Summit League foes will collide when the North Dakota State Bison (11-6) play the South Dakota Coyotes (9-9) at Scheels Arena. Action begins at 8:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Jan. 13 and can be seen on EFC and ES3.
The Bison are hoping to rebound after their 66-65 loss to Oral Roberts on Saturday. Despite the loss, Dexter Werner earned his second double-double this season with 19 points and 10 rebounds. The Coyotes, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 79-73 loss against Omaha on Saturday. Tre Burnette played well for South Dakota, recording 14 points, five rebounds, and three steals.
While the Bison have a good Straight Up (SU) record (11-6), they’ve been poor Against The Spread (ATS) with a 5-9 record. Not making mistakes with the ball is a staple of the North Dakota State offense, which averages just 10.4 turnovers per game.
Over on the other bench, the Coyotes have records of 6-8 ATS and 9-9 SU. South Dakota has not performed well ATS during its last 10 games, earning a 2-5 record. The Coyotes convert their shots at a high percentage, ranking 44th in the country at .473. The Coyotes are an unselfish team with an average of 16.5 assists per game, ranking 40th in Division I.
These conference foes will be squaring off for the first time this season. In their most recent meeting a season ago, North Dakota State came out on top, bumping its SU record to 7-1 over South Dakota in their most recent meetings. Furthermore, North Dakota State holds the advantage ATS with a record of 6-2. North Dakota State held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers two times, while South Dakota was never able to do so in their most recent five games.
Predictions: SU Winner – NDakSt, ATS Winner – NDakSt
Notes
The North Dakota State Bison have a defensive rating of 97.1 (ranked 83rd), while the South Dakota Coyotes have an offensive rating of 105.9 (ranked 173rd).
North Dakota State has an average field goal percentage of 44.9%. South Dakota is an abysmal 2-7 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The North Dakota State Bison and the South Dakota Coyotes both rank higher in average field goal percentage when compared to their effective field goal percentages. North Dakota State is 149th and 128th in the nation for eFG% and FG% respectively, while South Dakota ranks 67th and 44th in these categories.
South Dakota ranks 40th in assists, recording 16.5 per game. North Dakota State performs worse at 259th with 12.4 assists per game.
On average, North Dakota State makes 7.1 steals per game. South Dakota is a losing 2-4 when it gives up at least 7 steals.
