutes later.
Rodriguez was pronounced dead at the scene.
The North Dakota State Patrol, West Fargo Police Department, and West Fargo Fire Department all responded to the crash.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Copyright 2026 KVLY. All rights reserved.
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