The Game
The Coyotes are set to open Summit League play at North Dakota State on Friday in Fargo.
 
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside Scheels Center. The game will be streamed on the Summit League Network available via the Midco Sports Plus app. Fans can also 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 Coyotes
South Dakota (7-6) returns to the Midwest for the start of league play after a three-game road trip in California.
 
Junior transfer Kaleb Stewart is back in the starting lineup after a lower leg injury against Air Force on Nov. 26 put him on the bench. Stewart came off the bench against UC Irvine on Dec. 16 and had six points in 21 minutes. He made his return to the starting lineup on Dec. 19 at CSU Bakersfield and had a team-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field in 24 minutes of action. At San Diego on Dec. 21, Stewart tallied his second consecutive double-figure scoring game and eighth of the season with 12 points, including three three-pointers. He had started all seven games for the Yotes and was averaging 13.9 points before the injury.
 
Senior transfer Lahat Thioune is the Coyotes' leading scorer and rebounder at 13.8 points per game and 9.5 rebounds per game. Thioune leads the Summit with five double-doubles so far this season and has scored in double-figures in eight games. Thioune also leads the league in all four rebounding categories: rebounds (114), defensive rebounds per game (6.0), offensive rebounds per game (3.4), and rebounds per game (9.5).
 
As a squad, the Yotes are shooting a league-leading 37.8 percent from behind the three-point line (40^th NCAA). South Dakota averages 8.1 three-pointers per game and are led beyond the arc by junior Paul Bruns. Bruns has knocked down 28 threes so far this season and is shooting 35.9 percent from the three-point line.
 
Bruns scored a season-high 26 points on Dec. 21 at San Diego, just one point shy of his career-high. Bruns, who has scored in double-figures in seven of the last eight games, went 6-of-6 from the free throw line and hit a season-high six three-pointers.
 
The Bison
North Dakota State (7-6) returns home to Fargo and is looking to snap a two-game skid. The Bison went on the road before the holiday break and fell to Illinois State and Southern Illinois but remain undefeated at home so far this season.
 
Boden Skunberg, Tajavis Miller, and Andrew Morgan are the three Bison averaging double-figure scoring for North Dakota State and the trio has started all 13 games so far this season. Skunberg, a preseason all-Summit selection, leads the Bison on offense with 13.2 points per game. The lone senior on the Bison squad has two 25-point performances this season and averages 38.9 percent shooting from the field.
 
Four the Bison's five starters from a season ago returned to the starting lineup this season. Skunberg, Miller, and Morgan all scored in double-figures in North Dakota State and South Dakota's most recent meeting last season in the opening round of the Summit League Tournament.
 
As a squad, NDSU ranks 18^th in the nation for fewest fouls committed per game, averaging just 13.8 fouls per game through the first 13 games. The Bison rank 59^th nationally in three-point percentage at 36.9 percent.
 
The Series
The Bison own a 107-84 advantage over the Coyotes and won the most recent meeting a season ago. Last season, USD and NDSU split the regular season. The Bison defeated the Coyotes in Fargo 73-61 on Jan. 7. On Feb. 2, USD defeated NDSU 71-62 in Vermillion. On March 5, 2023, South Dakota and North Dakota State met in the first round of the Summit League Tournament at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Bison narrowly defeated the Coyotes 70-68 to advance to the semifinals.
 
One Last Thing
Friday's game in Fargo marks South Dakota's fourth-straight road game in the last two weeks. The Coyotes return to Vermillion on Dec. 31 to host Omaha at 2 p.m. inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.