The South Dakota men's basketball team takes the short bus trip down I-29 to face Omaha Saturday night at 7 p.m. inside Baxter Arena. In the two meetings last season, the home team won with USD prevailing 86-69 in Vermillion and the Mavericks claiming a 91-83 victory in Omaha.
 
The Game
South Dakota looks to win its third-straight game and sixth of its last seven games while Omaha is coming off a double-overtime victory Thursday night.
 
Junior Matt Mooney has a chance to score his 1,000^th point in a South Dakota uniform as he enters the game just 19 points shy of the mark. He tallied 19 points in the Coyotes' victory over Oral Roberts on Wednesday and has scored 19 or more points on nine occasions this season. He is looking to become the 27^th member of the
 
In Summit League games, Zach Jackson ranks third in the league with a 21.8 point per game average for Omaha. Over his last four games he has poured in 29 points against South Dakota State, 18 at Western Illinois, 21 at Fort Wayne and 26 against Denver.  

The Mavericks
Omaha, picked sixth in the preseason poll, owns a 2-3 Summit League record and is 7-14 overall. Jackson leads the Mavericks with 18.5 points per contest, a mark that rises to 21.8 points per game in five Summit League contests.
 
In all, four Mavericks average double-figures on the season with Daniel Norl at 13.0, Mitch Hahn at 12.2 and JT Gibson with 11.6 points per game. Hahn has not played since December 5 against UC Santa Barbara. Jackson leads the team with 6.9 rebounds per contest.
 
In terms of RPI, the best win for Omaha was a 75-73 victory against Drake. Omaha owns an RPI of 220 while Drake's current RPI is 148.
 
The Coyotes
South Dakota is 16-5 overall and 4-1 in the Summit League after Wednesday's victory over Oral Roberts. The Coyotes continue to be among the league's top defensive teams, holding opponents to a Summit League best 67.0 points per game. In the five conference games, the Coyotes hold their opponents to 66.6 points per game, the best in the league by 6.6 points. The Coyotes' defense also holds its opponents to a league-best 42.8 percent shooting in conference games.
 
Mooney continues to lead the Coyotes with 17.4 points per game while Tyler Hagedorn pours in 13.4 points per contest. In the five Summit League games, Tyler Peterson averages 11 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Trey Burch-Manning also tallies 11 points per game in league action while shooting 58.1 percent from the field.
 
The Series
Former foes in the defunct North Central Conference, South Dakota and Omaha date back to the 1912-13 season with USD leading the series 54-48. In a time of transition from 2008-2011, the two programs did not meet but since resuming the series in the 2011-12 season, Omaha holds a slight 6-5 edge.
 
One Last Thing
Sophomore Tyler Peterson has been on a tear for the Coyotes since joining the starting lineup three games ago. The Lino Lakes, Minnesota, native is averaging 13.3 points per game and making 61.5 percent of his field goal attempts. Peterson has started four games this year, reaching double figures in three of them. The lone game he did not was against Mount Marty when he tallied nine points.