Summit League foes will lock horns when the South Dakota Coyotes (9-10) face off against the Western Illinois Leathernecks (7-9) at DakotaDome. Action begins at 8:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Jan. 20.
The Coyotes are hoping to rebound after their 66-65 loss to North Dakota State in their last matchup. Casey Kasperbauer was the team’s leading scorer with 19 points. The Leathernecks, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 77-68 loss against Oral Roberts in their last game. Garret Covington led the team in scoring with 22 points.
South Dakota is a five-point favorite against Western Illinois and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at 148 points. The Coyotes come into this game 9-10 Straight Up (SU) and 7-8 Against The Spread (ATS). The Coyotes are one of the best in Division I in terms of field-goal percentage, shooting an impressive .382 from beyond the arc. South Dakota is one of the most disciplined teams in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.37.
Over on the other bench, the Leathernecks have records of 6-6 ATS and 7-9 SU. The Leathernecks convert their three-pointers at a high percentage, ranking 16th in the nation at .403. The Western Illinois defense has been a problem for competitors, allowing only 6.0 field goals from three-point range per game.
These conference foes will be squaring off for the first time this season. In their most recent meeting a season ago, South Dakota came out on top, but the win was not enough to overtake Western Illinois in their recent head-to-head series. Its record is now 3-6 SU over the last few meetings. On the other hand, South Dakota holds the advantage ATS with a record of 7-2. Western Illinois held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers one time in the last five matchups. On the other side of the court, South Dakota never accomplished this feat in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – WestIl, ATS Winner – WestIl, O/U – Over
Notes
South Dakota averages 72.9 possessions per game, scoring 1.054 points on each possession. While Western Illinois averages fewer possessions per game with 67.9, they score more points per possession with 1.061.
Western Illinois has an average effective field goal percentage of 51.2%. South Dakota is a losing 3-7 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
South Dakota ranks 30th in assists, registering 16.6 per game. Western Illinois performs worse at 105th with 14.8 assists per game.
South Dakota ranks 318th in offensive rebounds, while Western Illinois ranks 77th in defensive rebounds.
Western Illinois has forced an average turnover percentage of 16.8% this season. South Dakota has an underachieving 3-6 record when its TO% is 16.8% or higher.
