VERMILLION, S.D. — South Dakota basketball hits the road for the second time this season, traveling to face Missouri Thursday night at 7 p.m. in Columbia, Missouri.  
 
Quick Hitters
·       South Dakota heads to Columbia, Missouri Thursday for a meeting with undefeated SEC foe Missouri. 
·       The Coyotes won their third straight Sunday afternoon with an 83-78 win over Western Michigan. 
·       The Yotes ended the game against the Broncos in a flurry with an 11-0 run over the final 4:32 of the second half. Uzziah Buntyn had a career day with 19 points, 14 of which came in the second half on 5-of-6 shooting with four 3-pointers.
·       In the Coyotes win over Ozark Christian on Nov. 9, South Dakota set a new program record for points in a first half with 72, breaking the record of 70 points against Westmar in 1977.
·       Preseason All-Summit League First Team selection Isaac Bruns ranks No. 5 in the conference at 17.4 points per game this season
·       In his first collegiate game, Vince Buzelis recorded his first double-digit rebound game with 11 to lead the Yotes. Buzelis scored in double-figures for the first time in last week's game at Creighton with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting and had three blocks.
·       Evan Anderson, a redshirt freshman, has started the previous four games and has been a force on the offensive glass. Of his 20 rebounds on the season, 13 have been offensive. Jake Brack has also been active on the glass with 20 of his rebounds being offensive.
·       Bruns ranked No. 10 in the conference in scoring a season ago and is the league's leading returner scorer at 14.6 points per game. 
·       South Dakota averaged 89.3 points per game on its home court a season ago, while holding visiting teams to a 77.3 points per game average. While the Yotes still averaged over 80 points per game on the road (81.6), they surrendered 89.5 points per game to the host teams.
·       After scoring in the 70s in the first two games of the season, the Coyote offense found its rhythm and is averaging 101.0 points per game over the last three contests.
·       South Dakota was picked to finish fifth in the Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll and received one first place vote. Isaac Bruns was named to the conference's preseason first team. He was an All-Summit League Honorable Mention a season ago.
·       Eric Peterson enters year four as the head coach of the South Dakota men's basketball team and holds a 46-55 overall record.

How to Follow
·      Thursday's matchup between the Coyotes and Tigers will be broadcasted on the SEC Network+.
·      The radio call by John Thayer can be found on the Coyote Sports Network, KVHT 106.3 fm, or 95.7 fm, or on the Varsity Network app.
 
Series History
·      The Coyotes and Tigers will meet on the hardwood for just the fifth time and for the first time since the 1976-77 season.
 
Crashing the Glass
·      Led by Evan Anderson's 13 offensive rebounds and Jake Brack's 12 through four games, the Coyotes rank No. 20 in the NCAA and No. 1 in the conference in offensive rebounds per game (16.2).
·      Nine Coyotes have grabbed 4+ offensive rebounds this season and six have 7+.
·      In Porter Ihen's 20-point, 13-rebound double-double, seven of his boards were off the offensive glass.
·      Ihnen is the first Coyote this season to record a double-double.
 
We've Got Options
·      The Coyotes have had a different leading scorer in each of the last four games.
·      In two of the last three games, the Coyotes' leading scorer was a true freshman with Jesse McIntosh scoring 20 in a win over Ozark Christian College (11/9). Uzziah Buntyn paced the Yotes with 19 points and five 3-pointers in Sunday's win over Western Michigan. 
·      Redshirt-sophomore, Shey Eberwein, had a team-high 18 in a win over Southern Indiana, which also set a new career-high.
·      Isaac Bruns led the Yotes in scoring in the first two games of the year and averages a team-high 17.4 points per game.
 
Scoring in Bunches
·      The Yotes finished last season ranked No. 3 in the NCAA at 85.2 points per game. 
·      After scoring in the high 70s in the first two games of the year, the Coyote offense has found its groove over the last three games for a 101.0 points per game average.
·      South Dakota has scored over 80 points in each of the last three games, including a 121 point outburst against Ozark Christian.
 
Bench Mob
·      After ending the 2024-25 season with the No. 10 ranked bench scoring unit (30.88 pts/game), the Coyotes rank No. 14 in the NCAA at 41.2 bench points this season.
·      A trio of freshmen in Jesse McIntosh, Uzziah Buntyn and Vince Buzelis are the leaders off the bench for USD.
·      Buntyn's averaging 10.0 points per game, after dropping a career-high 19 points in Sunday's win over Western Michigan. He is shooting 54.5% from the field and 50.5% from deep.
·      McIntosh, who made one start in the season opener, has averaged 9.6 points per game and has grabbed 4.6 boards per game.
·      Buzelis has scored on average 7.2 points per game and grabbed 4.6 boards per game.
 
72 in a Half
·      The Coyotes set a new program record with 72 first half points against Ozark Christian College. 
·      The Yotes were 28-for-47 (59.6%) from the field in the first 20 minute sand knocked down eight 3-pointers. 
·       South Dakota had 23 points off turnovers, 25 on second chances and 42 bench points in the opening half.