The South Dakota men's basketball team opens play at the Summit League Tournament Sunday against Purdue Fort Wayne. Tip-off in the quarterfinal round from the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center is slated for 8:30 p.m.
 
The Game
The No. 6 Coyotes and No. 3 Mastodons split the regular season with the home team winning each time. The winner of the rubber match advances to the semifinals on Monday at 8:30 p.m. to face the winner of No. 2 Omaha and No. 7 North Dakota.
 
Sunday's contest airs on MidcoSN and will be carried on ESPN+, part of the WatchESPN platform. 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 Mastodons
Purdue Fort Wayne enters the Summit League Tournament after closing the league season with a 9-7 record and went 17-14 overall in the regular season. However, the Mastodons have hit a skid down the stretch losing four-straight. The latest came in a schedule that mirrored the end of USD's regular season, falling to North Dakota 88-82, then losing to North Dakota State 69-66.
 
First-team All-Summit League selection John Konchar leads the team at 19.7 points and 8.5 rebounds. He is the only NCAA Division I men's basketball player to eclipse 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 500 assists and 200 steals in a career.
 
Outside of the do-all Konchar, Kason Harrell averages 15.1 points while Matt Holba chips in 11.8 points per game.
 
The Coyotes
South Dakota is rolling into the Summit League Tournament on a hot streak, winning four of its last five games in the regular season to finish 13-16 overall and 7-9 in the Summit League. The Coyotes are coming off a home sweep of the two North Dakota schools in the regular season finale. The Coyotes topped North Dakota State 75-65 on Feb. 28 then followed with a 78-63 win over North Dakota on March 2.
 
In the victory over the Fighting Hawks, five Coyotes scored in double figures led by junior Tyler Peterson's 17 points. He was 6-of-10 from the field in 30 minutes off the bench.
 
Sophomore Stanley Umude, a first-team all-Summit League selection, leads the Coyotes at 14.2 points per game. His average increased to 17.1 points over the 16 league games and was joined in double-figure scoring averages by four teammates. Junior Triston Simpson marked second on the team in points per game during Summit play at 15.8. Senior Trey Burch-Manning, junior Cody Kelley and Peterson all scored at least 10.5 points per game as well.
 
The Coyotes are entering the postseason playing their best basketball of the year having averaged 81.1 points per game over the final seven games of the regular season, up from 67.3. The shooting percentage from deep has also seen a major increase, from 31.5 percent to 43.2 percent while hitting 10.8 3-point baskets.
 
The Series
The overall series is tied at nine games apiece after entering 2018-19 tied at eight games each. To stick with the theme of being tied, the two squads have met twice in a neutral-site setting, with the series tied. The Coyotes claimed a victory in the 2014-15 Summit League Tournament while the Mastodons won in 2015-16.
 
One Last Thing
The Summit League is the nation's best 3-point shooting league, hitting 38.5 percent of 3-point field goals attempted. Sunday's game should be no different as Purdue Fort Wayne made 38.3 percent of their attempts in league play with the Coyotes at 38.2. However, the Mastodons lead the league with 336 made treys on the season while the Coyotes have heated up as of late, averaging 10.8 made 3-point baskets per game over the final seven regular season contests.

Mick and John: Summit League Tournament Preview
John Thayer of the Coyote Sports Network and Mick Garry, a special contributor to GoYotes.com, sat down to discuss the Coyote men's and women's basketball teams at the Summit League Tournament in Sioux Falls. Check out their takes on what to watch for as you head to the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.