Jacks eye season sweep Saturday at USD

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The Setup

South Dakota State wraps up rivalry week this Saturday, Feb. 11 at South Dakota. Tipoff from the Sanford Coyotes Sports Center in Vermillion, South Dakota is 1 p.m.
Saturday's game is an opportunity for the Jacks to wrap up a series sweep against USD. The last game between the school's came down to the wire as Mike Daum sunk a layup with 2.8 seconds remaining to seal the 73-72 win on Dec. 31 in Frost Arena. Daum finished with 30 points in that game while Andre Wallace, A.J. Hess and Reed Tellinghuisen were in double figures. USD played without Tyler Flack in the game and had four in double figures, led by Matt Mooney's 22 points.
State has won four straight in the series dating back to 2014-15 and holds a 125-92-1 lead in the all-time series. The tie comes from a game in 1915 that USD has recorded as a Coyote win. In Vermillion, the Jacks trail USD, 62-33, and have won just two of five on the road since the Coyotes joined the Summit League in 2011-12.
With four games remaining in the regular season for both teams, the race for March is coming down to the wire. SDSU sits tied for seventh in the standings at 4-7 in conference play while South Dakota is a half-game out of first place at 8-4 in Summit League games.
As part of the SD Corn Showdown Series, Feeding South Dakota and both teams have come together for orange, the color that represents awareness for hunger. With the "Get off the Bench" campaign, fans are encouraged to donate $1 (or more) in support of hunger awareness and the fight to end hunger. Fans can donate electronically at FeedingSouthDakota.org or using the Venmo App, Feeding-South Dakota.

Scouting the Coyotes

South Dakota has won four of its last five games and pulled within a half-game of first place in the Summit League standings with four games remaining. USD sits at 17-10 overall for the year and 8-4 in conference play.
Matt Mooney (17.6 ppg), Tyler Flack (15.2 ppg) and Trey Dickerson (10.0 ppg) are averaging double figures for the Coytoes while fellow starter Trey Burch-Manning is close behind with 9.7 scoring average.
Flack missed nine games this season due to injury but has returned and continues to lead the team with 7.3 rebounds per game. His 131 total rebounds is second on the team behind Carlton Hurst, who has snagged 142 over 27 games for a 5.3 average.
Mooney ranks 28th nationally in field goal attempts (362) and 40th in made field goals (165), trailing Mike Daum in both categories for the Summit League lead.
On the defensive end, Mooney leads the team and is ninth nationally with 58 steals for the year and 21st in NCAA Division I with a 2.15 steals per game mark.
Dickerson has dished 80 assists for the year and boasts a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio at the point.
USD's 37.4 rebounds per game is second best in the conference. The Coyotes are 11th nationally and first in the Summit League with 1,009 total rebounds this year.
USD is fourth nationally with 662 free throw attempts but is shooting just 69.2 percent as a team at the line with 458 made free throws this year.
Defensively, USD is 44th in the nation with 183 total steals.
The Coyotes are scoring 76.1 points per game and allowing 72.4 points on average.
USD boasts a 43.8 field goal percentage for the year while making 33.1 percent of its 3-point attempts.
Opponents have shot 42.8 percent from the field over 27 games and are firing at a clip of 36.1 percent from long range.

SD Corn Showdown Series

Saturday's matchup is another SD Corn Showdown Series bout between the two schools in 2016-17. The teams are tied 5-all in the series so far this season.
The South Dakota Showdown Series, presented by South Dakota Corn, tracks head-to-head match-ups and conference championship results in 17 sports with each school accumulating points toward the overall series championship. The Series also recognizes outstanding academic achievement by the schools' student-athletes and aims to raise awareness, funds and donations for Feeding South Dakota, a statewide not-for-profit with the goal of eliminating hunger in South Dakota. More information can be found at www.sdcornshowcase.com.
SDSU has won the SD Corn Showcase Series three times over the last four years.

