VERMILLION, S.D. — South Dakota basketball will take its two-game win streak to Manhattan, Kansas Saturday to take on the Kansas State Wildcats at 11 a.m.
 
Quick Hitters

• Junior guard Isaac Bruns was named to the Lou Henson Player of the Year Award Early Season Watch List earlier this week.
• Isaac Bruns has scored 20+ in each of the last six games and increased his scoring average to 20.7 points per game which ranks No. 2 in the conference and No. 23 in the NCAA.
• Bruns ranks No. 15 in the NCAA with 84 field goals made, No. 1 in free throws made (87) and No. 2 in free throw attempts (106).
• Bruns and Cameron Fens each set new career highs in last Saturday's win over PVAMU. Bruns poured in 29 points, while Fens tallied a 22-point, 14-rebound double-double. It was Fens' second double-double of the season
• The Coyotes pace the Summit League with an 84.0 points per game average. The Yotes have scored 80 or more points in eight games this season.
• Cameron Fens' first double-double of the season was an 18 point, 11 rebound performance in last Saturday's game at Northern Colorado.
• The Coyotes have been among the best in the NCAA so far this season in crashing the offensive glass, ranking No. 19 in the country with 14.5 offensive boards per game. USD has secured 10+ offensive rebounds in 11 of the first 13 games.
• South Dakota has gone to the line frequently through the first 13 games, ranking No. 5 in the NCAA in free throw attempts per game (29.8) and are No. 4 free throw makes per game (21.5).
• 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.
• 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 50-59 overall record.

How to Follow

• Saturday's matchup between the Coyotes and Wildcast will be available on ESPN+.
• The radio call by John Thayer can be found on the Coyote Sports Network on the Varsity Network app.

Series History

• Kansas State holds a 10-0 record all time against South Dakota.
• Saturday will be the first meeting between the two teams since the 2015-16 season when K-State won 93-72.
• All 10 games leading up to Saturday between South Dakota and Kansas State have been played in Manhattan.

Lou Henson Award Watch List

• Isaac Bruns was named to the Lou Henson Award Early Season Watch List.
• The award is presented annually to the top player in Mid-Major Division I College Basketball.
• Bruns leads the Coyotes with a 20.7 points per game average and ranks No. 2 in the Summit League in scoring.
• Three other Summit Leauge players were mentioned on the watch list in St. Thomas' Nolan Minessale, Omaha's Lance Waddles and North Dakota State's Demari Wheeler-Thomas.

Career Days

• A pair of Coyotes in Isaac Bruns and Cameron Fens had career days for the Yotes in Saturday's 97-85 win over Prairie View A&M.
• Bruns set another new career high point total, a common theme lately, with 29 points on 9-of-17 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers. Bruns also grabbed eight rebounds and went 9-of-12 from the free throw line.
• Fens notched his second double-double of the season with new career highs of 22 points and 14 rebounds. Four of his boards were off the offensive glass. He connected on 10-of-13 field goal attempts and was 2-for-3 from the free throw line.
• Fens would make it back-to-back double-doubles Wednesday night when he scored 13 points and had 11 rebounds against Dakota State.

Ice is Heating Up

• Isaac Bruns has filled up the scoring column over the past six games with six straight 20+ point performances.
• In three of those six games, Bruns has rewrote his career-high point total most recently against PVAMU last Saturday with 29 points.
• Bruns is averaging 25.7 points per game in the last five and is shooting 46.9% from the field.
• Bruns has taken advantage of his trips to the charity stripe going 56-for-67 (83.5%) over the last six.
• Bruns is among the best in the NCAA at getting to and converting at the free throw line as he ranks No. 1 in the country in free throw makes (87) and No. 2 in attempts (106).
• He ranks No. 15 in the NCAA in field goals (84) and No. 1 in field goal attempts (196).
• Bruns ranks No. 2 in the conference and No. 23 in the NCAA at 20.7 points per game.
• Bruns has scored the second most total points across the NCAA with 269. The only player who has more if fellow Summit League guard Nolan Minessale (St. Thomas) who has 286.

PPOTW for Isaac

• Isaac Bruns became the first Coyote this season to be named a Kwik Star Summit League Peak Performer of the Week Tuesday.
• Bruns poured in a then career high 24 points against Air Force Saturday and had six rebounds (four offensive).
• Bruns was key to holding off a second half run by the Falcons, as he scored 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting in the final 20 minutes to lead the Yotes to an 80-63 win in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Crashing the Glass

• Behind seven players with 10+ offensive rebounds on the season, the Coyotes rank No. 19 in the NCAA and No. 1 in the conference in offensive rebounds per game (14.7).
• Cameron Fens pulled down six offensive boards in the loss at Northern Colorado and leads USD with 27 on the season. Fens has three double-doubles on the season.
• Isaac Bruns and Jake Brack are second and third on the team with 24 and 18 offensive boards, respectively.
• The Yotes have pulled down 10+ offensive rebounds in 11 of 13 games to start the season.

Freebies

• South Dakota ranks in the top-5 in the NCAA in both free throw attempts per game (5th) at 29.8 and free throw makes per game (4th) at 21.5.
• Bruns has converted 87 of his 106 attempts at the charity stripe, while Uzziah Buntyn is second on the team and is 39-of-50.
• Five Coyotes with 20+ free throw attempts on the year are shooting at a 72.0% clip or higher.
• The Yotes have attempted 30+ free throws in six games this season, including a season-high 37-of-46 in the win over Southern Indiana. USD has made 20+ in seven contests.