VERMILLION, S.D. – The South Dakota Coyotes host the Omaha Mavericks for back-to-back games at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
 
    GAME INFORMATION
    Date/Time: Friday, Jan. 29 | 7 p.m.
                       Saturday, Jan. 30 | 7 p.m.
    Where: Sanford Coyote Sports Center
    Listen: KVHT 106.3 (Yankton/Vermillion)
                 KQSF 95.7 (Sioux Falls)
    Live Stats: yote.us/USDstats
    TV: MidcoSN (Jay Elsen, David Brown)
    Online: ESPN3 (Fri.) ESPN+ (Sat.)
    Stream: Midco Sports Plus or                         GoYotes.com/watch
 
    TIP OFF

• There are more than 300 Division I athletic departments, but just two – South Dakota and Gonzaga – can boast men's and women's basketball teams with 6-0 starts to conference play this season. This marks the fifth time for both Coyote basketball teams that they have started with six wins, but the first time they have achieved the feat in the same season.
• South Dakota stands atop the Summit standings with a 6-0 record and is trying to match its best start in conference play since coach Dave Boots pushed USD to an 8-0 start during the 1999-2000 season.
• A.J. Plitzuweit is the only player in the Summit League that averages 15 points and 3.9 assists on the season.
• Tasos Kamateros averaged 18 points in a pair of wins at Western Illinois last week and is shooting nearly 60 percent from the field in Summit play. Xavier Fuller (58 percent) and Mason Archambault (53 percent) have also shot the ball well and Kruz Perrott-Hunt has made 8 of 14 three-point shots (57 percent) in six Summit games.
• Stanley Umude ranks second in the Summit League in points per game with 19.4. He ranks fourth in rebounds with 7.4 rpg. He also has the most made FG's in a Division I game this season with 17 against SDSU.
•  Tasos Kamateros led the Yotes will 36 points in the two game series at Western Illinois. The Athens, Greece, native set a new career-high of 21 in game two of the series. He shot 15-24 in the series.
• This is the 110^th matchup all-time between the two teams. The Yotes hold a 59-50 record all-time against the Mavericls and a 35-17 record against them in Vermillion. The yotes have won all three meetings inside the SCSC since the facility opened in 2016.

 
ABOUT OMAHA
The Mavericks are 2-12 on the season and 0-4 in conference play. Omaha is currently on an eight game losing streak with its last win coming back on Dec. 5 at SIUE. Omaha is still in search of its first conference win after falling to preseason favorites Oral Roberts and North Dakota State before its games against South Dakota State were cancelled.

The Mavericks are averaging 65.0 points per game while allowing 78.9 points. As a team they are shooting 40.5 percent and 28.8 percent from deep. Their opponent is shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 38.8 percent from deep. Marlon Ruffin leads Omaha with 13.3 points per game while Wanjang Tut averages 10.6 points and Matt Pile averages 10.0 points per game

    
SERIES HISTORY
South Dakota and Omaha first met during the 1912-13 season. The Coyotes have won five of the last seven in the series and leads the all-time matchup 59-50. USD won both bouts a year ago and all three meetings inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center since the facility opened in 2016. Stanley Umude scored 14 straight USD points and had a game-high 27 points in a 91-81 win against Omaha in Vermillion last season.