Broadcast Information
The Setup
South Dakota State returns home Saturday to face Idaho in a rematch from earlier this season. Tipoff for round two between the Vandals and Jackrabbits is set for 7 p.m., inside Frost Arena.Â
Scouting the Vandals
- Idaho enters Saturday's contest at 4-4 on the year, losing last Wednesday at Washington State before heading for South Dakota.
- Idaho is 3-1 at home this season but has not found matching success in road games thus far in 2016-17. The Vandals have losses to Northern Illinois, Sam Houston State and Washington State on the road with its lone win over Little Rock in that category.Â
- The Vandals and Jackrabbits squared off in Moscow, Idaho, earlier this season with the home team claiming a 96-89 win in overtime after hitting 14 3-pointers as a team with five players in double figures. That contest was a breakout game for SDSU's A.J. Hess, who put up 31 points for SDSU's first 30-point game of the season while SDSU shot 16 of 37 from long range. The Jacks had four players reach double figures that day as the team set the school's single game record for 3-pointers made and tied the school record for 3-point attempts.
- Idaho is averaging 65.9 points per game as a team this season and allowing 66.2. From the field, the Vandals are firing at a rate of 40.5 percent and holding opponents to a .379 field goal percentage through eight games. From long range, the team has hit 53 of 169 attempts this season (31.4 percent) and opponents are hitting at 31.1 percent (61 of 169) on 3-pointers against the Vandal defense. On the boards, Idaho holds a plus-3.3 advantage in rebounding margin (38.8 to 35.5) on the season.
- Individually, Victor Sanders (17.3 ppg) and Brayon Blake (10.3 ppg) are averaging double figures for the Vandals as Blake leads the team with 7.3 rebounds per game as well. Sanders has dished out a team-high 24 assists and tallied a team-leading 18 steals this season. Perrion Callandret played the opening two games for Idaho and averaged 8.0, 3.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds in that span, but has sat out since sat out with a knee injury. His return for Saturday's game is unknown.Â
- Idaho leads the all-time series, 4-3, after the teams had split their previous six meetings prior to 2016-17.
- The teams split home contests in 2014-15, with the Jacks winning three of the last five contests.
Throwing it Back
With Jackrabbit Sports Network personality
Tyler Merriam on the road with SDSU Football this weekend for the FCS Quarterfinals, the Jackrabbit men's basketball team will toss the radio call to Steve Imming and Jerry Oster for Saturday's game in a flashback to the past.
- Imming was the voice of SDSU football and men's basketball from the fall of 1992 through March of 2011. Oster called SDSU football for 27 years, the final 17 alongside Imming. The two also teamed to call some Jackrabbit basketball games throughout that tenure.Â
- Imming has won six South Dakota Associated Press Sportscaster of the Year awards, as well as being named the 1998 Sportscaster of the Year from the state by the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association. In 2004, the Creighton University (Neb.) graduate was honored by the North Central Conference as a recipient of the Kolpack Media Award.
- Oster has served as news director of WNAX since 1990 and is also the head engineer for the WNAX 570 AM, 104.1 FM, and the Jackrabbit Sports Network. He has won numerous awards from the Associated Press for his news coverage, and was presented the Tom Brokaw Award in 1998 by the South Dakota Broadcasters Association, which honors excellence in broadcasting.Â
- Imming and Oster can still be heard every morning providing sports and news updates on 570 WNAX.
Zoned In
After allowing 80.0 points per game over its first five contests, South Dakota State made a switch to a primarily zone defense before the Sanford Pentagon Showcase, and in the six games since have allowed opponents to score just 69.5 points per game. Twice in that span, SDSU held its opponent to under 60 points and allowed over 80 points just once. As well, the defense has forced 89 turnovers in the last six games after only 57 opponent turnovers in the opening five games.
Heating Up
After shooting just 34.3 percent from the field with 65.4 points per game through the first seven games of the season, SDSU hit at a rate of 61.4 percent on field goals over three games from Nov. 26 to Dec. 3. The Jacks shot well over 50 percent from the field in all three and outscored opponents by 21.4 ponts per game in that stretch.
