VERMILLION, S.D. — South Dakota basketball returns to the Sanford Coyote Sports Center Thursday after playing four of its last five games on the road. The Yotes went 4-1 over that stretch of games and are back in the SCSC where they hold an 11-1 record.
 
Quick Hitters

• During the current three-game win streak, Dre Bullock set a new career high with 31 in a 91-87 win over Omaha, Chase Forte matched a career best with 25 points in an 86-79 win over Denver and the Yotes found a way in a 75-74 win over Oral Roberts. It was just the second time this season the Yotes won when scoring fewer than 80 points.
• Chase Forte leads the Coyotes and ranks No. 6 in the Summit League in points per game at 16.2. Forte also has the conference lead with 47 steals on the season.
• Isaac Bruns is second on the squad at 14.4 points per game and is shooting at a .476 clip. The 6'4 guard is active on the boards as the second leading rebounder on the team at 4.2 boards per game.
• Dre Bullock and Kaleb Stewart average 11.1 and 10.7 points per game, respectively.
• The Yotes feature one of the most explosive offenses in the NCAA, ranking No. 4 in the country in scoring offense at 85.7 points per game.
• The four teams scoring at a higher clip than the Yotes include Alabama (90.5), Gonzaga (87.2) and Kentucky (86.3).
• Over the last nine games, the Yotes have scored 90+ points in five games, 100+ twice and are averaging 87.6 points per contest.
• USD has scored 80+ points in 18 games this season.
• With the pair of wins last week, the Yotes have won three games in a row for the first time this season since starting the year with three straight victories over Southern, East Texas A&M and Mount Marty.

How to Follow

• Thursday's game vs Kansas City can be found on Midco Sports Plus and the Summit League 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 vs. Kansas City

• Kansas City hold an 11-8 lead all-time against the Yotes and have won the previous three meetings.
•  The Roos won the first meeting of the year 68-54 in KC.
• The 54 total points by the Yotes is their season low and the only time this season they've scored less than 70 points in a game.
• Chase Forte had a team-high 12 points and four assists but was 2-for-8 from the field.
• Paul Bruns knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, but the Yotes were held to 3-of-16 from deep.
• For the Roos, Jamar Brown had a game high 19 points with 11 rebounds, while Cameron Faas added 17 points and seven rebounds.

Offense vs. Defense

• Thursday's matchup between the Yotes and Roos will feature two contrasting styles of play.
• The Yotes are the conference leaders and rank No. 4 in the NCAA in points per game at 85.7. As one of the top teams in the country in tempo, the Yotes are also giving up the most points per game (83.2).
• The Roos are the top defensively squad in the conference, holding opponents to 67.1 points per game. They are the only team in the conference with a sub-70 scoring defense average.
• On offense, KC ranks No. 8 in the SL at 74.1 points per game. 

Three in a Row

• After a back-and-forth month of January where the Coyotes never strung together one or more wins or losses in a row, the Yotes picked up their second straight win at Denver Thursday 91-87.
• It is the Yotes first multiple-game win streak since Dec. 10-14 when they downed Wyoming (92-82) and Western Illinois (89-66). Both of those contests were played in the SCSC.
• The Yotes most recent win, 75-74 over ORU, was also just the second win of the season where USD scored less than 80 points.
   
• Back at Home
• After playing four of the last five games away from the SCSC, the Coyotes will enjoy three straight games on their home floor starting Thursday against Kansas City.
• The Yotes went 4-1 over the five game stretch and 3-1 in road contests.
• The one game at the SCSC was against the top team in the League, Omaha, with the Yotes handing the Mavericks their first conference loss 91-87 behind a career high 31 points by Dre Bullock. 

Three Headed Monster

• The combination of Dre Bullock, Chase Forte and Isaac Bruns have combined to score 131 of the Yotes 177 points in wins over Omaha and Denver.
• Bullock's scored 51 points in the two contests over the Mavs and Pios. Following a career-high 31 points against Omaha, Bullock scored 20 on 7-of-11 shooting against the Pioneers.
• Forte matched his career-high with 25 as he led the Yotes to a win over the Pios. He has had 10 steals over the past three contests.
• Bruns has scored in double-figures in eight of the last nine games.

