The Game
South Dakota closes out the non-conference slate of the schedule with two home games Saturday and Wednesday. First up is UC Irvine, who enter at 6-3 overall and ranked 16th in the latest mid-major top-25 poll. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center Saturday afternoon.
 
The game will be streamed on GoYotes.com. That stream can also be found on Midco+. Fans can tune into the game on the Coyote Sports Network with John Thayer on KVHT 106.3 FM in Yankton/Vermillion or by using The Varsity Network app.
 
The Series
Saturday's game will be the second time these two teams have met. The first meeting came back in the 1974 season in which UC Irvine won 101-84. This will be the first time UC Irvine has made the trip to South Dakota.

The Coyotes
The road woes continued for South Dakota as they are coming off a 79-58 defeat at Air Force on Tuesday. The Coyotes finished the non-conference with an 0-4 mark in true road games and a 2-1 record in neutral site games. USD played seven of its first 10 games on the road and recently completed a stretch of 14 out of 21 days on the road.
 
South Dakota will play its fourth home game this season on Saturday. The Coyotes are a perfect 3-0 at home this year with wins over Lipscomb, Dakota State, and Mount Marty.

A.J. Plitzuweit returned to his starting role at Air Force after missing two games and not starting at BYU. Plitzuweit led the team in scoring with 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting. He also knocked down two three- pointers. Plitzuweit is shooting over 52 percent from the floor this year and 60 percent (12-20) from three. He ranks 13th in the Summit League in scoring. Kruz Perrott-Hunt and Paul Bruns are the other two Coyotes averaging double-figures this year. Perrott-Hunt averages 11 points and Bruns averages 10.9 points. All three-rank inside the top-21 in the Summit League in scoring.  
 
The Anteaters
UC Irvine enters the game on Saturday as one of the top mid-major programs in the country. The Anteaters rank 16th in the latest mid-major top-25 poll heading into the game against South Dakota. UC Irvine got off to a great start in 2022, winning six of its first seven games including a win at #21 Oregon in the second game of the season. Since the 6-1 start, UCI has dropped its last two contests at #24 San Diego State and versus Fresno State. The Anteaters have two more games before they open Big West play on the road.
 
UCI features a top-offense, and a top-three defense in the Big West. The Anteaters shoot 41 percent from the three-point line which is ninth-best in the nation. UC Irvine is tied for the best offense in the conference at 79.8 points per game and third in scoring defense at 62.7 points per game allowed. Their 17.1 scoring margin leads the Big West and ranks 24th nationally. Junior guard DJ Davis leads the team in scoring at 16 points per game. Davis recently scored a career-high 28 points in the loss to San Diego State. Dawson Baker also averages double-figures for Russell Turner's squad. Baker scores 13.3 points per game and shoots 50 percent from the floor.
 
One Last Thing
The Coyotes rank in the top-three in the Summit League in three-point shooting. The team has made 8.3 three-pointers per-game, which ranks third in the league, and shoots at a 35.9 percent clip from the arc, landing them the second-best three-point percentage in the league. South Dakota also ranks third in the Summit League at 77.1 percent from the free-throw line.