GAME 22:  SOUTH DAKOTA (10-11, 2-5 Summit) at DENVER (10-10, 2-5 Summit)
When	Thursday, Jan. 28, 8 p.m.
Where	Magness Arena (7,200) | Denver, Colo.
Tickets	Tickets
Television	None
Watch Online	Pioneer Vision (subscription required)
Radio	Coyote Sports Network (Joe Van Goor)
Live Stats	Denver's Gametracker
South Dakota Links	Game Notes | Roster | Schedule | Stats
Denver Links	Game Notes | Roster | Schedule | Stats
Social Media	Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

The Game
South Dakota and Denver meet tonight inside Magness Arena where the winner gains momentum into the second half of the Summit League slate. The Coyotes and Pioneers enter with identical 2-5 Summit marks. They've beaten the same teams and lost to the same teams. Both Denver and South Dakota have lost three of their last four with a win against Western Illinois.

Denver presents a unique style with its Princeton offense. The Pioneers have fewer possessions per game than any other team in the nation up to this point. As such, only six opponents have reached 70 points against them this season and no team has reached 80. Conversely, Denver's offense has produced 70 points just six times.

The Series
Denver leads the all-time series 5-3. The teams have split their regular season series in each of their first two years as Summit League foes. Last year, the road teams won both games with South Dakota winning 74-69 in Denver and the Pioneers earning a 66-48 victory in Vermillion. The teams also met in the first round of the Summit League Tournament in 2014 where Denver advanced.

The Pioneers
Denver's lineup features three seniors and three freshmen at the top followed by three sophomores. The team's top player since the start of Summit League play is freshman Joe Rosga, who has averaged 14 points while leading the team in both assists and steals. Senior guard Nate Engesser is the team's leading scorer on the year at 13 points a contest despite coming off the bench 17 times in 20 games. Engesser is one of the top three-point shooters in the Summit. Senior Marcus Byrd (8.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg) is the team's top interior player.

The Coyotes
South Dakota's last three losses have come by a total of 11 points and two of them came at home. The Coyotes have also lost their last two road games after starting the year 4-4 on the road. Senior guard Casey Kasperbauer is the nation's leading free-throw shooter and the Coyotes' leading scorer at 14 points per game. Senior Tre Burnette averages 13 points and a team-best six boards. Big men Tyler Flack and Austin Sparks have played expanded roles in recent games. They've combined to average 15 points and eight boards off the bench in the last two games.

One Final Note
Sophomore forward Austin Sparks grew up in Denver and attended Fairview High School on the northwest side of the city. Sparks has made 71 percent of his shots (25 of 35) in 28 games as a Coyote.