Halftime Report
South Dakota is giving their home crowd exactly what they were hoping for. They have a bit of a cushion as they currently lead N. Dak. State 45-31.
If South Dakota keeps playing like this, they'll bump their record up to 12-18 in no time. On the other hand, N. Dak. State will have to make due with a 15-15 record unless they turn things around (and fast).
Who's Playing
N. Dak. State Bison @ South Dakota Coyotes
Current Records: N. Dak. State 15-14, South Dakota 11-18
How To Watch
- When: Thursday, February 29, 2024 at 8 p.m. ET
- Where: Sanford Coyote Sports Center -- Vermillion, South Dakota
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online Streaming: Catch select College Basketball matches on Fubo (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $4.04
What to Know
South Dakota will be in front of their home fans on Thursday, but a look at the spread shows they might need that home-court advantage. They and the N. Dak. State Bison will face off in a Summit battle at 8:00 p.m. ET at Sanford Coyote Sports Center. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
South Dakota came into Saturday's matchup having lost three straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. They skirted by the Golden Eagles 77-76 on Saturday on a last-minute layup from Bostyn Holt with 5 seconds left in the second quarter.
South Dakota's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Lahat Thioune, who almost dropped a double-double on 19 points and nine rebounds, and Holt, who scored 25 points along with five rebounds. Holt didn't help South Dakota's cause all that much against the Jackrabbits on February 4th but the same can't be said for this match.
Meanwhile, N. Dak. State's game on Saturday was all tied up 33-33 at the half, but luckily for them it didn't stay that way. They came out on top against the Fighting Hawks by a score of 73-68. The win made it back-to-back wins for N. Dak. State.
Andrew Morgan was the offensive standout of the contest as he scored 27 points along with five rebounds. It was the first time this season that he scored 20 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jacari White, who scored 13 points along with seven rebounds and three steals.
The Coyotes' victory bumped their record up to 11-18. As for the Bison, their win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-14.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as both teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. South Dakota hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 76.5 points per game. However, it's not like N. Dak. State struggles in that department as they've been averaging 75.9 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
N. Dak. State and the Coyotes pleased both fans and bettors in their last matches by winning and covering the spread. Looking forward, N. Dak. State is the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by 3.5 points. This contest will be South Dakota's 15th straight as the underdogs (so far over this stretch they are 7-7 against the spread).
Odds
N. Dak. State is a 3.5-point favorite against South Dakota, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Bison as a 2.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 148.5 points.
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Series History
N. Dak. State has won 7 out of their last 10 games against South Dakota.
- Dec 29, 2023 - South Dakota 75 vs. N. Dak. State 66
- Mar 05, 2023 - N. Dak. State 70 vs. South Dakota 68
- Feb 02, 2023 - South Dakota 71 vs. N. Dak. State 62
- Jan 07, 2023 - N. Dak. State 73 vs. South Dakota 61
- Feb 07, 2022 - N. Dak. State 76 vs. South Dakota 74
- Jan 27, 2022 - N. Dak. State 74 vs. South Dakota 62
- Mar 08, 2021 - N. Dak. State 79 vs. South Dakota 75
- Feb 28, 2021 - N. Dak. State 89 vs. South Dakota 77
- Feb 27, 2021 - South Dakota 80 vs. N. Dak. State 71
- Dec 11, 2020 - N. Dak. State 74 vs. South Dakota 67