Why The Confusion?
SDSU and USD have squared off 218 times prior to Saturday, but do not agree on the all-time series record. The lone game in question is the March 12, 1915 contest that SDSU has listed as a 15-15 tie and USD has it marked as a 16-15 win. The following text is from a summer 1969 newspaper clipping that provides insight on the game:

Brookings -- Here's one for the new North Central Conference commissioner ... who won the 1915 basketball game between South Dakota and South Dakota State?
The clubs battled in 1915 to what SDS officials record a tie game and USD officials list as a victory.
The game was the second of a two-game set at Brookings in 1915. The Coyotes had won the first game 28-22.
Here is the story as it appeared in a newspaper write-up following the battle:
"The teams battled to a 7-7 halftime score and as action got tougher in the second half, Alex Culhane of SDS fouled out (with four fouls). Almost immediately, Gene Vidal, USD's star center, drew his fourth foul and left the game.
"Vidal was replaced by Gondolfo, who promptly shot a free throw. State's scorekeeper credited the free throw to Vidal, while USD's scorer gave it to Gondolfo. This made the score 15-15.
"However, USD's scorer, then seeing the creditation by Stat's scorer, added another point to Vidal's scoring, marking it 16-15 for USD ... Thus two points were scored on one free throw."
Some disagreement on the score at the bench came about at this point and, as the 1915 SDS school newspaper reports, "Seeing they were beat with Vidal out, USD refused to finish the game. The score at present stands undecided."
Vidal recently died in Palos Verdes, Calif.
What occured after the game? The newspaper noted: "After calling the game, a pleasant hour of dancing was held in the gymnasium.
The question over 50 years later is: Does the home book stand and who won the game?

From Long Range

SDSU has fired 699 3-pointers this season, up from 585 3-point attempts through 27 games last year.
The school record for 3-point attempts in a season is 732, set in 2014-15. This year's team is currently in the No. 3 spot on that list.
The school record for 3-pointers made in a season is 284 (2011-12). SDSU has made 250 3-pointer through 27 games and sit fifth on that record list currently (No. 4 is 270).
South Dakota State has attempted fewer than 20 3-pointers in a game just three times this season. The Jacks average 25.9 3-point attempts per contest and are 35th nationally with 9.3 3-pointers made per game.
As of Feb. 10, the Jacks rank fifth in NCAA Division I in 3-point attempts (699) and are eighth nationally in 3-pointers made (250), shooting at 35.8 percent beyond the arc.
SDSU leads the conference in 3-point attempts and is second in 3-pointers made.
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 have set a new school single-game record for 3-pointers made twice this season. Entering 2016-17, the previous mark was 15, set at Oakland on Dec. 31, 2008. SDSU hit 16 at Idaho on Nov. 21 and reset the record Jan. 21, 2017 against Fort Wayne, sinking 17 from long range.
Mike Daum set a school record for 3-pointers made and attempted against Fort Wayne on Jan. 21, going 10 of 16 beyond the arc. Daum's 10 3-pointers made is fourth most in Summit League history.
Through 23 appearances this season, A.J. Hess is just outside the top 10 of 3-pointers made (No. 10 is 68) and attempted (No. 10 is 176).

Charity Stripe Success

South Dakota State has gotten to the free throw line more than its opponents in 21 of 27 games this season. The Jackrabbits are shooting 76.9 percent on free throws this season, have four players at or above the 80 percent mark and eight active players shooting above 70 percent on free throws.
As of Feb. 10, South Dakota State ranks 24th in free throw attempts (606), eighth nationally in free throws made (466) and 14th in free throw percentage (.769).
SDSU is third in the conference in free throw attempts while sitting second in makes and first in percentage.
From Dec. 7 to Dec. 22, Mike Daum hit a school record 43 consecutive free throws, breaking the previous record of 35, set by Garrett Callahan in 2008-09. Over the final seven non-conference games Daum hit 60 of 63 at the charity stripe (95.2 percent).
Mike Daum set a school record with 16 made free throws (out of 16 attempts) against Murray State after tying the previous school record with 13 made free throws (out of 13 attempts) against Idaho (Dec. 10).
As of Feb. 10, Mike Daum remains the national leader in free throw makes (179) and is second in attempts (207).

#FearFrost

The Jacks own a 72-5 record at Frost Arena over the last five seasons, which includes perfect home records in four of the last five years. That span includes two home winning streaks of 30 or more games.
SDSU's 34-game winning streak ranked as the nation's second longest active streak when it ended Wednesday, Dec. 28. The streak began Jan. 30, 2014.
SDSU won 30 consecutive home games from Jan. 29, 2011 to Nov. 14, 2013.
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), and 2015-16 (12-0).
Since 2011-12, South Dakota State has won 93.5 percent of its home games, a mark that ranks fifth among all Division I programs. The list of top 10 home winning percentages since 2011-12 is available on page four of the game notes.

