Amid Winter Storm Eboni, the South Dakota men's basketball team plays its first game of the 2018-19 Summit League schedule Friday at North Dakota State. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. at the Scheels Center.
 
The Game
South Dakota was picked to finish second in the preseason Summit League poll with North Dakota State tabbed fifth. Both placings match the final standings of each squad from last season. The Coyotes are 3-4 in Summit League openers. The 2018-19 season is just the second time USD has opened the Summit slate away from its home floor. The only other time that has happened is in 2011-12, the first year of Summit League play for the Coyotes.
 
The Bison
North Dakota State went 5-8 in nonconference action, winning three of its last four games. When the ball tips on Friday night, the Bison will have had nine days since its last game, a 90-43 win over Northland College. Rocky Kreuser and Deng Geu each totaled 16 points in the game.
 
For the season, Vinnie Shahid leads a very balanced scoring attack at 12.5 points per game. Geu, who has come off the bench in all 13 games, averages 11.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.
 
The Coyotes
South Dakota, 6-7 on the season, is paced by Trey Burch-Manning at 12.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Four Coyotes average double figures with Tyler Peterson (11.8), Triston Simpson (11.8) and Stanley Umude (10.6) all joining Burch-Manning in the category.
 
Burch-Manning has proven himself as a versatile forward this season, leading the Coyotes in points, rebounds, steals and 3-point field goals made and percentage.
 
The Series
North Dakota State holds the edge at 95-80 over 175 meetings between the two schools. In the Division I era, NDSU holds a 10-4 advantage. However, the two squads have split the past two seasons, with the road team winning each of the last four meetings.
 
Next Home Game
South Dakota is scheduled to play a pair of road games to open Summit League play before returning home to the Sanford Coyote Sports Center for a doubleheader with South Dakota State on Jan. 6. Fans can purchase tickets for the first USD-SDSU doubleheader of the Division I era through the USD Ticket Office at 605-677-5959 or at GoYotes.com/Tickets.  
 
One Last Thing
December has been a strong month for South Dakota sophomore Stanley Umude. The native of San Antonio, Texas, has averaged 14.9 points per game and hit 55.6 percent of his shot attempts. That has pushed his season average to 10.6 points per game. His first career game scoring in double figures was the Coyotes' victory over CSU Bakersfield on Dec. 1 with 19 points. He has since tallied a career-high of 28 points, a mark achieved at No. 1 Kansas on Dec. 18.
 
The 6-6 guard now owns five games of double-digit scoring and grabs 4.5 rebounds in 20.6 minutes per game