South Dakota (7-6, 6-2) vs. Western Illinois (2-10, 0-5)
Western Hall, Macomb, Illinois; Saturday, 8 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: South Dakota looks for its seventh straight conference win against Western Illinois. South Dakota’s last Summit League loss came against the North Dakota State Bison 74-67 on Dec. 11, 2020. Western Illinois has dropped its last 16 games against conference opponents dating back to last season.
SAVVY SENIORS: Western Illinois’ Tamell Pearson, Will Carius and Rod Johnson Jr. have collectively accounted for 49 percent of the team’s scoring this season and have scored 54 percent of all Leathernecks points over the last five games.
TAKING IT UP A NOTCH: The Coyotes have scored 75 points per game and allowed 65.5 points per game in conference play thus far. Those are both substantial improvements over the 60 points scored and 76 points given up per game to non-conference opponents.SOLID STANLEY: Stanley Umude has connected on 34.4 percent of the 64 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 8 of 21 over his last five games. He’s also converted 85.2 percent of his free throws this season.
SLIPPING AT 65: Western Illinois is 0-10 this year when it allows 65 points or more and 2-0 when holding opponents to fewer than 65.
BEHIND THE ARC: South Dakota’s A.J. Plitzuweit has attempted 58 3-pointers and connected on 39.7 percent of them, and is 14 for 27 over the past five games.
DID YOU KNOW: Western Illinois is ranked second among Summit League teams with an offensive rebound percentage of 27.9 percent. The Leathernecks have averaged 11.7 offensive boards per game, but that figure has slipped to 8.3 over their six-game losing streak.
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