Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Mayville State (Exhibition) on October 29, 2025 at 8:30 p.m.

1/2/2016 7:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
South Dakota State continued its best-ever Division I?start to a season on Friday with a 68-59 win over Denver in The Summit League opener, and now looks to start league play with a 2-0 mark for the first time since the 2011-12 season on Sunday, when the Jackrabbits host the Western Illinois Fighting Leathernecks at 2 p.m.
SDSU started league play 5-0 in 2011-12 on its way to earning its first-ever NCAA Tournament bit with a win over Western Illinois in The Summit League Championships.
The Jackrabbits got a balanced offensive effort in Friday's league opener against Denver, with five players scoring in double figures, none of which scored more than 11 points. One of three Jacks to score exactly 11 points, George Marshall returned to the Jackrabbits lineup after missing six games due to injury. The senior point guard played 32 minutes and added a pair of rebounds and an assist in his return.
THE OPPONENT
WESTERN ILLINOIS FIGHTING LEATHERNECKS (7-5, 0-1 Summit, 2-5 Away): Picked to finish last in The Summit League Preseason Poll, the Leathernecks opened the season with a milestone upset win at No. 17 Wisconsin, downing the Badgers 69-67 in Madison, the first of five consecutive wins to open the season.
Western, which fell 82-80 in its league-opener at Omaha on Friday, lost four of its next six games, enters the game riding a three game losing streak, with a 77-70 loss at Chicago State on Dec. 19, and a 72-67 loss at Loyola Chicago on Dec. 21 in its final two non-league games.
THE SERIES vs. WESTERN ILLINOIS
The Jackrabbits lead the all-time series 18-3, with wins in each of the last 15 meetings, which includes all nine games at Frost Arena and three wins at The Summit League Championships since 2012. The last Western win in the series came on Feb. 7, 2009 in Macomb, Ill.
ON THE RADIO
The pregame show on the Jackrabbit Sports Network begins 30 minutes prior to tip with Tyler Merriam on the play-by-play.
Originated from the AM 570 WNAX studios in Yankton, S.D., every SDSU men's basketball game can be heard live on a total of eight stations on the Jackrabbit Sports Network.
WNAX - 570 AM, Yankton    Â
KBFS - 1450 AM, Belle Fourche       Â
KJJQ - 910 AM, Brookings
KDSJ - 980 AM, Deadwood  Â
KORN - 1490 AM, Mitchell     Â
KCCR - 1240 AM, Pierre
KJOE - 106.1 FM, Pipestone, Minn.   Â
KSDR - 1480 AM, Watertown
ON THE INTERNET?
Subscribers to the Jackrabbit Extra can listen to every game streaming live on the Internet at no cost, and can watch every home game streaming live for a monthly or annual fee.
LIVE STATS?
Click here for live stats vs. Western Illinois
ON SOCIAL MEDIA?
TWITTER: @GoJacksMBB
Follow the team's official Twitter account for live in-game updates for every game.
ON TELEVISION?
NETWORK: Midco SN
PLAY-BY-PLAY: Tom Nieman
ANALYST: Brad Newitt
ON COURT REPORTER: Carla Metts
NEXT UP FOR THE JACKRABBITS
SDSU plays its first league road game at IUPUI on Thursday at 7 p.m.?ET, and then returns home to host Fort Wayne on Jan. 14. The?Jackrabbits then hit the road for their next three games.