Daum-inating
- Mike Daum has stepped into a new role as the go-to scorer for the Jackrabbits in 2016-17, but has picked up where he left off after his redshirt freshman season ended with All-Summit League First Team, All-Newcomer and Newcomer of the Year honors. Daum was picked as the 2016-17 Summit League Preseason Player of the Year, and is living up to the hype with 19.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest so far this year.Â
- Daum has hit double figures in 10 of 11 games this season and has scored at least 20 in six contests.
- Set new or matched career-highs for points (32), field goals (10), free throws made-attempted (11 of 13), assists (six)and minutes (36) on Nov. 27 against Milwaukee.
- Daum recorded back-to-back double-doubles against UC Irvine and East Tennessee State at the Sanford Pentagon Showcase, March 25-26.
- Daum was named to the Sanford Pentagon Showcase All-Tournament Team after posting averages of 24.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game in three contests over the weekend event in Sioux Falls, S.D.
- Daum saw his streak of 22 consecutive games in double figures come to an end Nov. 14 at UC Irvine when he finished with nine points and eight rebounds, but has only missed scoring 10 or more once this season and five times in 45 career games.
- Daum now has five career double-doubles and 13 career games with 20-plus points. He has hit the 20-point mark in back-to-back games six times, including a stretch of four straight games this season and a stretch of three straight last season.
- Daum set the school's freshman scoring record with 518 last season. The previous record was Matt Caldwell's 453 points from 2006. He was also the first-ever SDSU freshman (at both DI and DII levels) to earn all-league/all-conference honors.
#FearFrost
- The Jacks own a 65-3 record at Frost Arena over the last five seasons, which includes perfect home records in four of the last five years and the last two with a 3-0 record thus far in 2016-17. That span includes two home winning streaks of 30 or more games.
- SDSU is currently on a 32-game home winning streak, which is the second longest active streak at the Division I level as of Dec. 3, after Kentucky saw its 42-game home winning streak end against UCLA.The nation's longest active home winning streaks can be found on page four of the game notes.
- SDSU won 30 consecutive home games from Jan. 29, 2011 to Nov. 14, 2013.
- SDSU completed its sixth perfect season inside Frost Arena last year with a win over Oral Roberts on Feb. 27.
- SDSU put together undefeated seasons inside Frost Arena the following years: 1984-85 (18-0), 2002-03 (17-0), 2011-12 (14-0), 2012-13 (13-0), 2014-15 (13-0), 2015-16 (12-0) and so far in 2016-17 (1-0).Â
From Long Range
- South Dakota State set a new school record for 3-point field goal attempts in a single game on Nov. 19, 2016 at Wyoming, firing 37 shots from beyond the arc. The previous record was 33, set twice, last at Oakland on Jan. 26, 2012.
- The Jacks tied the previously set record for 3-point attempts against Idaho, Nov. 21, and set a new record for made 3-pointers in that game, knocking down 16. The previous mark was 15, set at Oakland on Dec. 31, 2008.
- SDSU has fired 299 3-pointers this season, up from 215 3-point attempts through 11Â games last season and are taking 27.1 3-point attempts per game.
- Those 299 3-point attempts represent 52.0 percent of SDSU's 574 total field goal attempts.
- SDSU shot a season-high 57.1 percent (12-of-21) from long range against Minnesota Crookston after hitting 11-of-20 (55.0 percent) of its 3-pointers against Milwaukee in the game prior to that on Nov. 27.
Player Quick Hits
- Twice this season South Dakota State has had two players score over 20 points in the same game. A.J. Hess (31) and Mike Daum (23) score 20-plus in a loss for the first time since Feb. 10, 2016 at Omaha when Daum and Reed Tellinghuisen reached that mark. On Dec. 3 against Kansas City, Andre Wallace (21) and Daum (22) broke the 20-point mark in a win for the first time since Daum and George Marshall did it on Feb. 13, 2016 against South Dakota.
- Five different players hit double figures for SDSU in the win over Minnesota Crookston on Nov. 30, 2016. The last time that happened was Jan. 1, 2016 against Denver.
