On the Slate Seeking their eighth-consecutive 20-win season, the South Dakota men's basketball team opens a challenging 2010-11 campaign by squaring off against Nebraska. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on Friday at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln.

The Coyotes (0-0, 0-0 GWC) look to continue a history of success that includes Great West Conference regular-season and tournament titles last season, while the Huskers (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) seek a return to postseason play in the always-tough Big 12 Conference. Links for live stats, audio and video are available on the 2010-11 Basketball Gameday Page on USDCoyotes.com. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Midwest, which is also available through ESPN Full Court, with Greg Sharpe and Eric Piatkowski on the call.

Scouting the Huskers Fifth-year coach Doc Sadler and Nebraska enter the 2010-11 campaign looking to climb back into the Big 12 Conference title hunt. The Huskers finished 15-18 overall last season and went 2-14 in league play for 12th, before going 1-1 at the conference tournament. NU was picked to finish 10th in the Big 12 preseason poll and has picked up exhibition wins over Peru State (75-43) and Bellevue (82-58) in the last week. Senior guard Lance Jeter leads four returning starters for the Huskers and will command the point after starting all 33 of NU's game last season and averaging 7.5 points and 4.1 assists per contest. Sophomore Jorge Brian Diaz was also a mainstay in Nebraska's lineup last season with 8.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game in 26 starts. The 6-11 center notched 17 points and three blocks against the Bruins on Monday night. Junior guard Brandon Richardson and sophomore forward Brandon Ubel should see more starting time this fall after starting 15 and 16 games respectively last season. Richardson averaged 8.9 points and 1.0 points per game to go with an 82.5 percent clip from the free-throw line, while Ubel chipped in 4.4 points and 2.0 rebounds.

Coyote History versus the Huskers Nebraska leads the all-time series 29-5 with most of the meetings occuring between 1920 and 1955. The two squads have meet six times since 1964 with the Huskers currently holding a 17-game winning streak. NU claimed a 101-69 victory in the last meeting on Dec. 1, 1984. USD has won twice in Lincoln and holds a 3-1 record against the Huskers in Vermillion.

Last Time Out: USD Falls to Creighton in CIT Four starters scored in double figures for the South Dakota men's basketball team, but the No. 16 Coyotes fell 89-78 to No. 4 Creighton in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament on March 16 in the Civic Auditorium. The loss snapped USD's 13-game winning streak, which was second in the nation, and ended its season at 22-10, while the Bluejays improved to 17-15. South Dakota hung tough with the Missouri Valley Conference foe through 30 minutes, before the Bluejays used a 58 percent (7-of-12) clip behind the arc in the second half to pull away. Freshman guard Jake Thomas led all USD scorers with 18 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore guard Louie Krogman chipped in 14, senior guard Roman Gentry had 13 and senior forward Tyler Cain and junior guard Kendall Cutler both had 12 apiece. Cain also earned seven blocks and nine rebounds. USD shot 42 percent (28-of-66), including 48 percent (12-of-25) from three, while Creighton knocked down 47 percent (30-of-64) and 52 percent (12-of-23) beyond the arc. Creighton took the early advantage, but USD quickly found its stride and the teams traded the lead four times over the first seven minutes. Cutler had six early points and Cain added a couple buckets of his own, before the Bluejays hit two consecutive treys to create some separation. A three from Thomas and free throws from Cain and senior center Steve Smith kept the Coyotes in it, but CU slowly expanded its lead and hit back-to-back treys again to go up 38-26 with 5:13 left. Gentry and Krogman hit threes for to break the run, but a 6-0 spurt by the Bluejays at the end of the period extended the lead back to double digits at halftime, 50-36. Cutler had 10 points in the first half after going 5-of-6 from the floor, while Cain chipped in nine and four blocks. USD shot 42 percent (13-of-31) in the opening frame, while CU connected on 50 percent (18-of-36) and 46 percent (5-of-11) beyond the arc. USD committed six turnovers to one for the Bluejays. CU continued the momentum into the second half to stretch its lead to as many as 19 early, but the Coyotes hung tough. Gentry and Thomas scored layups and Krogman hit a three as part of a 9-0 spurt that drew USD within 57-47 at 15:30. The squad exchanged baskets from behind the arc until CU hit three straight attempts to extend their advantage to 79-57 at the 7:58 mark and cruised from there. Thomas had 13 points in the frame, as USD shot 56 percent (9-of-16) from deep, but CU responded with a 58 percent (7-of-12) from deep.

