VERMILLION, S.D. — South Dakota closes out the regular season Saturday at 1 p.m. against South Dakota State for a Senior Day Interstate Series matchup, presented by First Interstate Bank.
 
Quick Hitters

• With a win Saturday, the Coyotes would sweep the regular season series over the Jackrabbits for the first time since the 1996-97 season.
• A win, accompanied by a St. Thomas win over Omaha, would bump the Yotes up to the No. 4 seed for next week's Summit League Tournament. A South Dakota and Omaha win Saturday would solidify USD as the No. 6 seed, while a loss would see the Yotes as the No. 7 seed next week.
• The first meeting between the Coyotes and Jackrabbits was a tale of two halves, as the Yotes jumped out to a 43-32 lead in Brookings. SDSU made it interesting late, but the Yotes went back to Vermillion with a 68-67 win.
• Jordan Crawford led the way with 19 points and five 3-poitners, while Cameron Fens posted a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double.
• Since the start of league play, Cameron Fens has been dominant down low averaging 17.6 points and 10.5 rebounds per game while shooting 61.3% from the field.
• Fens notched his 12th double-double of the year last Saturday night with 25 points and 13 rebounds and has nine in league play. His streak of five straight games with a double-double ended Wednesday night as he battled foul trouble throughout. Fens averaged 21.2 points and 11.8 rebounds over that five-game stretch.
• After playing in only four conference games a season ago, Cameron Fens has been one of the best in the paint to open the Summit League slate. He is the only player in the conference averaging a double-double in Summit League play.
• Uzziah Buntyn has continued to step into larger roles as the season has progressed in his freshman season and has three 20+ point games in conference play. After a pair of single-digit scoring games, Buntyn's averaged 16.0 points in the last two games while shooting 54.5% from the field.
• Jordan Crawford has been a consistent scoring threat for the Coyote offense but saw his 11-game double-digit point streak come to a close last Saturday with nine points at Oral Roberts. He lit it up in Wednesday's win over Omaha with 26 points on 8-of-12 shooting with five triples.
• Crawford leads the Summit League with 50 3-pointers in conference play.
• Crawford's poured in 22 or more points in five of the last 11 games, including a career-high effort of 33 points with seven 3-pointers against NDSU (Jan. 31).
• In conference play, the trio of Fens, Crawford and Buntyn rank inside the top-12 in scoring with Fens at No. 6 (17.6), Crawford at No. 9 (17.0) and Buntyn at No. 12 (13.9).
• South Dakota goes to the line frequently, ranking No. 11 in the NCAA in free throw attempts per game (26.4) and are No. 10 free throw makes per game (19.5). Through 15 Summit League games, USD is averaging 18.5 makes and 24.3 attempts.
• Eric Peterson is in year four as the head coach of the South Dakota men's basketball team and holds a 58-68 overall record.     

• Saturday's matchup between the Coyotes and the Jackrabbits will be available on Midco Sports Two, Midco Sports Plus and the Summit League Network.
• The radio call by John Thayer can be found on the Coyote Sports Network on the Varsity Network app.

• South Dakota snapped a 10-game skid against the Jacks on February 7 with a 68-67 win in Brookings, South Dakota. It was just the second win in Brookings in the Dl era.
• With a win Saturday, the Yotes will secure their first regular season series sweep of the Jacks since the 1996-97 season.
• The Yotes last win at home vs the Jacks was on January 19, 2020, when current assistant coach Triston Simpson poured in 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting as USD won 99-84.
• In the first meeting this season, the Yotes raced out to a 43-32 lead at halftime behind a combined 23 points from Jordan Crawford and Cameron Fens.
• The game would come down to the wire after the Jacks opened the early parts of the second half with a 17-0 run that diminished the Yotes first half lead.
• SDSU led 67-64 with two minutes remaining, but Crawford answered with his fifth 3-pointer to tie the game. A free throw from Uzziah Buntyn would be the difference as the Jacks last three possessions were empty and the Yotes left Brookings with a 68-67 win.

