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Dec. 31—VERMILLION, S.D. — The University of South Dakota men's basketball team arrives at Summit League play not as it was built, but as it has learned to adapt and withstand adversity.
After losing key contributors to season-ending injuries and abandoning its preseason blueprint, the Coyotes enter conference action on Wednesday, Dec. 31, at North Dakota State with an 8-7 record and a growing sense of belief.
South Dakota has won three of its last four games to close a challenging non-conference schedule defined as much by resilience as results.
USD's first 15 games were marked by significant adversity, most notably a series of major injuries that reshaped both the rotation and the team's identity.
Season-ending injuries sidelined redshirt sophomore guard Josiah Dotzler (torn ACL), redshirt sophomore guard Jalen Hayes (torn labrum), redshirt freshman guard Porter Ihnen (torn ACL, played four games) and senior forward Ashton Smith (torn Achilles, played six games).
Junior forward Jake Brack has missed the last two games with a dislocated shoulder and ligament damage and remains the lone injury without a definitive season-ending designation.
"Jake's the one we're still waiting on," USD head coach Eric Peterson said. "Hopefully, at some point this season, we can get him back but I don't know a timeline if he can return or not."
Those losses forced Peterson to abandon his preseason vision of pressing for 40 minutes and rotating 12 players to maximize the pace of fresh legs. Instead, South Dakota has adapted into a slower, half-court-oriented team, often grinding possessions on both ends of the floor with a shortened bench.
"I think our team has done a really good job of adapting, but it's going to take some time to actually play games and learn how to play differently," Peterson said. "When they got here in June, it was never a half-court game. It was press, transition, and play very fast. Now, it's about getting guys back in transition to set our defense. We need to become a half-court team and do it consistently, and that's become our identity with the injuries."
USD has relied on an eight-to-10-man rotation, leaning heavily on versatility and guard play. Senior forward Caleb Kizer has been thrust into a larger role as the seventh man, becoming a regular part of the rotation as the Coyotes adjust on the fly.
"The younger guys were playing for us, but now they're just being counted on even more," Peterson said. "They're playing a more significant role, and we have to play small at times where we have to take our center out and play five guards. We did a little bit of that last year, but we were also pressing, so it's a little easier to do that with five guards versus being a tough, physical rebounding team in the half court and grinding teams out."
Despite the personnel challenges, South Dakota has found consistent offense. The Coyotes rank second in the Summit League at 83.5 points per game and have eclipsed 80 points nine times this season.
USD currently has four players in double-figure scoring per game as of Dec. 31, which includes Issac Bruns (20.7), Jordan Crawford (11.7), Cameron Fens (11.4) and Uzziah Buntyn (10). Shey Eberwein averages 7.7 points per contest, while Jesse McIntosh offers 7.6 per game to round out over 80% of the team's scoring.
The Coyotes have also been one of the nation's best teams on the offensive glass, ranking No. 22 in the NCAA with 14.52 offensive rebounds per game and recording double-digit offensive boards in 13 of 15 contests. Peterson noted, however, that those numbers may dip as the Coyotes conserve bodies.
"I hope we continue our improvement in offensive rebounding, but we're not going to be sending five guys to the glass anymore because we are short-handed," Peterson said. "That's why every other area is going to be magnified even more, offensively and defensively. We have to get really good shots moving forward to put up the scoring we have so far."
Another strength has been getting to the free-throw line. South Dakota ranks seventh nationally in free-throw attempts per game (28.5) and 11th in makes (20.5), helping stabilize the offense during half-court stretches.
Individually, Bruns has emerged as one of the top players in the Summit League. He was named to the Lou Henson Player of the Year Award Early Season Watch List and enters conference play averaging 20.7 points per game, which ranks second in the Summit and No. 21 nationally. His 311 total points rank No. 2 in the NCAA, and has scored 20 or more in seven of the last eight games.
Over the past four contests, Bruns has averaged 23.5 points and 5.5 rebounds, while Fens has posted 16 points and 10 rebounds per game with two double-doubles. Fens set career-highs with 22 points and 14 rebounds against Prairie View A&M on Dec. 13 and has scored in double-figures in eight of the last nine games.
The Coyotes' non-conference slate also featured stiff competition. USD faced three high-major opponents — Missouri, Creighton and Kansas State — losing by an average margin of 26.6 points, while also splitting games against two Mountain West Conference teams, highlighted by an 80-63 win over Air Force on Nov. 29 in Rapid City.
"I thought those games made us better and helped us develop some of those guys in our rotation," Peterson said. "Anytime that you look around the country at the teams at our level, if you can be above .500 in the non-conference schedule it's a huge win leading into conference play."
Now, with Summit League action beginning, Peterson believes his team is positioned to compete despite the obstacles.
"Our team's got the right mindset," he said. "We've had two really good practices the last couple days, knowing some adversity that we have had. And having guys like Cameron Fens and Isaac Bruns back, and a transfer like Jordan Crawford, gives us experience and added leadership. We still have a good chunk of our roster intact, and that's been a huge part of our team's success that we will need as the season moves along."
