VERMILLION, S.D. — South Dakota basketball starts a two-game road trip Saturday when they face Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado for its second game of the Big Sky – Summit Challenge.
 
Quick Hitters
·      South Dakota starts a two-game road trip Saturday at Northern Colorado for its second game of the Big Sky - Summit Challenge. 
·      Isaac Bruns set a new career high in points scored in each of the last games, but the Yotes fell to Portland State Wednesday night 77-71. Bruns scored 28 in the contest, after pouring in 24 last Saturday against Air Force. 
·      Bruns picked up his first career Summit League Peak Performer of the Week honor Tuesday following his performance against Air Force.
·      USD has won five of its last seven games and have scored 80+ points in all five wins. The Coyotes are averaging 83.2 points per game which paces the Summit League through the early part of the season.
·      In the Yotes home 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. 2 in the conference at 18.6 points per game this season
·      The Coyotes have been among the best in the NCAA so far this season in crashing the offensive glass, ranking No. 5 in the country with 16.00 offensive boards per game. 
·      Six Coyotes have over 10 offensive rebounds this year with Jake Brack and Isaac Bruns lead the way with 16. Cameron Fens (14), Evan Anderson (13), Vince Buzelis (12) and Uzziah Buntyn (10) all have 10+ offensive rebounds.
·      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 48-57 overall record.


How to Follow

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

 
Series History

• South Dakota holds a 31-23 record all-time against Northern Colorado, but the Bears are 14-12 against the Coyotes in Greeley. 
• Northern Colorado has won the last three against the Yotes, but USD had won the six matchups prior to UNC's win streak. 

 
Back-to-Back Career Highs

• Isaac Bruns has set a new career high scoring in each of the last two games and is No. 2 in the conference at 18.6 points per game.
• Bruns scored 24 in the Coyote win against Air Force in Rapid City, South Dakota last Saturday. 
• He poured in his third 20+ point game of the season Wednesday night and had a new career best 28 points. 
• Bruns also set a new career with 11 made free throws. 

 
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

• Led by Jake Brack and Isaac Bruns' 16 offensive rebounds, the Coyotes rank No. 5 in the NCAA and No. 1 in the conference in offensive rebounds per game (16.00).
• Cameron Fens has 14 o-boards, while Evan Anderson has 13, while Vince Buzelis (12) and Uzziah Buntyn (10) also have double-digit offensive rebounds.
• 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 six of the last eight games. 
• Jordan Crawford had a team high and then season high 18 points against Missouri, scoring 16 of his points in the first half of the contest.
• Crawford followed that performance up with a 25-point outburst against SC State Sunday, which was a new career-high. 
• The Coyotes have been led in scoring by a true freshman in two games this season with Jesse McIntosh scoring 20 in a win over Ozark Christian College (11/9) and Uzziah Buntyn pouring in 19 points and five 3-pointers in the 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 has led the Yotes in scoring in each of the last two games, with new career highs in both, and has a team leading 18.6 points per game average.

 
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 and has a Summit League leading 83.2 points per game average.
• South Dakota has scored over 80 points in five of the last seven 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 are averaging 31.22 bench points per game.
• A trio of freshmen in Jesse McIntosh, Uzziah Buntyn and Vince Buzelis are the leaders off the bench for USD.
• Buntyn has moved into the starting lineup over the last three games and is averaging 10.0 points per game, after dropping a career-high 19 points in the win over Western Michigan. He is shooting 49.2% from the field and 47.8% from deep.
• McIntosh, who made one start in the season opener, has averaged 6.6 points per game and has grabbed 3.2 boards per game.
• Buzelis has scored on average 4.6 points per game and grabbed 3.8 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 minutes and knocked down eight 3-pointers. 
• South Dakota had 23 points off turnovers, 25 on second chances and 42 bench points in the opening half.