The Game
South Dakota answered road losses to UMKC and Nebraska with wins at home against Montana State and Sacramento State. Now, it's back on the road for a three-game trip out west which begins tonight against Portland of the West Coast Conference. The Coyotes will also face Montana State (Sun.) and nationally-ranked Gonzaga (Wed.) in the next five days during the team's longest road trip of the season.
The Setting
The Moda Center plays home to the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers. Hanging up in the rafters is the retired No. 30 jersey of one of the greatest players in team history, two-time NBA All-Star Terry Porter, who is in his first season as the head coach of the Pilots. Porter played 10 seasons for the Trail Blazers and competed in the NBA Finals in 1990 and 1992. He remains the franchise's all-time assists leader with 5,319 and is its third-leading scorer with 11,330 points.
There is also a Coyote connection in Portland. South Dakota Hall of Famer Nate Tibbetts is in his third season as an assistant coach with the Trail Blazers following two years with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Tibbetts, who was inducted into the USD Hall of Fame in 2014, is the all-time assist leader in the 88-year history of the North Central Conference.
The Pilots
Porter's Pilots feature one of the highest scoring backcourts in the nation in senior Alec Wintering and sophomore Jazz Johnson, who combine to average 40 points per game or nearly half the team's average of 81 points. Both shoot close to 50 percent from the field. They are good free throw shooters who combine for 10 attempts per game. Johnson has 18 triples and is shooting them at a 48 percent clip. Wintering is among the nation's leaders in points (22.3), assists (6.3) and steals (2.3). He played all 50 minutes of the team's double-overtime win against UT Rio Grande Valley last time out.
The Coyotes
South Dakota has a strong on-ball defender in junior guard
Carlton Hurst, but it will take a team effort to slow down Wintering, Johnson and the rest of the Pilots. The Coyotes have a deeper bench that features three true freshmen guards and forwards
Dan Jech and
Austin Sparks. It was the play from the bench, including 25 points in two games from
Tyler Peterson, that sparked the team's recent string of wins.
That said, the strength of the Coyotes this season has been its pack of starters led by senior center
Tyler Flack who is averaging 14 points and seven rebounds per game. He will likely matchup against 7-foot-1, German-born center Philipp Hartwich, who rebounds and blocks shots, but has taken nine shots in eight games. Coyote guard
Matt Mooney adds 13 points and leads the team in steals. Point guard
Trey Dickerson averages 10 points and nearly four assists per game.
Trey Burch-Manning is the team's third-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder.
Bottom Line
Playing at the Moda Center will be an unforgettable experience. South Dakota has a chance to take a step forward against a solid team that hasn't played a game in 11 days. Summit League play is less than two weeks away and, for a team with little Summit League experience, this one should provide a good simulation.
