The Game
The long, historic rivalry meets in the Summit League Tournament as South Dakota and South Dakota State duel for a spot in the championship game. The Coyotes and Jacks will square off in what should be a packed Denny Sanford PREMIER Center Monday night at 6 p.m.
 
The game is being televised by Midco Sports. Tom Nieman, Brad Newitt, and Elaina Lanson will have the call. The Midco Sports broadcast can be found on Midco Sports Plus or ESPN+, both of which require a subscription. John Thayer has the call on the Coyote Sports Network. Stations include KVHT 106.3 FM (Yankton/Vermillion), KQSF 95.7 (Sioux Falls) and KWSN 98.1 (Sioux Falls).
 
If You Are Going…
Join USD fans, friends and alumni for a pre and postgame social in the Coyote hospitality room in Ballroom A of the Convention Center. The hospitality room opens two hours before and one hour after each game. A bar is available with light snacks provided. Note that all bars at the Convention Center and the PREMIER Center will accept credit card purchases only.
 
Cheer on the team as the players arrive at the tournament as a part of the Coyote Walk, 90 minutes prior to the game outside the hospitality room by lining the north side of the Convention Center hallway.
 
The PREMIER Center also has a clear bag policy. Charlie's offers clear bags for $9.99.
 
The Series
Just like every other conference opponent, South Dakota was unable to get a win against South Dakota State in its two meetings. The Jacks shot 57 percent from the field in the first meeting to lead them to victory and then followed that performance by shooting 60 percent from the floor to take game two in Vermillion. Monday night's game will be the 231st installment between these two rivals.
 
The Coyotes
South Dakota opened up the conference tournament with a 74-61 win over Kansas City after meeting them for the second time in ten days. The Coyotes dropped both regular season matches against the Roos but managed to get past Kansas City when it mattered most. All five Coyote starters scored in double figures led by a team-high 15 points from Tasos Kamateros. Kamateros also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. The Coyotes also got it done on the defensive end by holding the Roos to 32 percent shooting and limiting Evan Gilyard to 11 points on 3-of-13 shooting.
 
In the two games against South Dakota State in the regular season, Mason Archambault led the Coyotes in scoring with 16 points in the first meeting in Brookings while Kruz Perrott-Hunt scored a team-high 15 points in the rematch in Vermillion. Archambault averaged 15 points in both games against the Jacks and combined to shoot 11-of-21 (52 percent) from the field and 6-of-10 (60 percent) from three-point range.
 
The Jacks
South Dakota State brings the nation's second longest win-streak at 19 games heading into Monday's game. The Jacks are one of two teams in the country to run the table and finish undefeated in conference play (Murray State, Ohio Valley Conference). SDSU had five players selected to the All-Summit team this season including coach of the year in Eric Henderson and player of the year in Baylor Scheierman. Luke Appel was named sixth man of the year while Scheierman and Douglas Wilson both received first-team honors. Freshman Zeke Mayo earned a spot on the all-newcomer team to round out the honors for the Jacks.
 
SDSU continued its run with an 87-79 win against Omaha in the Summit League Tournament quarterfinal game Saturday night. Wilson (22) and Scheierman (20) were the only two Jackrabbits in double figures in that game on Saturday. In the two meetings against the Coyotes in the regular season, Wilson averaged 17.5 points while Scheierman averaged 17 points to pace the Jackrabbit offense.
 
One Last Thing
In the game against Kansas City Sunday night, South Dakota avenged their two regular season losses thanks in part to their efforts on the defensive end. Not only did they hold they hold the Roos to 32 percent shooting, but they also did not allow a single field goal in the final 5:35 of the game. That allowed the Coyotes lead to blossom from a one-point lead to a 13-point advantage by the time the final buzzer sounded.