The Game
South Dakota completes the trip up north with a Saturday matinee at North Dakota State. Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 1 p.m. from the Scheels Center in Fargo, N.D.
 
The game will be televised on WDAY Xtra. That broadcast can be found on ESPN+ as well as a stream on GoBison.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
Saturday's game will be the 186th all-time meeting between South Dakota and North Dakota State. NDSU swept the season series last year with two thrilling games. The first meeting of the 2021-22 season happened in Vermillion that went to overtime where the Bison pulled away for a 12-point win. The second meeting in Fargo came on a Monday night due to rescheduling. The Bison won on a game-winning layup by Sam Griesel to give NDSU a 76-74 win. North Dakota State has claimed the last four meetings and South Dakota has not won in Fargo since 2018. Saturday's game will also be only the third time in the last eight meetings that the game will be played on NDSU's home floor.
 
The Coyotes
South Dakota won its third consecutive game on a last-second jumper by Kruz Perrott-Hunt to outlast North Dakota 62-60 in Grand Forks Thursday night. The win lifted the Coyotes record to .500 at 8-8 on the season. The Coyotes picked up their first road victory of the season following the win in Grand Forks Thursday. The Coyotes were 0-5 in road games entering the game at North Dakota and are now 3-6 away from Vermillion this season.
 
During the three-game win streak, USD has averaged 78 points per game (234 total) and held opponents to 69 points per game (207 total) led by two straight performances in which USD allowed 63 points and 60 points. The Coyotes are now 8-2 this season when scoring 60 or more points and 6-2 when allowing less than 70 points per game.
 
The Bison
North Dakota State had large roster turnover this season led by the transfer of Sam Griesel to Nebraska and the graduation of Rocky Kresuer. The Bison got off to an unusual start to the year as they were 3-9 entering conference play. However, NDSU did start the year off with two top-10 matchups at No. 10 Arkansas and at No. 5 Kansas. Summit League play did not get off to a great start for David Richman's squad as they dropped their first two conference games at Western Illinois and at St. Thomas. A thumping of their in-state rival may have sparked something in this team though. The Bison have responded to an 0-2 start in Summit League play with a 71-49 win at North Dakota and a 65-59 win over South Dakota State Thursday night.
 
With a new team, North Dakota State's Grant Nelson has provided a foundation to the Bison. Nelson leads the team and is fifth in the Summit with 16.2 points per game and is shooting over 50 percent from the floor. He is second in the conference in that category and second with 8.1 rebounds per game. Junior Boden Skunberg (12.9 ppg) and sophomore Andrew Morgan (11.4 ppg) are the two other Bison averaging double-figures. Morgan tied a career-high in his recent outing versus SDSU with 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor. Morgan picked up a double-double by adding in 13 rebounds. Nelson added 17 points and Skunberg contributed 10 in Thursday's game.
 
One Last Thing
South Dakota ranks seventh in the nation and first in the Summit League with a 40.6 three-point percentage. The Coyotes are also ranked in the top-33 in two other categories. South Dakota ranks 33rd with 9.3 three-pointers made per game (2nd Summit) and 20th in the nation with a 76.6 free-throw percentage (4th Summit).