Four Coyote Men Claim Preseason All-GWC Four members of the South Dakota men's basketball team have earned preseason honors from the Great West Conference, the league announced on Nov. 4. Sophomore guard Jake Thomas claimed first-team honors, while senior guard Kendall Cutler was named to the second-team, and juniors Louie Krogman and Charlie Westbrook were honorable mention. Thomas averaged 13.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game for the Coyotes in 2009-10 to earn All-GWC honorable mention and All-Newcomer. He finished fourth in USD single-season history by connecting on 89 three-pointers. Cutler was MVP of the GWC tournament to cap off a strong first season in the Coyote program. He shot 50 percent from the field to average 8.5 points and a league-high 4.6 assists per game. Krogman claimed GWC Sixth Man of the Year last season with 9.8 points, 2.0 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game, while Westbrook is a newcomer to USD after spending the past two seasons at Iowa Western Community College. He paced the team with 11.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game last year.

Coyote Men Tabbed Third in Preseason Poll The South Dakota men's basketball team has been picked to finish third in the Great West Conference in the coaches' preseason poll, the league announced on Nov. 2. The Coyotes earned the most first-place votes with three. USD received 32 points to finish third behind Houston Baptist (35) and NJIT (36). Chicago State (29) finished fourth in the poll, Texas-Pan American (22) was fifth and North Dakota and Utah Valley (21) tied for sixth. The Huskies, Cougars, Fighting Sioux and Wolverines also received one first-place vote. The Coyotes finished 22-10 overall last season and went 11-1 in the GWC to claim the regular-season conference title. They followed with wins over UTPA and HBU to win the GWC tournament and claim an automatic bid to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. USD faced Creighton in its first postseason appearance since moving to the NCAA Division I level. The Coyotes return three players that earned GWC honors from last year's squad in senior guard Kendall Cutler, sophomore guard Jake Thomas and Louie Krogman. Cutler earned GWC Tournament MVP, Krogman was named the GWC Sixth Man of the Year and Thomas was All-GWC honorable mention and All-Newcomer.

Midco Sports Network to Air Nine USD Basketball Games The newly-created Midco Sports Network will broadcast nine Coyote men's and women's basketball games live during the 2010-11 season, the USD Athletic Department announced on Nov. 1. Tom Neiman will handle play-by-play duties, while Al Bahe will add color commentary. MidcoSN's coverage starts on Nov. 17 with the home opener for both squads, as the women face Jamestown College and the men battle South Dakota School of Mines. Single games aired include the women's contest with Santa Clara (Nov. 30) and men's games versus Wyoming (Dec. 1) and Eastern Washington (Dec. 20). Men's and women's doubleheaders against Utah Valley (Jan. 22) and North Dakota (Feb. 5) will also be broadcast live. Offering the region's widest coverage of local sporting events, MidcoSN is available on cable channel 26 in Sioux Falls and Vermillion. Fans in other markets should check their local listings.

Watch Those Charts Again Coyote fans got to watch seniors Tyler Cain and Steve Smith climb South Dakota's career charts last season in points, rebounds and blocked shots. This season could see several USD players approach single-season records. Sophomore guard Jake Thomas finished fourth on the single-season three pointers list last season with 89 and will look to build on that to approach Josh Mueller's record of 109 in 2004-05. A healthy Louie Krogman could also sneak his way into the top 10 after making 65 last season as a sophomore on a bad knee. Senior Kendall Cutler spent half of last season as the starting point guard and racked up 139 assists. Projected to be USD's starter throughout this season, he must reach 165 to climb into the single-season assists top 10.

Ending on a Hot Streak The Coyotes quietly crafted one of the best winning streaks in the nation to end the 2009-10 season. Victorious in 16 of its last 18 contests, USD at one point had the second longest winning streak in the nation at 13. Only Butler, who played in the national chapionship game, had a better streak to end the season at 25 consecutive victories.

In Case You Missed It South Dakota is listed in a separate "reclassifying" section in the NCAA Division I stats, so Coyote fans may have missed the most impressive stat of all last season. USD's Tyler Cain would have led the nation in field goal percentage if the Coyotes were in the rankings. Cain connected on 189-of-293 shot attempts (64.5 percent) to lead South Dakota at 14.7 points per game in 2009-10.

Adjusting the RPI A common form of ranking teams during the season, the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) allows USD fans to see how hard the Coyotes' schedule has been during each season. South Dakota, which was ranked 215 in the final 2009-10 RPI, will face four teams in the top 150 RPI rankings in 2010-11, including a Dec. 4 game at No. 21 Wisconsin. Rankings vary through the season because they are based on winning percentage and opponent's winning percentage, but the Coyotes are currently the second independent team.