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After losing key contributors to season-ending injuries and abandoning its preseason blueprint, the Coyotes enter conference action on Wednesday, Dec. 31, at North Dakota State with an 8-7 record and a growing sense of belief.
South Dakota has won three of its last four games to close a challenging non-conference schedule defined as much by resilience as results.
USD's first 15 games were marked by significant adversity, most notably a series of major injuries that reshaped both the rotation and the team's identity.
Season-ending injuries sidelined redshirt sophomore guard Josiah Dotzler (torn ACL), redshirt sophomore guard Jalen Hayes (torn labrum), redshirt freshman guard Porter Ihnen (torn ACL, played four games) and senior forward Ashton Smith (torn Achilles, played six games).
Junior forward Jake Brack has missed the last two games with a dislocated shoulder and ligament damage and remains the lone injury without a definitive season-ending designation.
"Jake's the one we're still waiting on," USD head coach Eric Peterson said. "Hopefully, at some point this season, we can get him back but I don't know a timeline if he can return or not."
Those losses forced Peterson to abandon his preseason vision of pressing for 40 minutes and rotating 12 players to maximize the pace of fresh legs. Instead, South Dakota has adapted into a slower, half-court-oriented team, often grinding possessions on both ends of the floor with a shortened bench.
"I think our team has done a really good job of adapting, but it's going to take some time to actually play games and learn how to play differently," Peterson said. "When they got here in June, it was never a half-court game. It was press, transition, and play very fast. Now, it's about getting guys back in transition to set our defense. We need to become a half-court team and do it consistently, and that's become our identity with the injuries."
USD has relied on an eight-to-10-man rotation, leaning heavily on versatility and guard play. Senior forward Caleb Kizer has been thrust into a larger role as the seventh man, becoming a regular part of the rotation as the Coyotes adjust on the fly.
"The younger guys were playing for us, but now they're just being counted on even more," Peterson said. "They're playing a more significant role, and we have to play small at times where we have to take our center out and play five guards. We did a little bit of that last year, but we were also pressing, so it's a little easier to do that with five guards versus being a tough, physical rebounding team in the half court and grinding teams out."
Despite the personnel challenges, South Dakota has found consistent offense. The Coyotes rank second in the Summit League at 83.5 points per game and have eclipsed 80 points nine times this season.
USD currently has four players in double-figure scoring per game as of Dec. 31, which includes Issac Bruns (20.7), Jordan Crawford (11.7), Cameron Fens (11.4) and Uzziah Buntyn (10). Shey Eberwein averages 7.7 points per contest, while Jesse McIntosh offers 7.6 per game to round out over 80% of the team's scoring.
The Coyotes have also been one of the nation's best teams on the offensive glass, ranking No. 22 in the NCAA with 14.52 offensive rebounds per game and recording double-digit offensive boards in 13 of 15 contests. Peterson noted, however, that those numbers may dip as the Coyotes conserve bodies.
"I hope we continue our improvement in offensive rebounding, but we're not going to be sending five guys to the glass anymore because we are short-handed," Peterson said. "That's why every other area is going to be magnified even more, offensively and defensively. We have to get really good shots moving forward to put up the scoring we have so far."
Another strength has been getting to the free-throw line. South Dakota ranks seventh nationally in free-throw attempts per game (28.5) and 11th in makes (20.5), helping stabilize the offense during half-court stretches.
Individually, Bruns has emerged as one of the top players in the Summit League. He was named to the Lou Henson Player of the Year Award Early Season Watch List and enters conference play averaging 20.7 points per game, which ranks second in the Summit and No. 21 nationally. His 311 total points rank No. 2 in the NCAA, and has scored 20 or more in seven of the last eight games.
Over the past four contests, Bruns has averaged 23.5 points and 5.5 rebounds, while Fens has posted 16 points and 10 rebounds per game with two double-doubles. Fens set career-highs with 22 points and 14 rebounds against Prairie View A&M on Dec. 13 and has scored in double-figures in eight of the last nine games.
The Coyotes' non-conference slate also featured stiff competition. USD faced three high-major opponents — Missouri, Creighton and Kansas State — losing by an average margin of 26.6 points, while also splitting games against two Mountain West Conference teams, highlighted by an 80-63 win over Air Force on Nov. 29 in Rapid City.
"I thought those games made us better and helped us develop some of those guys in our rotation," Peterson said. "Anytime that you look around the country at the teams at our level, if you can be above .500 in the non-conference schedule it's a huge win leading into conference play."
Now, with Summit League action beginning, Peterson believes his team is positioned to compete despite the obstacles.
"Our team's got the right mindset," he said. "We've had two really good practices the last couple days, knowing some adversity that we have had. And having guys like Cameron Fens and Isaac Bruns back, and a transfer like Jordan Crawford, gives us experience and added leadership. We still have a good chunk of our roster intact, and that's been a huge part of our team's success that we will need as the season moves along."
Continue reading...
