The South Dakota men's basketball team travels to Kansas City, Missouri, to face former Summit League opponent UMKC. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. inside the Swinney Recreation Center on the UMKC campus.
 
The Game
South Dakota holds a 6-2 record for the second-straight year and is coming off a 2-1 showing at the Sanford Pentagon Showcase. The Roos are 3-5 and last played Sunday, defeating UT Martin 66-55. Thursday's contest is UMKC's only game on campus inside the Swinney Recreation Center. The Kansas Municipal Auditorium serves as the Roos' home floor the rest of the season.
 
The Roos
Isaiah Ross leads UMKC with 13.0 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. Ross tallied a game-high 27 points behind seven 3-point baskets at UT Martin. Joining him in double-digit scoring is Broderick Robinson, who averages 12.5 points per game.
 
Familiar to Coyote fans, UMKC played at the Gulf Coast Showcase Nov. 20-22. The Roos tallied a 1-2 record in the tournament, defeating Manhattan 74-63 and falling to Georgia Southern and Penn. Robinson was named to the Gulf Coast Showcase All-Tournament Team following the event.  
 
The Coyotes
Matt Mooney continues to lead the team in scoring with 16.6 points per game. He was named to the Sanford Pentagon Showcase Team following the tournament. Trey Burch-Manning and Tyler Hagedorn each tallied a double-double in one of the three games, the first of the season for both. Burch-Manning tallied his double-double against Southern Miss with 18 points and 14 rebounds with Hagedorn's coming against Northern Colorado on 14 points and 13 rebounds.
 
South Dakota has accumulated six wins in the season's first eight games for the second-consecutive year. To get those victories, the Coyotes have outscored their competition 17.5 points per game. The 81.3 points USD scores per game tops all Summit League teams, while the 63.8 points the defense gives up, ranks second in the league.
 
The Series
The series is knotted at 3-3. When the Roos and Yotes were Summit League foes, USD won the first two meetings, while UMKC took the second two meetings. When the series was revived in 2015-16, the Coyotes won in Vermillion, while the Roos claimed the victory last year in Kansas City.
 
One Last Thing
South Dakota ranks highly in several national statistical rankings including eighth in the nation in total rebounds with 319, 11^th in total assists with 127 and 24^th in field-goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 37 percent shooting. Within the defensive category, South Dakota ranks 48^th in scoring defense and 37^th in scoring margin.