The Game
The Coyotes take on in-state rival South Dakota State at 1 p.m. Saturday inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center in Vermillion. It's game one of the Interstate Series sponsored by First Interstate Bank.
 
The game will be broadcast on Midco Sports and 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, KQSF 95.7 in Sioux Falls, or by using the Varsity Network app.
 
The Coyotes
South Dakota (9-10, 2-2 Summit) is coming off a big 74-73 overtime victory over St. Thomas on Thursday in Vermillion. Bostyn Holt made a go-ahead layup in overtime with 31 seconds left and the Coyotes survived four St. Thomas shots on the final possession. Max Burchill had five three-pointers and 17 points, Lahat Thioune tallied his ninth double-double of the season, and Jevon Hill provided a spark off the bench with some big shots down the stretch, including the offensive rebound and putback that sent the game into overtime.
 
Thioune is the 10^th-leading rebounder in that nation and his nine double-doubles also rank 10^th nationally. He has four more double-double performances than any Summit player. The 6-10 forward is averaging a double-double with 13.6 points per game and 10.2 rebounds per game.
 
The Jackrabbits   
South Dakota State (10-9, 3-1 Summit) had five double-digit scorers and held off Omaha for a 90-87 win at home Thursday. Sixth-year senior Matt Mims had a season-high 14 points in his sixth game back from an injury that forced him to miss the first 13 games. Mims is an all-defensive team honoree who has made 14-of-26 three-pointers through six games (.538).
 
The Jacks are one of the top shooting teams in the country. William Kyle III's 63.7 percent field goal percentage is 11th nationally. As a team, the Jackrabbits have shot over 50 percent in their last six games. Junior guard Zeke Mayo leads SDSU on all fronts at 18.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg, and 3.4 apg. Mayo has reach 20 points in nine games this season. Lat year, he put up 19 points in both meetings against South Dakota.

The Series
Saturday's matchup marks the 234^th meeting between South Dakota and South Dakota State. The Coyotes are looking for their first win in the series since 2021.
 
Up Next
South Dakota heads back out on the road to face Denver (Jan. 25) and Kansas City (Jan. 27) to wrap up the month of January.