The South Dakota men's basketball team begins a three-game road trip at Oral Roberts Thursday night with a 7 p.m. tip-off inside the Mabee Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
 
The Game
South Dakota looks to carry the momentum of an 87-73 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne last Sunday into the game against Oral Roberts, who has lost two-straight games.
 
A win by the Coyotes would give them a .500 record for the first time since the middle of December and would string consecutive wins together for the third time this year.
 
The game can be viewed on ESPN+, part of the WatchESPN platform via subscription. Live audio is available on the Coyote Sports Network, including KVHT 106.3 FM (flagship) in Yankton/Vermillion. Audio is also available on GoYotes.com/watch or on the TuneIn app.
 
The Golden Eagles
Oral Roberts enters with a 7-13 overall record and sits in fourth place in the Summit League with a 3-2 record. After opening Summit action with a 3-0 record, the Golden Eagles have dropped two straight, first a 94-69 setback at Purdue Fort Wayne, then an 84-65 loss at South Dakota State.
 
Emmanuel Nzekwesi leads the team with 16.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Both marks increase to 21.6 and 12.0, respectively, in league games. In the five conference games, Kevin Obanor and DeShang Weaver join Nzekwesi in double-digit scoring at 13.6 and 11.8 points per game, respectively.
 
The Golden Eagles opened their league slate 3-0 with wins at Omaha and at home against North Dakota and Western Illinois. In the nonconference portion of its schedule, ORU picked up Division I wins over James Madison, 78-69, and Richmond, 59-52.
 
The Coyotes
South Dakota enters with an 8-9 record in 2018-19 and holds a 2-2 mark in Summit League games. The Coyotes are fresh off their victory over the Mastodons, who were the final unbeaten team in the league. In that game, sophomore Stanley Umude tallied a game-high 26 points en route to earning the Summit League Player of the Week. In all, five Coyotes tallied double-digit scoring with Triston Simpson, Tyler Peterson, Brandon Armstrong and Matt Johns all scoring at least 10 points.
 
With back-to-back games of 26 points, Umude has positioned himself as the Coyotes' leading scorer at 12.9 points per game. Over four Summit League games, he averages 20.5 points and 7.8 rebounds, both team highs. Simpson averages 12.8 points per game for the season and is trailed by Trey Burch-Manning and Tyler Peterson at 12.5 and 11.4 points per game, respectively.
 
The Series
With a season sweep last year, South Dakota knotted the series at 6-6. All six Coyote wins have come in the last seven meetings, with the lone setback a 90-80 loss at ORU in the 2016-17 season. The series is tied at three in games played in Tulsa.
 
One Last Thing
Peterson tallied the second double-double of his career with his 14-point and 10-rebound effort against Purdue Fort Wayne. He is the third Coyote this season to achieve the feat, joining Burch-Manning and Umude. Peterson's first double-double came Feb. 22, 2018, with 12 points and 10 rebounds at South Dakota State. The 10 rebounds are a career-high, a mark he has achieved on three occasions. He also has two games this season with nine rebounds.