Both of the Summit League Tournament Semifinals are scheduled for Monday night. The Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls will certainly be rocking for the early game thanks to an in-state rivalry matchup. The 5-seed South Dakota Coyotes will look to become the first Summit League team to knock off the 1-seed South Dakota Jackrabbits with a spot in the conference title game on the line. Of course, with this being a one-bid league as far as March Madness is concerned, a win tonight is vital for both teams as they pursue an NCAA Tournament berth. The following article takes a look at the top college basketball betting picks and betting trends, then shares a South Dakota vs South Dakota State prediction for tonight’s Summit League Tournament matchup.
South Dakota vs South Dakota State College Basketball Betting Preview
Summit League Tournament — Semifinal Game
South Dakota Coyotes (19-11, 11-7 Summit) vs. South Dakota State Jackrabbits (28-4, 18-0 Summit)
Date: Monday, March 7, 2022
Time: 7 p.m. EST
Venue: Sanford Pavilion — Sioux Falls, SD
Coverage: ESPN+
South Dakota Coyotes Preview
After winning 11 conference games during the regular season, South Dakota basketball entered the Summit League Tournament as the 5-seed. The Coyotes successfully pulled away from Kansas City in the second half of Sunday’s Quarterfinal to advance. The reward is a third shot at knocking off their in-state rivals. South Dakota lost both regular-season college basketball betting matchups against South Dakota State by double-digits. The second game was closer, but the Coyotes still fell by 10 on their home floor.
With an overall KenPom ranking of No. 193, South Dakota stacks up fourth in the Summit League. The ‘Yotes do have a solid cast of offensive threats, led by Kruz Perrott-Hunt and Mason Archambault. Both players averaged over 14 points per game this season. Furthermore, USD saw five different players score 12+ points in the Quarterfinal win over Kansas City. Another balanced scoring attack would be very helpful tonight in a college basketball betting contest in which the Coyotes will certainly have to put up plenty of points. Unfortunately, a poor defensive efficiency ranking of 255th could prove costly against the electric SDSU offense.
South Dakota State Jackrabbits Preview
Despite posting an unblemished record during the regular season, the handwriting is pretty much on the wall for South Dakota State basketball. A Summit League Tournament championship is the Jackrabbits’ only way into March Madness. Should they reach the field of 68, SDSU will be one of the most dangerous mid-major schools in the draw. With an overall KenPom efficiency ranking of 78th, the statistical gap between the Jacks and the rest of the Summit League looms large. South Dakota State toyed with 8-seed Omaha in the Quarterfinals, playing a sloppy game yet still winning by a dozen.
Despite only being a sophomore, Baylor Scheierman is the most productive player for South Dakota State basketball. He led the Jackrabbits in scoring this season, averaging 16.3 points per game. Not far behind were Douglas Wilson (16.2 ppg) and Noah Freidel (15.1 ppg). Scheierman also topped all South Dakota State players in rebounding (8.0), assists (4.6) and steals (1.4) on a per-game basis. From an efficiency standpoint, SDSU ranked 14th on the offensive end according to KenPom. This along with a top-60 adjusted tempo are two key stats to note when making college basketball betting picks.
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South Dakota vs South Dakota State College Basketball Betting Odds and Picks
All South Dakota vs South Dakota State college basketball betting odds can be found at BetUS Sportsbook.
Moneyline: USD: (+350) | SDSU: (-450)
Point Spread: USD: +9 (-110) | SDSU: -9 (-110)
Total: 152 — Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)
South Dakota vs South Dakota State College Basketball Betting Trends
- Coyotes are 5-1 ATS in their last six games following an ATS win.
- UNDER is 4-0 in the Coyotes’ last four games following an ATS win as well as a straight up win.
- The OVER has hit in each of the Jackrabbits’ last seven games as a neutral site college basketball betting favorite.
- Each of the Jackrabbits’ last six games against teams with a .600 winning percentage or better have gone OVER the total.
- Jackrabbits are just 1-6 ATS in their last seven neutral site games as a favorite.
South Dakota vs South Dakota State | College Basketball Betting Picks
As has been the case in most Summit League games this season, offense figures to win the night in this first tournament semifinal. Both South Dakota and South Dakota State feature much better offensive efficiency ratings than they do defensive. The Jackrabbits’ ranked 14th in all of Division I college basketball betting in this category averaging a whopping 116.9 points per 100 possessions. The Jacks hung 84 and 89 on USD in the two regular-season matchups between the teams.
Perhaps the greatest concern when arguing for this South Dakota vs South Dakota State prediction to the over is how the Coyotes will approach tonight’s game. USD ranked just 246th in adjusted tempo this season according to KenPom. Add in the fact that they will be at a rest disadvantage and it wouldn’t be a shock to see the Coyotes try to slow the pace of tonight’s game down. After all, running with South Dakota State is next to impossible. While this is a concern, the fact that the current college basketball betting line of 152 is already 5.5 points lower than the opening 157.5 suggests that we have a significant buyback window to work with.
South Dakota vs South Dakota State Prediction: Over 152 (-110 at BetUS Sportsbook)
