VERMILLION, S.D. – No. 2 seeded South Dakota faces No. 3 seeded North Dakota State in the semifinals of the Summit League Tournament at 8:45 p.m. Monday inside the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. The winner earns a spot in Tuesday night's championship game.
 
    GAME INFORMATION
    Date/Time: Monday, March 8 @ 8:45 p.m.
    Where: Sanford Pentagon (Sioux Falls)
    Listen: KVHT 106.3 & KQSF 95.7 (John Thayer)
    TV: MidcoSN (Jay Elsen, Brad Newitt)
    Online: ESPN+
    Stream: Midco Sports Plus
 




TIP OFF

• South Dakota enters the league tournament as the No. 2 seed, the fourth time the Yotes have entered as the two seed. USD's win over Western Illinois was the Yotes first win in the tournament since the 2017-18 season and is two wins away from punching its first ticket to the Big Dance in the Division I era.
• The Coyotes placed three players on the all-conference team in Plitzuweit (1st), Umude (1st) and Fuller (HM). Plitzuweit was named Newcomer of the Year while Todd Lee was named Coach of the Year.
• Umude currently has the 11th most points in program history (1,497) heading into the league tournament. With three points tonight, he will become the 11th player all-time to score 1,500 or more points in career.
• Umude has found success in the Sanford Pentagon this season averaging 27.3 points in four games at the Sanford Pentagon. He has recorded games of 30, 14, 41 & 24 points. His 41 points is the most a DI player has scored in the Sanford Pentagon.

COYOTES IN THE SUMMIT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT

• South Dakota and North Dakota State are meeting for the fourth time this season. The Yotes and Bison were a part of the Dakota Showcase held right here in the Sanford Pentagon. The Bison defeated USD 74-67. The two next met in the regular season finale where the two teams split in Vermillion.
• This wil be the first time the two teams have faced each other in the Summit League Tournament.
• The winner advances to the Summit League Championship on Tuesday at 8 p.m. and will face the winner of No. 1 South Dakota State and No. 4 Oral Roberts.
• South Dakota is 5-8 all-time in the Summit League Tournament while holding a 5-6 record all-time inside the Sanford Pentagon. This will be the first time the league tournament is held in the Sanford Pentagon. Saturday's win over Western Illinois was the first for Todd Lee in the Summit League Tournament.
• This will be the fourth time the Yotes will be the second seed in the tournament. As a No. 2 seed, USD is 3-1 and has a record of 1-1 against No. 3 seeds.

ABOUT NORTH DAKOTA STATE
The Bison ended the regular season with a 13-11 record overall and a 11-5 record in the Summit League which secured them the third seed in the Summit League Tournament. They opened play against the No. 6 seeded Roos from Kansas City. The Bison dominated the first half leading 38-22 at halftime. They led by as many as 22 in the second half before a late KC run made it a two-point game with 49 seconds left. But the Roos attempt to tie it was off the mark and NDSU pulled out the victory.

When the all-Summit League awards came out the Bison had two players named to the all-Summit League team in Rocky Kreuser (1st) and Sam Griesel (2nd). Freshman Grant Nelson earned a spot on the all-Newcomer team and Sixth Man of the Year.

As a team, NDSU averages 69.3 points per game on 44.4 percent shooting from the field. The Bison rank second in points allowed and FG per- centage defense. They have a +6.6-rebounding margin against their opponents. The Bison are led by Kreuser (14.8), Griesel (11.6) and Tyree Eady (11.3). Nelson averages 6.4 points off the bench.

JACK AND CHARLIE'S SUMMIT LEAGUE CHALLENGE
We may not be able to cheer on our teams in person, but that doesn't ruin the rivalry! There's a friendly competition taking place between the Coyotes and the Jacks this week. From now until March 9, every product sold at Charlie's store will "fill a seat" in the virtual scoreboard. Stock up on Coyote gear to support student scholarships and help USD in its race against SDSU. It's a win-win!