SDSU-USD Preview

You know the game is big when it has a name and when South Dakota State and The University of South Dakota play anything these days it’s the South Dakota Showdown presented by South Dakota Corn.

Today is the 207^th meeting between the Jackrabbits and Coyotes and to give you an idea of how intense this rivalry is, both schools are still debating the outcome of a game back in March of 1915. That’s hard core.

These two teams are coming in fresh off two vastly different games Thursday night.  SDSU (11-5 overall/2-1 in the Summit League) went on a tear in the first half at Kansas City, led by Jordan Dykstra’s 4 3-pointers, capping the 1^st 20 minutes with an 18-0 run to lead by 29 at the break, en route to a 77-61 win.

USD (6-10/2-2) saw the roof cave in on them in the 1^st half at home against North Dakota State Thursday.  The Bison scored on their first 10 possessions, shot 80% in the 1^st half and were up 16-2 after six minutes, en route to a 92-66 beat down of the Coyotes.

Some things to watch in this one today:

This is the sixth straight road game for Jacks, who haven’t played at home since December 9^th. Will road fatigue be a factor?

It could be a historic day for Jacks senior point guard Nate Wolters.  He needs just 15 points (6 below his average) to become the school’s all-time leading scorer, breaking Mark Tetzlaff’s mark of 1,931 points from 1981-85.

3-point shooting could be a key at the Dakota Dome, State’s Jordan Dykstra and the U’s Casey Kasperbauer each hit five Thursday night.

USD needs to do a much better job inside today.  The Coyotes were outscored 46-22 in the paint against NDSU, 13-3 on second chance points.  USD’s is getting outrebounded by an average of 5 per game, that’s 305^th out of 345 teams in the nation.

The two teams spit last season, each winning on its’ home floor.  The Jacks held the Coyotes to just 24% shooting in the first half in Brookings, leading by as many as 37, before cruising to an 86-56 win. USD won in Vermillion less than a moth later with a strong first half of its’ own.  USD held SDSU to 30% shooting in the first 20 minutes, including 0-8 on 3-pointers, opened up a 21 point lead and held off 10 State 3’s in the second, to win 72-68.

The Coyotes will need a strong first half today, they’ve won all four games this season they’ve led at the break, but are 1-9 when trailing.  The Jacks are 8-2 when leading after 20 minutes.

Tipoff is 4:05pm in Vermillion.