UND freshman Quinton Hooker dribbles the ball against Northern Arizona earlier this season. File photo.

The UND men’s basketball team is in the heart of heated conference play as it prepares to take on Idaho State on Saturday.

The Bengals currently sit in the basement of the Big Sky, and UND beat the Bengals 66-62 when the teams last played in Grand Forks.

While Idaho State lost to Weber State by six points, it could not finish off Northern Arizona, losing 67-65.

The last time the teams met in The Betty, Chris Hansen went off for 24 points and eight rebounds and shot six of 11 from the 3-point line for the Bengals. While Hansen was on fire, UND won the game in part through its defense — blocking seven shots and forcing 23 turnovers.

Saturday’s game will feature a bout of some of the top scorers in the Big Sky. Troy Huff leads UND in scoring, averaging 19.7 points per game, and is the No. 2 scorer in the conference.

ISU has three of the top 10 scorers in the conference with No. 5 Chris Hansen, averaging 17.1 points, while No. 8  Andre Hatchett averages 14.9 points. Tomas Sanchez holds the No. 9 spot, averaging 14.7 points.

UND guard Aaron Anderson said  he is confident about the upcoming games.

“Oh yeah, we’re pretty confident,” Anderson said. “We have a great staff that prepares us for the games and knows that defense is the main key to get us our wins this weekend on our road trip. If we go out with the mindset to play defense, we’ll have a good chance at getting this road sweep.”

UND will use Saturday as a chance to get back to its winning ways in the Big Sky Conference.

Last Saturday, the team lost its first game since Jan. 16 to Portland State in a 70-68 loss.

The men’s team is sitting in fourth place in the Big Sky Conference — pushing to get about .500.

Season outlook

The top seven teams make the Big Sky tournament, which is good news for North Dakota as it sits in fourth place.

While there is some room for error, UND hopes to keep winning to get above the middle of the pack. A higher seed means more home court advantage, and a No. 1 seed means home court throughout the playoffs.

Five of North Dakota’s next nine games are against tournament teams. It also plays Eastern Washington, Sacramento State and Idaho State — all teams that are vying for No. 6 or No. 7 seeds.

A team that remains out of the hunt is Southern Utah — which has celebrated only one win this season, but no conference victories. UND will play the Thunderbirds on the last game of the season in March.

UND will face Northern Colorado on March 4, a team that currently is above UND in the Big Sky.

Anderson knows now is the time for his team.

“We’re playing our best basketball right now,” he said. “Now that we had that previous win streak, we’re all clicking. We’re all on the same page — all sacrificing for one another right now. We know the ultimate goal is getting to the conference tournament.”

The prize at the end of the Big Sky Tournament is a berth into the big dance, the NCAA March Madness Tournament.

Alex Stadnik is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected].