The Game
After playing its final non-conference game of the year last Wednesday, South Dakota opens Summit League play tonight in Kansas City. Tip-off for Monday night's game is set for 7 p.m. inside the Swinney Center in Kansas City, Mo.
 
The game will be streamed on KCRoos.com. 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
Monday's conference opener will be the 15th time these two programs have met. The Coyotes and Roos have split the first 14 matchups and met three times last season. Kansas City won the two regular season matchups last year, but USD won the one that mattered the most in the opening round of the Summit League Tournament by a final score of 74-61.
 
The Coyotes
South Dakota closed out the non-conference season at 5-7 after a tough home loss to Coastal Carolina. The Coyotes and Chanticleers played for the second team in the season with CCU taking both matchups. The final game was decided by one-point in favor of Coastal. Five Coyotes scored in double-figures in the loss to Coastal Carolina for the second time this season. A.J. Plitzuweit led the team with 19 points on a 6-of-9 mark from the field. He also sank 5-of-6 from behind the three-point line. Kruz Perrott-Hunt chipped in 18 points, also on 6-of-9 shooting. Tasos Kamateros added 17 points, Mason Archambault scored 12 points, and Damani Hayes rounded out the double-digit efforts with 10 points. Hayes recorded the first double-double for South Dakota this season by adding in 14 rebounds to his 10-point total.
 
The Coyotes have four players averaging double-digit scoring. Plitzuweit leads the team at 12.1 points per game followed by Perrott-Hunt (11.3), Paul Bruns (11.0), and Kamateros (10.3). Plitzuweit ranks 15th in the Summit in scoring and 16th in assists per game at 2.3.
 
The Roos
Kansas City was hit hard by changes this off-season, losing multiple players to the portal and graduation. On top of that, the Roos' head coach Billy Donlon left to take an associate head coach job at Clemson. Marvin Menzies is at the helm of this new era of Kansas City basketball after being hired back in April. Menzies has been a head coach for 12 years prior to joining the Roos, having previously served as the head coach at New Mexico State and UNLV. Menzies' resume is highlighted by five NCAA Tournament appearances.
 
KC is off to a 4-9 start after dropping its last two non-conference games at Oklahoma and Green Bay. Despite scoring 64 points per game, which is last in the Summit League, the Roos have two high-level scorers in RayQwandis Mitchell and Shemarri Allen. Mitchell averages 16.7 points per game while Allen averages 16 points. The two rank second and third, respectively, in the Summit League in scoring behind ORU's Max Abmas. Anderson Kopp is the third Roo averaging double-figures at 13.0 points per game.  This game may come down to who rebounds the ball better in Monday's Summit opener. As a team, KC ranks first in the conference in combined rebounds (39.3) and offensive rebounds (14). Allen David Mukeba Jr. ranks second in the conference with 8.3 rebounds per game.
 
One Last Thing
The Coyotes rank in the top-50 nationally in three categories. Their best is a 76.6 free-throw percentage which ranks 25th in the nation. The team also ranks 40th in three-point percentage at 38.3 percent and 46th with 9.2 three-pointers made per game.