Brought to You by the Letter J The 2010-11 South Dakota roster will be an adventure for radio and television announcers alike this season. Not so much because the Coyotes have hard names to pronounce, but more because of an inordinant amount of the letter J. Five of the 15 members of the squad have first names that start with the letter J, including two Jake's (Thomas and Krogman), a Jordan (Boots), a Jack (Foley) and Jared (Bartling). Of course USD assistant coach Joey James just adds to the fun.

Season Preview: South Dakota Seeks to Continue Success USD finished 2009-10 with a 22-10 overall record, including 11-1 in league play, to claim the GWC regular-season and tournament titles and earn a berth in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament against Creighton. The two returning starters from last year's squad will mix with several experienced reserves and a talented freshman class to help the Coyotes seek their 23rd consecutive winning season and eighth-straight 20-win season. Senior guard Kendall Cutler (Brooklyn, N.Y.) will run the point for USD again this season after earning GWC tournament MVP honors last year with his clutch play against Texas-Pan American and Houston Baptist. He earned the starting job midway through 2009-10 and went on to average 4.3 assists and 8.5 points per game while scoring in double figured in 14 games, including the final four contests of the season. The Coyotes also welcome back sophomore guard Jake Thomas (Racine, Wis.) this fall. As a shooting guard, Thomas had a stand-out freshman campaign that saw him earn All-GWC honorable mention and All-Newcomer honors. He was deadly from outside, hitting on 44 percent (89-of-202) from beyond the arc to average 13.3 points per game and topping the 20-point mark in five games. His 89 treys ranked fourth in USD single-season history, as he started all but one game. Cutler and Thomas will have plenty of teammates to push them as USD returns several contributors on the perimeter, including junior guard Louie Krogman (White River, S.D.), sophomore guard Jordan Boots (Vermillion, S.D.) and redshirt freshman guard Cliff Warner (Altoona, Iowa). Krogman battled through a knee injury last season to earn GWC Sixth Man of the Year off the bench. He averaged 9.8 points and 2.0 assists while scoring in double figures in 16 games. Another threat from deep, he connected on 36 percent (65-of-183) of his three-point attempts and could earn a starting spot this season. Boots can sink treys as well and should be a key reserve entering the season. He appeared in all 32 games last year with two double-figure games. Warner joins the fray at point guard after redshirting his first season in the program. Inside the Coyotes lost decorated big men Tyler Cain and Steve Smith to graduation, but a good mix of returners and newcomers should shore up the four and five positions this season. Senior Mitchell Bouie (Chicago, Ill.) played in all 32 of South Dakota's games last season and averaged 7.6 points and 4.1 rebounds while connecting on 57 percent (91-of-159) from the field. He scored in double figures in 10 games while averaging over 16 minutes of action per game. Sophomore Conrad Krutwig (Algonquin, Ill.) will be in the mix as well after playing 26 games last year. Several big men highlight the group of newcomers this season, including junior college tranfers Charlie Westbrook (Milwaukee, Wis.), Ricardo Andreotti (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and KC Rodenburg (Omaha, Neb.). Westbrook was a solid contributor at Iowa Western the past two seasons and was the 67th-ranked juco player in the nation according to Rivals.com. He averaged 11.3 points and 4.8 rebounds last season and could be a starting guard at USD this year. Rodenburg also joins the Coyotes after playing at Iowa Western and will be a solid reserve inside this season. Andreotti is another talented big man that will battle for starting time inside. He helped Northwest College advance to the regional tournament the past two seasons and averaged 8.1 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game as a sophomore. The true freshman class has a couple standouts that could see starting time right away. Trevor Gruis (Ellsworth, Minn.) was a finalist for Mr. Basketball in Minnesota as a senior, while helping Ellsworth to three state title games during his prep career. He could start at the four or five at USD, while fellow freshman Steve Tecker (Brule, Wis.) could earn playing time at the three. Tecker was a top-ranked recruit in Wisconsin last season after earning all-tournament honors with 41 points in the state semifinal and championship games. Freshmen Jared Bartling (Sioux Falls, S.D.), Jack Foley (Centerville, S.D.) and Jake Krogman (White River, S.D.) will likely redshirt their first season in the USD program.

Next Up South Dakota opens the home portion of its 2010-11 schedule by hosting South Dakota School of Mines next Wednesday at 8 p.m. The USD women face Jamestown at 6 p.m. Fans can purchase tickets by calling the USD Ticket Office at (605) 677-5959.