The Game
South Dakota snapped a four-game losing streak with two home wins against St. Thomas and Western Illinois. The Coyotes shot 70 percent from the three-point line on Thursday and Kruz Perrott-Hunt posted a career-high 30 points Saturday to round out 2022. The Coyotes bring in the new year on the road at North Dakota Thursday night at 7 p.m. in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
 
The game will be televised on Midco Sports with Brian Shawn and Zach Dosch on the call. That broadcast can be found on Midco+ and ESPN+ as well. 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
Thursday's road matchup will be the 198th time these two teams have met. The long, historic series dates back to the first contest in the 1922-23 season. It's the second-longest series with an opponent for South Dakota behind the in-state rivalry with South Dakota State. USD swept the season series last year with a 75-68 win in Grand Forks and a 71-58 win in Vermillion. The two wins snapped a four-game skid against the Fighting Hawks for the Coyotes.

The Coyotes
South Dakota improved its home record this season to 5-2 after sweeping St. Thomas and Western Illinois last week. The Coyotes also won their 70th game inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center since the opening in 2016 after Saturday's win. The Coyotes followed a 70 percent effort from downtown on Thursday with a 52.6 percent three-point percentage Saturday. USD knocked down 24 total three-pointers on 39 attempts last week. South Dakota shot 62 percent from beyond the arc in the two games. Those two efficient nights from the three-point line propelled the Coyotes to first in the Summit and fourth nationally in three-point percentage at 40.8 percent.

Four Coyotes average double-figures for this offense. After dropping 30 points on Saturday, Perrott-Hunt overtook the team-lead in points at 13.2 points per game. He ranks 11th in the Summit League in scoring and ninth at 1.9 three-pointers per game. Behind Perrott-Hunt's lead, A.J. Plitzuweit is second at 12.5 points per game (13th in Summit) followed by Tasos Kamateros at 11.4 points per game (19th in Summit) and Paul Bruns at 11 points per game off the bench (23rd in Summit).

The Fighting Hawks
After a 6-25 season last year, North Dakota has already tied its win total from last season heading into the game on Thursday. The Fighting Hawks opened the season with their first two games coming on the road at Incarnate Word in the season-opener and at Elon. UND then went on a three-game winning streak with wins over Wisconsin-Stout, Utah Tech, and Cal State Fullerton at home to push its record to 5-3 nearing the end of November. Since then, the Fighting Hawks have lost five of their last six games including an 0-2 start to conference play.

In his fourth season at the helm, Paul Sather's squad includes a young roster with eight underclassmen and six upperclassmen. Two freshman have appeared on UND's starting five in the last two games in Treysen Eaglestaff and B.J. Omot. Omot leads the team in scoring at 11.2 points per game. Junior Matt Norman is second on the team at eight points per game.

Last time out, North Dakota fell to its in-state rival North Dakota State 71-49 on Friday, Dec. 30. The Fighting Hawks were held to a season-low 30.2 percent from the field on 16 made field goals. UND was also limited to 25 percent from the three-point line. A'Jahni Levias was the only Hawk to hit double-figures in that game with 10 points.

One Last Thing
Thursday will be the first time sophomore guard Bruns has played against his former team. Bruns was the Summit League Freshman of the Year for the Hawks and led them in scoring at 14.8 points per game last season.