The South Dakota State Jackrabbits (15-5) will have their hands full against the top shooting defense in the Summit League when they take on the South Dakota Coyotes (10-10) at DakotaDome. Action begins at 5:00 pm ET on Saturday, Jan. 23 and can be seen on EFC and ES3.
The Coyotes were victorious over Western Illinois 76-67 on Wednesday. Casey Kasperbauer led all scorers on the team with 26 points on 9-for-16 shooting. The Jackrabbits, meanwhile, are coming off an 86-74 win against Oral Roberts on Thursday. Mike Daum had a good game for South Dakota State, recording 15 points, seven rebounds, and one block.
South Dakota is a five-point underdog in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 152 points. The Coyotes have gone 10-10 Straight Up (SU) and 8-8 Against The Spread (ATS). The Coyotes are an exceptional shooting team from three-point range with a .388 three-point field goal percentage, one of the highest marks in Division I. The Coyotes, sporting the 40th-best assist-to-turnover ratio in Division I (1.36), have proven themselves to be an extremely efficient offensive team.
On the other side, the Jackrabbits head into the game with records of 9-7 ATS and 15-5 SU. Most recently, South Dakota State is a meager 2-7 ATS over the last 10 games. The Jackrabbits get to the line and convert their free throws at a high volume, ranking 47th in the nation with 325 made (16.0 per game).
These conference rivals 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 South Dakota State in their recent head-to-head series. Its record is now 3-6 SU over the last few meetings. Furthermore, South Dakota State leads the matchup ATS with a record of 5-4. Over the last five matchups, South Dakota State held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers twice. South Dakota performed this feat once.
Predictions: SU Winner – SDakSt, ATS Winner – SDakSt, O/U – Over
Notes
South Dakota averages 76.8 points per game, placing the team just 107th in the nation. South Dakota State ranks 87th in points allowed, giving up 67.2 points per game.
South Dakota State scores 74.5 points per away game (ranked 73rd). South Dakota ranks a poor 270th in points allowed at home, allowing 73.2 points.
Ranked 72nd, the South Dakota State Jackrabbits have an offensive rating of 111.2. The South Dakota Coyotes rank 306th with a defensive rating of just 109.8.
South Dakota State has an average field goal percentage of 44.3%. South Dakota is an underachieving 3-7 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The South Dakota Coyotes rank higher based on their field goal percentage (41st) than their effective field goal percentage (69th). The South Dakota State Jackrabbits rank higher based on their effective field goal percentage (160th) than their field goal percentage (164th).
South Dakota ranks 31st in assists, registering 16.6 per game. South Dakota State performs worse at 312th with 11.2 assists per game.
South Dakota State, the 82nd-ranked team in rebounding, registers an average of 38.8 rebounds per game. South Dakota does worse, ranked 304th with 33.4.
On average, South Dakota makes 7.0 steals per game. South Dakota State has a dazzling 8-2 record when it gives up at least 6 steals.
