:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/68024993/usa_today_15244075.0.jpg)
The Nebraska Cornhuskers season continues with its fourth game of the season already just shy of one week into the season as the South Dakota Coyotes come to Lincoln for the first time since 2016.
When
9 PM ET/8 CT
Where
Lincoln, NE - Pinnacle Bank Arena
TV
BTN
Radio
IMG College Sports Network
1400 AM in Lincoln, 590 AM in Omaha, 880 AM in Lexington
Or TuneIn Radio App
South Dakota enters this game at 0-2 following losses to Colorado (84-61) and Drake (69-53) in the Little Apple Classic last week. The Coyotes returned just one starter this season from a team that went 20-12 and finished third in the Summit League in the 2019-’20 season with a 10-6 conference record.
Senior guard Stanley Umude returns as one of the top players in the Summit League. The 6-foot-6 guard averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game last season and is leading the team in scoring with his 17.0 points per game so far this season. Sophomore guard A.J. Plitzuweit joins Umade in double figures at 11.5 points per game. USD shot just 35 percent in its first two games, while opponents averaged 42 percent.
South Dakota has a pair of players with Nebraska ties. Sophomore forward Brady Heiman began his college career at Nebraska, where he played in 30 games in 2018-19. Sophomore guard Kanon Koster is a Kearney, Neb., native who began his career at UNK. Graduate assistant Johnny Trueblood played at Nebraska (in the 2015-16 season then again from 2017-19), helping the Huskers to consecutive postseason appearances after walking on to the program.
Coach Todd Lee is in his third season. Prior to taking the Coyotes’ job, Lee was an assistant at Grand Canyon University and spent eight seasons as head coach at Kentucky Wesleyan. He took the Panthers to five straight NCAA Division II Tournaments.
Nebraska is 32-5 all-time against South Dakota, but the teams have played just three times since 1984. The last meeting in 2016 was a 73-61 Huskerwin. Five Huskers scored in double-figures in that match-up.
Prediction
As for this year’s game, the Huskers shouldn’t have much trouble with the Coyotes. The defense doesn’t seem to be there as the Coyotes currently rank 271st in KenPom for adjusted defense. Nebraska should see a lot of scoring on offense and keep up the pace of double-digit scoring averages by its five players currently averaging that, and could even see Shamiel Stevenson break the double-digit barrier from his current 8.7 per game average.
Huskers 78-Coyotes 59