• In the final week of the regular season, the Coyotes completed the regular season sweep of Omaha Wednesday night and will look to do the same against the Jackrabbits Saturday.
• The Coyotes entered the week 2-0 on the season against both Omaha and South Dakota State and won by a combined five points in those wins. The Yotes put together one of their most impressive 40-minute showings Wednesday and cruised to an 89-72 win over a surging Maverick team.
• South Dakota's averaged 85.4 points per game in the SCSC, while holding visitors to a 76.3 average.
• The Yotes hold a +3.8 advantage in rebounding at home and have a 219-174 assist-to-turnover ratio.

• For just the second time in the Dl era, the Coyotes picked up a win over South Dakota State in Brookings 68-67 on February 7.
• The win also snapped a 10-game skid against the Jackrabbits.
• The trio of Jordan Crawford, Cameron Fens and Uzziah Buntyn combined for 48 of 68 points. Crawford led the way with 19 points and five 3-pointers, while Fens secured his ninth double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
• The Coyotes connected on 10+ 3-pointers for the 12th time this season, while their 13 free throw attempts are the lowest amount they've attempted in a game this year.

• South Dakota has seen eight players go down and miss extended time with injuries this season.
• Despite that the Coyotes still find themselves in the middle of the Summit League standings with a 7-8 conference mark.
• Jake Brack made his return to the court for the first time since December 18 (vs. Dakota State) in the Jan. 21 game at Omaha.
• Silas Bennion and Trent Hudgens were added to the roster prior to the first meeting with St. Thomas and have plugged right into the rotation.
• Vince Buzelis returned to the court for the first time since the December 28 game against Mount Marty in the Jan. 29 win over Oral Roberts. Buzelis pulled down nine rebounds and had three assists in 26 minutes of action. Buzelis has started the last seven games and set a new career high of 19 points in last Thursday's loss at Denver.
• Buntyn's role continues to evolve in his freshman season and averaged 17.6 points over a seven game stretch (Jan. 21 to Feb. 7). He was 53-of-61 from the free throw line in those seven games.
• Prior to Saturday's game at Oral Roberts, Crawford had scored in double-figures in 11 straight games and knocked down three or more 3-pointers in eight of those contests. He leads the Summit League with 50 made triples in conference play (3.3/game).

• Five of the last eight games have been decided by single-digits points, including two overtime games.
• Two those games were decided by a single point in back-to-back games. The Yotes left Brookings with a 68-67 win over the Jackrabbits (Feb. 7) but fell 71-72 to North Dakota in the SCSC in their most recent game (Feb. 11).
• Playing without one of the NCAA's top scorers in Isaac Bruns for the first time this season, the Coyotes picked up a gritty road win at Omaha 68-64 earlier this season.
• In the absence of Burns, Jordan Crawford let it fly on his way to a career high 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting with five 3-pointers. Uzziah Buntyn and Cameron Fens had 17 and 16 points, respectively as the trio combined to score 60 of USD's 68 points.
• Silas Bennion made his first career start as a Coyote and had a team-high four assists in a season-high 32 minutes of action.
• South Dakota held Omaha to 1-for-19 (5.3%) from the 3-point line in the game.
• The trio of Crawford, Fens and Buntyn scored 39 of the 40 second half points.

• Cameron Fens battled foul trouble in Wednesday's game and saw his double-double streak end at five games. The Coyote center averaged 21.2 points and 11.8 rebounds during that stretch. Fens scored 20+ points in four of the five double-doubles.
• Fens had a monster night in the Coyotes home win over Kansas City. The Coyote center set new career highs of 31 points and 15 rebounds on 10-of-14 shooting.
• Fens' 15 rebounds are the most by a Coyote since Lahat Thioune's 19 rebounds against North Dakota State (12/29/23).
• Fens has now set career highs in both points and rebounds in the same game twice this season, as he scored 22 points and had 14 rebounds earlier this season against Prairie View A&M.
• After playing in just four Summit League games a season ago due to injury, Fens has averaged 17.6 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks while shooting 61.3% from the floor in Summit League play.
• Fens has scored 10+ in 21 of the last 24 games with 12 double-doubles.
• He had three straight double-doubles (1/10-1/17) where he averaged 22.3 points and 13.7 rebounds per game while shooting 75.8% from the field.
• Fens ranks No. 28 in the NCAA and leads the conference in total rebounds (259), No. 29 in field goal percentage (59.2%) and is No. 20 in the country with 12 double-doubles.

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