VERMILLION, S.D. – South Dakota head men's basketball coach Eric Peterson has announced the schedule for the 2023-24 season. Peterson's second year at the helm features a home-opener to kick-off the season, 14 home games, an early season Arizona tournament, a trip to California, and the Big Sky-Summit Challenge.  
 
South Dakota opens the season at home on Nov. 6 and hosts Mount Marty inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. They return to the Sanford Pentagon to take on the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on Nov. 10.
 
South Dakota's matchup against the Air Force Academy on Nov. 26 will mark the third-straight season the two teams will face-off and fifth game played overall. The Coyotes are hosting the Falcons in Vermillion for the first time. In 2021, South Dakota defeated the Falcons 59-53 inside the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls.
 
The previously announced inaugural Arizona Tip-Off tournament takes place Nov. 17-18 in Glendale, Arizona. South Dakota will face VMI on Nov. 17 while Northern Arizona and Purdue Fort Wayne compete on the other side of the bracket. The championship and third-place games will be played Nov. 18.
 
As a part of the Arizona Tip-Off, each team from the Cactus Division will host one team from the Desert Division during non-conference play. South Dakota will face the Big East's DePaul Nov. 14 in Chicago in the second meeting between the two programs. The first took place in Vermillion during the 1938-39 season.
 
South Dakota has added a single-season home-and-home with Cal State Bakersfield and will fulfill its end of the home-and-home that brought UC Irvine to Vermillion last season. The Coyotes will host Bakersfield on Dec. 9 before making the trek out to California to face the Roadrunners on Dec. 19. UC Irvine will host the Coyotes on Dec. 16. The Yotes wrap up the trip to the west coast at San Diego on Dec. 21.
 
The Big Sky Challenge, where Summit teams will take on Big Sky foes conference-wide, breaks up league programming in January. South Dakota's opponents include Eastern Washington (Jan. 3) at home and Montana (Jan. 6) on the road.
 
The Summit League season tips off on Dec. 29 with a road game at North Dakota State. South Dakota will host Omaha on Dec. 31 in its first home Summit game. Rivalry matchups with South Dakota State are scheduled for Jan. 20 in Vermillion and Feb. 3 in Brookings. The regular season concludes at North Dakota on March 2. The Summit League Tournament returns to the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center March 8-12 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
 
Season tickets for Coyote basketball are on sale now. Fans can purchase a combined men's and women's season ticket for $300 or a men's season ticket for $200. Tickets can be purchased online by clicking here or by calling the USD ticket office at (605) 677-5959.