- Entering the Nov. 30 game with Minnesota Crookston, the most assists an SDSU player had in a game was six this season. Sergio El Darwich matched that in the opening half against UMC and finished ith eight for the night.
- Over a span of three games from Nov. 21 to Nov. 26, South Dakota State saw A.J. Hess, Reed Tellinghuisen and Mike Daum all reach double figures and score a majority of SDSU's points. Of the 200 points SDSU scored in those games, the three Jackrabbits had 161, or 80.5 percent of the points. Daum scored 63 points in that stretch (31.5 percent), Hess had 57 points (28.5 percent) and Tellinghuisen had 41 points (20.5 percent). Mike Daum posted his first-ever 30-point game against Milwaukee on Nov. 27, finishing with 32 points off of 10-for-13 shooting in the field and an 11-for-13 effort from the charity stripe. Daum also dished out a career-high six assists.
- A.J. Hess' 16 first half points against Idaho was tied for the most from a Jackrabbit in a period this season, matching Mike Daum's 16 first half points at Wyoming.
- A.J. Hess put together SDSU's first 30-point game at Idaho (scoring 31) since Nov. 26, 2013 when Jordan Dykstra had 32 against Lehigh. Mike Daum recorded SDSU's second 30-point game of the season on Nov. 27, finishing with 32 against Milwaukee.
- Reed Tellinghuisen has hit double figures in nine of 11 games this season, pushing his career mark in that category to 40 games with double figures. Tellinghuisen is 261 points away from joining the Jacks' 1,000 points club.
Team Quick Hits
- South Dakota State has rolled out five different starting lineups in 11 games this season but has kept the same for the last four games.
- The Jackrabbits were whistled for only 10 fouls on Nov. 30 against UMC, which is the third time this season SDSU has had under 15 fouls called on them this season.
- At least one Jackrabbit has scored in double figures over the last 287 games dating back to Jan. 12, 2008 at IUPUI when Anthony Cordova has nine points to lead the Jacks.
- SDSU has made at least one three-pointer in 315 games. The last time the Jackrabbits did not make a three-point field goal was Jan. 25, 2007 at Utah State when the team went 0-for-13.
- From Jan. 31, 2009 through the 2013-14 season, SDSU put together a streak of 179 games with at least one 1,000 point scorer on the floor. SDSU has now gone 80 games without a 1,000 point scorer.
- The last time SDSU went 0-2 to open the year was 2014-15 when the squad finished with a 24-11 overall record and was a Summit League regular season co-champion.
- SDSU is 91-18 all-time in home openers (where records available). Dating back to 2004-05, SDSU's first year of DI transition, SDSU is 11-2. Since joining the Summit League in 2007-08, SDSU is 9-2 in home openers.
- SDSU is now 72-39 in season-openers all-time. The Jacks are 5-8 in season-opening games at the Division I level.
Jackrabbits' Last Time Out -- Dec. 7, 2016
  CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The Jackrabbit men's basketball program saw its three-game winning streak come to an end Wednesday in an 86-58 loss at Northern Iowa.
  The Jackrabbits (4-7) hit the opening buckets of both periods, but in between saw UNI (4-4) hit a school record 20 3-pointers as SDSU shot 34.8 percent from the field and hit 11 3-pointers of its own.
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Reed Tellinghuisen paced the Jacks with 16 points with three 3s while
Mike Daum narrowly missed a double-double as he scored 15 and pulled down nine boards.
A.J. Hess finished with nine points off three 3s as well while
Tevin King (seven points) and
Sergio El Darwich each had four assists.
  Tellinghuisen gave the Jacks a 3-0 lead early on, but a 7-0 run for the Panthers put them in the lead until Hess' trey with 15:45 to play in the first matched the scored, 9-all. The Jackrabbits went cold from the field over the next six minutes of play, however, as the Panthers went on a 19-2 run to take a 28-11 lead just outside the seven minute mark.Â
Skyler Flatten hit a 3-pointer at 6:54 to stop the run, and though the Jacks found points in the paint and at the charity stripe before the break, SDSU went into the locker room down, 49-25.
