South Dakota and Oral Roberts meet in Tulsa Thursday in what could be a preview of a Summit League Tournament game next weekend in Sioux Falls. The Coyotes and Golden Eagles are tied for fourth place in the standings with 8-8 records. Thursday is a rematch of a 101-57 South Dakota win in Vermillion back on Dec. 21.
 
A win and the Coyotes will compete in the No. 4 vs. No. 5 seeded matchup on Sunday, March 5. The opponent would be either Oral Roberts or Denver, who USD hosted Saturday. A loss could muddy the picture a bit depending on other Thursday results.
 
How to Watch: A free stream is available at www.oruathletics.com/watch.
 
How to Listen: Carter Woodiel from Coyote Sports Network is providing a radio broadcast for KVTK 101.5 FM/1570 AM in Yankton/Vermillion. You can listen to that broadcast here.
 
The Coyotes
South Dakota has won 18 consecutive games against Oral Roberts dating back to the 2015-16 season. The Coyotes' win back in December is easily their best performance to date. But both teams have changed considerably in two months' time. Jeniah Ugofsky was still in USD's lineup, for example, and Carley Duffney was coming off the bench.
 
Duffney is coming off a 20-point performance against Denver, her third such effort in the last seven games. Walker Demers, another freshman, scored in double figures in both games last week. Sophomore Grace Larkins continues to rank in the top three of the Summit in points, rebounds, assists and steals. She notched her seventh double-double of the season Saturday.
 
The Golden Eagles
Oral Roberts features one of the best offenses in the nation and with one of the best scorers in senior Hannah Cooper. It's been the defense, though, that has faltered during a current four-game skid. Oral Roberts has surrendered 91 (Western Illinois), 108 (North Dakota) and 103 (North Dakota State) points in its last three games. Oral Roberts averages a Summit-best 79 points, but allows 82 on average.
 
Sophomore Tirzah Moore, the reigning Summit Freshman of the Year and Oral Roberts' leading scorer a season ago, is averaging 11 points and 13 rebounds per game. She is a crucial piece of ORU's puzzle and she did not play against South Dakota back in December. Cooper averages 20.5 points per game. She took 19 shots and scored 16 points in the first matchup. Cooper and Moore are two of five ORU players who average more than 10 points per game.
 
Game One
Without Moore, South Dakota outrebounded Oral Roberts 56-26 in game one. Five Coyotes scored in double figures and USD also got 37 points from four players off its bench. Larkins scored 17 points despite playing just 20 minutes due to foul trouble. Macy Guebert did yeoman's work in shutting down Cooper and the Golden Eagles' offense. Oral Roberts shot 28 percent from the field. South Dakota shot 55 percent.