Player Quick Hits

Feb. 4 against Oral Roberts marked the first time South Dakota State had two players post double-doubles since Nov. 11, 2014 when Cody Larson and Zach Horstman did it. Against ORU, Mike Daum had 38 points and 17 rebounds and Chris Howell finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
After seeing limited action with a 2.8 ppg average in the non-conference portion of 2016-17, Chris Howell has burst onto the scene as a top scoring option in conference play. Howell is averaging 11.5 points per game in 10 Summit League contests and has reached double figures in the last four, recorded career-highs in two of those. Howell had 16 points and six rebounds at Omaha, 15 points and four rebounds against Western Illinois before tallying his first Jackrabbit double-double, finishing with 20 points and 12 rebounds against Oral Roberts.
Michael Orris has 39 assists over the last six games after tallying 26 assists in the nine games prior. He had a career-high 10 assists against Fort Wayne on Jan. 21, which was the most for a Jackrabbit since Nate Wolters went for 12 against Fort Wayne on March 11, 2013.
In 11 conference games, Michael Orris has a 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio with 56 assists and 28 turnovers. Over the last five games, Orris has 39 assists and just 13 turnovers for a 3.0 A/TO ratio in that span.
Reed Tellinghuisen has hit double figures in 18 of 27 games this season, pushing his career mark in that category to 46 games with double figures. Tellinghuisen is second on the active career scoring list and could join the 1,000 points club by the end of the season.
Reed Tellinghuisen ranks 19th nationally and second in The Summit League with 886 total minutes played this season.
A.J. Hess went down with an arm injury at Denver on Jan. 23. He is not expected to be available this week.
Ian Theisen has missed the last three games with a lower leg injury. He is not expected to be play this week.
After a slow start to the season where A.J. Hess scored just 11 points total in the first four games, the graduate transfer raised his average to 10.8 points per game with 14 double figure scoring games and a double-double before an injury stalled his graduate transfer season. Hess has reached double figures in six consecutive games he has appeared in and in 10 of his last 11.
A.J. Hess came to South Dakota State with 840 career points at Southern Utah. On Dec. 28, 2016, Hess scored his 1,000 career point against North Dakota State.
Cole Gentry, who started four games for the Jackrabbits earlier this season, has been granted his release from the program.
A.J. Hess posted his first career double-double on Jan. 4 at Western Illinois, scoring 13 points to go alongside a career-high 14 rebounds.
A.J. Hess pulled down 42 total rebounds over 15 non-conference games to open the year, but in the first half of conference play Hess had 51 over eight games. Hess set career-highs in rebounds against North Dakota State (10) and Western Illinois (14).
Seven times this season the Jacks have seen four players reach double figures. The Jacks last did it Feb. 1 when Michael Orris (18), Reed Tellinghuisen (17), Mike Daum (16), Skyler Flatten (16) and Chris Howell (15) reached the mark against Western Illinois.
Three times this season South Dakota State has had two players score over 20 points in the same game. It last happend Feb. 4, 2017 against ORU when Mike Daum had 38 points and Chris Howell finished with 20. Daum has been a part of all three occurances this year.
SDSU has had five different players hit double figures in a game three times this season. The Jacks first did it in the win over Minnesota Crookston on Nov. 30, 2016. SDSU also did it Jan. 7 against Omaha and against Western Illinois Feb. 1.
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 put together SDSU's first 30-point game at Idaho (scoring 31) since Nov. 26, 2013 when Jordan Dykstra had 32 against Lehigh.