Forgot About Dre

• Dre Bullock erupted for a career high 31 points in Wednesday's 91-87 win over Omaha and had a career-best six 3-pointers.
• Bullock made his second career start as a Yote in the contest and went 10-for-17 from the field with six rebounds and two steals.
• He is the first Coyote this season to eclipse the 30-point mark in a game and it's the sixth most points scored by a Summit League player in a single game.
• Bullock was key in the Yotes 15-point second half comeback, scoring 13 points while going 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. He buried all three of those treys in the final seven minutes of the second half.
• Bullock earned his first Kwik Star Summit League Men's Basketball Peak Performer of the Week honor after the performance against the Mavs.

Scoring in Bunches

• South Dakota eclipsed the 100-point threshold for the third time this season in a 102-93 win over North Dakota.
• The Yotes are averaging 85.7 points per game, which ranks No. 4 in the NCAA.
• The three teams scoring at a higher clip than the Yotes include Alabama (90.5), Gonzaga (87.2) and Kentucky (86.3).
• Over the last nine games, the Yotes have scored 90+ points in five games, 100+ twice and are averaging 87.6 points per contest.
• USD has scored 80+ points in all but seven games on the season.
• Part of the Coyotes offensive success has been its ability to reach the charity stripe. USD ranks No. 2 in free attempts per game (28.3) and No. 4 in free throw makes (19.7).
• The Yotes are 9-1 on the season when scoring 90+ points.

Protecting Home Court

• South Dakota got back to its winning ways at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center as they won 91-87 over previously unbeaten Omaha on Jan. 29. The 10-0 start at the SCSC was the best start at home since opening its doors in the 2016-17 season.
• The Yotes previous best start in the SCSC was during the 2016-17 season when they started 8-0 and ended the year with a 13-1 mark at home.
• South Dakota has had five years with double-digits wins in the SCSC (2016-17, 2017-18, 2019-20 and 2021-22, 2024-25).
• In their ninth season in the SCSC, the Yotes hold a 92-29 (.760%) record at home.
• The last time the Yotes started 10-0 or better at home was in the 2008-09 season when they won 14 straight in the DakotaDome to begin the season.

Getting to the Line

• The Coyotes 51 free throw attempts against Denver (1/4/25) is tied for the sixth most in a game this season across the NCAA.
• It was also only the sixth Summit League conference game where a team shot 50+ free throws in a game.
• South Dakota has attempted 30+ free throws in 15 games on the year, most recently at Oral Roberts Saturday.
• The Yotes have attempted less than 20 free throws in just five games this season.
• The Yotes rank No. 2 in the NCAA in free throw attempts per game (28.4) and No. 2 in free throws made per game (19.9). USD ranks No. 1 in the Summit League in both categories.
• Chase Forte is one of the best in the country at getting downhill and drawing fouls. Forte is No. 4 in the NCAA in free throw attempts (196) and No. 23 in free throw makes (122).
• The Yotes have made and attempted the most free throws during the Summit League season (222-for-317) and are shooting .700 percent.
• USD has 15 games with 30+ free throw attempts and has twice shot 40+ in a single game.
• The Yotes were 25-for-30 (83.3%) from the free throw line against Oral Roberts Thursday night, which was the second highest percentage from the charity stripe in a game this year.
• USD was 17-for-18 from the free throw line at Southern Indiana on Nov. 22 (94.4%).

Home Sweet Home

• The Yotes are averaging 90.1 points per game at the SCSC and hold opponents to an average of 75.9 points.
• USD has scored 90+ points in seven home games and reached 100+ once (112 against Randall 11/25).
• The Yotes hold a .497 shooting percentage and have held teams to a .429 shooting percentage.
• USD averages 8.0 3-pointers made at home.
• On the flip side, the Yotes have struggled on the road averaging 82.2 points per game while giving up 91.2.
• USD has 155 assists to 125 turnovers (1.24 assist-to-turnover ratio) and has turned over visiting teams 178 times to 145 assists.
• Nine of the Coyotes wins at the SCSC have been by 10 or more points.
• At the SCSC, Chase Forte averages a team high 17.0 points, 3.9 assists and 2.2 steals per game while shooting .508 percent from the field. Forte also grabs 3.8 boards per game.
• Isaac Bruns adds 15.5 points per game on a .519 shooting percentage, while Dre Bullock averages 11.3 and Kaleb Stewart adds 9.7 points per game.
• Paul Bruns had knocked the most triples at home with 21 on 45 attempts (43.8%) and is followed by Bullock's 19 (40.4%).
• USD has held the lead at halftime in eight of 12 home games and the score has been tied at the intermission twice.
• On average, the Yotes score 43.5 points in the first half, while holding visiting teams to 34.1 points in the opening 20 minutes.