  UNI hit 13 3-pointers in the first half as SDSU was led by Tellinghuisen's 11 points.
  The Jacks showed life early in the second half, when down 28 (59-31) the team went on a 132 run to cut the lead to 17 (61-44) inside the 13-minute mark. A comeback, however, wasn't in the cards as SDSU saw its winning streak come to an end.
Vandals' Last Time Out -- Dec. 7, 2016
(GoVandals.com)
  PULLMAN, Wash. – A cold shooting night did the Vandals in on Wednesday, as Idaho (4-4) fell to Washington State (5-4), 61-48, at Beasley Coliseum.
  WSU got out to a hot start and took a 36-25 advantage into the break. The Vandals came out hot to start the second half, with Victor Sanders scoring Idaho's first eight points, but it wasn't enough, as Washington State kept pace for the entire second frame.
  Sanders led the Vandals with 18 points on the night, going 7-of-15 from the field. Idaho was great on the glass, outrebounding the Cougars 42-40, 20-7 on the offensive glass.
 The Vandal defense played well, holding the Cougars to 39.1 percent shooting from the field and 31.6 percent from beyond the arc. Idaho struggled shooting the ball, going 17-of-66 (25.8%) from the floor and 4-of-26 (15.4%) from range. Idaho had difficulty on the line for the second straight game, finishing 10-of-18 from the charity stripe.
  The game began with a special flare likely not seen before. WSU head coach Ernie Kent spent the first play on the Idaho bench in conjunction with Coaches vs. Cancer. Kent won the opportunity at the Spokane Coaches vs. Cancer auction earlier this year, bidding on the chance to coach with his local rival.
New Faces, Great Places
South Dakota State's hiring of first-year head coach
T.J. Otzelberger was a nod to the state's motto, "Great Faces, Great Places." The new face of the program, announced April 14, 2016, is in his first-ever heading coaching role, but has been groomed for the position over several assistant stops, working with Lorenzo Romar (Washington), Fred Hoiberg (Iowa State), Greg McDermott (Iowa State) and Steve Prohm (Iowa State). Alongside Otzelberger, new members of the coaching staff include
Ben Walker, a Creighton hall of fame member who last coached at Jackson State,
Eric Henderson, a former Wayne State (Neb.) standout who spent last season with SDSU's rival, North Dakota State, and
Tyler Glidden, the director of operations who has worked at Creighton and Iowa State.
Rob Klinkefus was the lone holdover from former head coach Scott Nagy's staff, and enters his 11th season at SDSU.
20-Win Seasons
Reaching the 20-win mark has become a standard at South Dakota State University over the previous five seasons, as the Jackrabbits have done in four times in that span and 23 times in the program's history.Â
2015-16 Season Review
The 2015-16 Jackrabbit Men's Basketball season featured several highlights throughout the campaign, including a trip to the NCAA Tournament, a conference tournament title and earning a share of The Summit League's regular season championship. The Jackrabbits earned the No. 12 seed in last year's West Region, narrowly missing an upset over fifth-seeded Maryland in the first round, falling 79-74. Prior to that, SDSU earned the nickname "Cardiac Jacks" with a run through the conference tournament, pulling off three-point quarterfinal and one-point semifinal wins before earning the automatic bid with a 67-59 win over NDSU in the final.
Mike Daum was named the tournament MVP and
Deondre Parks was a member of the All-Tournament team. For the regular season, SDSU posted its second consecutive undefeated home record while three players garnered All-Conference honors in addition to other national awards.
Mike Daum was named the Summit League Freshman and Sixth Man of the Year in addition to earning spots on the All-Conference First Team and the All-Newcomer Team.
George Marshall was an All-Conference First Team selection and
Deondre Parks claimed an honorable mention nod. On the national level, Marshall and Parks earned NABC Division I All-District 12 honors with First and Second Team nods, respectively, and Daum was named a Kyle Macy All-American. After the season, longtime head coach Scott Nagy resigned after completing his 21st season at the helm.
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