On the Slate For the second time in school history the South Dakota men's basketball team will take on a ranked NCAA Division I foe, as the Coyotes square off with No. 12 Kansas State on Sunday at noon in Manhattan, Kan. The contest continues a stretch of tough games against strong DI opponents for USD (6-6). The Coyotes' last three opponents qualified for postseason play last season and that streak continues with the Wildcats and Cornell on Jan. 8. KSU (12-1) is a perfect 8-0 at home this season and will look to continue that as the Wildcats wrap up non-conference play against USD.

Live stats for Sunday's game can be found on Kansas State's web site at K-statesports.com, while live audio can be followed at B1027.com and live video is available through ESPN360.com. Links for all three can be found above. Fox Sports Kansas City on DirecTV channel 672 will air the game live and is available through ESPN Full Court. Ben Boyle (play-by-play) and Stan Weber (analyst) wil be on the call.

Scouting the Wildcats A perennial power in the Big 12 Conference, Kansas State finished 22-12 overall and 9-7 in league play last season for fourth place in the conference regular season. KSU lost to Texas in the first round of the Big 12 tournament, but received a bid to the NIT and advanced to the second round. Third-year head coach Frank Martin returns four starters from that squad and has started the season with a 12-1 record to earn a No. 12 ranking in the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls.

The Wildcats opened with three straight wins over Loyola Chicago (92-54), Western Illinois (82-50) and Boston (80-70), before losing their first game of the season to Ole Miss (86-74) on Nov. 20. KSU has rebounded to rattle off nine straight victories, including seven double-digit wins. Kansas State posted impressive wins over Washington State (86-69), Xavier (71-56) and Alabama (87-74) in December and most recently defeated Cleveland State (85-56) last Tuesday.

Four KSU players are averaging in double-figure points, led by junior guard Jacob Pullen at 19.8 per contest. Junior forward Kelly Curtis averages 11.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and has 20 blocks on the season, while senior guard Denis Clemente averages 14.2 points and has 51 assists. As a team, the Wildcats shoot 48 percent from the field and 38 percent behind the arc to average 82.9 points per game. KSU is outrebounding its opponents by over five grabs per game and has a turnover margin of plus 2.2.

Coyote History versus the Wildcats Kansas State holds a 6-0 advantage over South Dakota in the all-time series with all six meetings occurring in Manhattan. The two programs last met during the 1986-87 season with KSU earning a 95-45 victory.

Last Time Out: Coyotes Take Morehead State Down to Wire A last-second shot bounced off for The University of South Dakota men's basketball team as Morehead State (Ky.) edged the Coyotes, 66-64, in a nonconference thriller on Dec. 28 at the DakotaDome. The Coyotes fought hard to the final buzzer against the Eagles, a 2009 NCAA tournament qualifier. The game featured 10 ties and six lead changes.

USD held a 63-62 lead with 3:30 left after senior guard Roman Gentry hit two free throws. Morehead answered with a three-pointer from Maze Stallworth, pushing the Eagles in front 65-63 with 1:45 left.

USD cut the lead to 65-64 after senior forward Tyler Cain hit a free throw with 3.6 seconds left. Stallworth hit 1-of-2 free throws to push the lead to 66-64 with 3.1 seconds left, and USD called a timeout to set up a final play with 2.6 seconds left.

The Coyotes got the in-bounds pass to Cain, who dished to freshman guard Jake Thomas on the side. Thomas let go a long three-pointer just before the buzzer sounded, leaving the Coyotes on the short end in a hard-fought battle.

Cain had 17 points and 15 rebounds for USD, while Gentry, Thomas and junior guard Kendall Cutler had 10 each. Sophomore guard Louie Krogman had six assists and Cutler had four steals.

The Coyotes got off to a good start, taking an early 10-5 lead after junior guard Mitchell Bouie converted a layup off of an assist from Cutler. The Eagles went on a 5-0 run to take a 17-14 lead, but Krogman canned a three-pointer to tie the game at 17-17 with 9:23 to go in the first half.

USD regained the lead at 21-19 after a Cain basket with 7:44 left, starting an 11-2 run that pushed the Coyote lead to 30-21 with 4:22 to go in the first half. Thomas had five points during that run, including a big three-pointer. The Coyotes shot well in the first half, hitting 15 of their first 25 field goal attempts (60 percent).

The Coyotes maintained the lead for the rest of the half, taking a 36-29 into the break. USD shot 59.3 percent (16-of-27) in the first half but also was solid on the defensive end, holding Morehead to 38.2 percent (13-of-34) from the floor. USD spread its scoring out in the first half, with senior center Steve Smith leading the way with eight points. Gentry and Cain each had six points, while Krogman had five assists.

The Eagles opened the second half on an 8-2 run to cut the Coyote lead to 38-37. USD pushed the lead to 42-37 when Thomas drained a three-pointer with 13:42 left. Moments later, Cain converted a three-point play to extend USD's lead back to 47-41 with 11:28 left. The Eagles fought back to tie the game at 53-53, and from there, the game seesawed back and forth.

Tough Task Sunday's meeting with the 12th-ranked Wildcats is just the second time in school history that USD has played a ranked NCAA Division I foe. The first time was a 102-76 loss at No. 7 Notre Dame last season.

Smith Claims Great West Player of the Week USD senior center Steve Smith was named the Great West Conference Player of the Week, the league announced on Dec. 21. Smith was the third Coyote to earn the weekly honor this season and the second consecutive.

A native of Sioux Falls, S.D., Smith posted a career-high 25 points in a rather unusual way during South Dakota's 86-74 loss at Wyoming on Dec. 20. The 6-11 Smith connected on 5-of-6 three-point attempts and hit 8-of-11 (73 percent) from the field, while going a perfect 4-4 from the free-throw line. He also grabbed six rebounds.

For the complete notes, click on the link above.