The Game
South Dakota looks to keep pace with North Dakota State atop the Summit League standings as it heads into tonight's matchup with Western Illinois in Macomb. The Bison held off Oral Roberts Wednesday to move to 11-4. They wrap up the regular season Saturday at Omaha. At 10-4, the Coyotes have road games against Western Illinois and IUPUI (Saturday) to close the regular season.
The Coyotes have won five of their last six against the Leathernecks including a 62-55 victory in Vermillion back on Jan. 25.
Matt Mooney scored a game-high 16 points and
Tyler Hagedorn had 13 points and a career-best 11 rebounds for South Dakota while Western Illinois got 13 points from both Garret Covington and Dalan Ancrum. Neither team shot better than 35 percent from the field. USD made 21 of 34 free throws compared to 9 of 17 for Western Illinois.
South Dakota is 2-4 all-time in Macomb. Western Illinois blitzed the Coyotes 90-76 in the regular season finale there last season.
The Leathernecks
Western Illinois has lost eight of 10 after starting Summit play with a 3-1 record. The Leathernecks are currently eighth, but can finish as high as a tie for fifth in the Summit standings and will be either the No. 6, No. 7, or No. 8 seed at the Summit League Tournament. There is a high probability that USD and Western Illinois could meet in the first round of the tournament.
All-Summit guard Garret Covington is averaging 19 points per game in Summit League play. Senior forward Mike Miklusak averages 14 points and is the league's second-leading rebounder at eight per game. Sophomore center Brandon Gilbeck is the nation's seventh-leading shot blocker. He averages seven points and six boards. The Leathernecks average nearly nine 3-pointers per game and shoot 38 percent from beyond the arc.
The Coyotes
South Dakota has secured a top-two seed at the Summit League Tournament and will compete Saturday, March 4 in Sioux Falls at either 6 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. The Coyotes' 10 wins in Summit play are a program record and the team's 19 wins are the most since 2010.
The Coyotes have won four in a row and five of their last six since the return of senior center
Tyler Flack, who has averaged 20 points and shot 66 percent from the field in that span. Sophomore guard
Matt Mooney is averaging 21 points in Summit League play and should be one of the leading candidates for both Player of the Year and Transfer of the Year honors. South Dakota's bench combined for 43 points on 15-of-25 shooting in the Coyotes' 86-72 win against Oral Roberts last time out. Freshman
Tyler Peterson, specifically, has scored at least nine points off the bench in five of the team's last six games.
One Last Thing
South Dakota has shot better than 50 percent from the field in each of its last five games. Before then, the Coyotes had accomplished that feat twice against Division I foes this season. Four of the team's seven shooting performances of 50 percent or better have come on the road.