Team Quick Hits

Winning the rebounding battle has been vital to SDSU's success this year. The Jacks are 10-1 in games they out-rebound opponents and 1-11 in contests they trail in rebounding margin. SDSU is 1-3 in games it matches opponents on rebounds.
The Jackrabbits were whistled for only 10 fouls on Nov. 30 against UMC and on Dec. 16 versus Murray State, and only eight on Nov. 27 against Milwaukee. The Jacks have been whistled for less than 15 personal fouls 13 times this season.
The Jacks are 22nd nationally and lead the conference with just 16.1 personal fouls per game.
At least one Jackrabbit has scored in double figures over the last 303 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 3-pointer in 331 consecutive games. The last time the Jackrabbits did not make a 3-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 snapped a streak of 90 games without a 1,000 point scorer when Mike Daum joined the club on Jan. 21, 2017. SDSU has now restarted a streak of five games with a 1,000 point scorer on the court.
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 -- Feb. 8, 2017
FARGO, N.D. -- South Dakota State men's basketball saw its three-game winning streak snapped Wednesday at North Dakota State, falling 82-65 in front of 4,805 fans at the Scheels Center.
SDSU (12-15, 5-7 Summit League) finished the night 21 of 57 from the field (36.8 percent) and had eight 3-pointers.
The Jackrabbit starting lineup outscored the Bison's, 63-62, but a 20-2 advantage in bench points carried NDSU to the win alongside a plus-seven advantage on the boards.
North Dakota State (16-8, 8-3 Summit League) maintained its hold on first-place in the conference standings, shooting 51.7 percent from the field with nine 3-pointers.
Mike Daum led the team with 26 points, adding seven rebounds. Reed Tellinghuisen and Chris Howell reached double figures with 17 and 14, respectively, and both Jacks grabbed six boards.
The Jacks held a 10-8 lead through the opening five minutes before an NDSU run of 10 straight provided a cushion the home team rode the rest of the way.
Three times the Jacks brought the deficit back to five before the break, though early rally efforts were squashed despite 14 first half points from Mike Daum. SDSU went to the locker room down 41-32.
State quickly brought it back to five (47-42) once more by the 17-minute mark of the final frame, but 14 consecutive points from the Bison put the game out of reach. Inside five to play, SDSU climbed within nine (69-60) behind one last push, but ran out of steam.

Coyotes' Last Time Out -- Feb. 8, 2017
(GoYotes.com)
FORT WAYNE, Ind.—South Dakota senior Tyler Flack scored a career-high 29 points on 13 of 15 shooting to lead the Coyotes to their second key road win in as many games. The Coyotes scored 56 points in the second half and shot 56 percent from the field in beating preseason Summit League favorite Fort Wayne 93-82 Wednesday at Memorial Coliseum. South Dakota sweeps the Mastodons for the first time in six years as Summit League foes.
Matt Mooney added 21 points for the Coyotes (17-10, 8-4 Summit), who took sole possession of second place in the Summit. In addition, South Dakota clinched its fifth straight Summit League Tournament appearance with Western Illinois' win against Oral Roberts.
Bryson Scott made four 3-pointers and scored 20 points to lead Fort Wayne (16-9, 5-6), which lost inside Memorial Coliseum for the first time this season and for the second time at home all year. The Mastodons made 14 of 32 three-pointers, but were outscored at the free-throw line 16-4 and outrebounded 34-30. Mo Evans, the Summit's third-leading scorer at 17 points per game, had just eight Wednesday on 3 of 13 shooting.
South Dakota rallied from a nine-point deficit to trail 42-37 at the half. Fort Wayne's lead was 61-58 with 12 minutes to go, but South Dakota made 14 of its final 19 shots from the field including 4 of 5 three-pointers. Flack tied the game at 61-61 with his second 3 of the game and later converted a 3-point play to complete an 8-0 run that put USD ahead 66-61. The Coyotes led the rest of the way.
Triston Simpson hit a 3 with five minutes left that put USD ahead 83-77 and sparked a 9-0 run that put the Mastodons away. Flack, Trey Burch-Manning and Mooney each scored in the paint during that stretch. Burch-Manning made 6 of 8 shots for 12 points. Simpson handed out a season-high seven assists to go with six points. Tyler Hagedorn had 10 points in 12 minutes off the Coyote bench.
South Dakota was 0 for 4 from downtown in the first half, but made 11 of 12 free throws to keep within striking distance. The Coyotes made 7 of 11 3's in the second half and finished 16 of 17 from the stripe.
Fort Wayne was beginning a four-game home stand that spans the next two weeks. In addition to Scott's 20, the Mastodons got 14 points and eight rebounds from John Konchar, which ended his streak of four consecutive double-doubles. Xzavier Taylor added 10 points off Fort Wayne's bench. The Mastodons made 3 of their final 12 three-pointers after South Dakota tied the game at 61-61.

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.

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.

-GoJacks.com-

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