Two games against the Big Ten, one against Kansas State and a trip to Las Vegas highlight the 2015-16 South Dakota men’s basketball schedule released Friday.
The schedule includes 14 non-conference games before the Coyotes host IUPUI in a Summit League opener on New Year’s Day. Three of those non-conference games are home and another will take place in Sioux Falls on Dec. 28 when South Dakota takes on Florida Gulf Coast inside the Pentagon.
“We have put together another challenging slate of non-conference games,” said South Dakota Head Coach Craig Smith. “It will be the second year in a row that we play seven of our first eight away from the DakotaDome.”
South Dakota will face Wright State, Northern Illinois and Cal State Northridge on consecutive days at a season-opening tournament in DeKalb, Ill., Nov. 13-15. The Coyotes take on Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan., on Nov. 20.
The home opener is Nov. 24 against South Dakota Mines. Two games in Sacramento, Calif., against Sacramento State and Eastern Washington will be held Nov. 28-29. Eastern Washington won the Big Sky Tournament a year ago and competed in the NCAA Tournament. The Coyotes take on Minnesota in Minneapolis on Dec. 5.
Home games against Kansas City and CSU Bakersfield will be held Dec. 8 and Dec. 12, respectively. Those are followed by road trips to Milwaukee (Dec. 17), Illinois (Dec. 19) and UNLV (Dec. 22). The game in Sioux Falls wraps up 2015.
“Kansas State, Minnesota and Illinois give us games against two of the best conferences in college basketball,” said Smith. “UNLV is one of the most nationally recognized teams in the nation. The mid-major portion of our schedule will be demanding and great for both our players and fans as we prepare for Summit League play.”
Jan. 1 marks the start of a 16-game Summit League slate. The Coyotes take on Summit League Tournament Champion North Dakota State in Fargo, N.D., Jan. 13 and host South Dakota State on Jan. 23.
The return trip to SDSU is Feb. 13. The Coyotes host Denver on Senior Night Feb. 21. That will mark the team’s final game played inside the DakotaDome. South Dakota wraps up the regular season on the road against IUPUI (Feb. 25) and Western Illinois (Feb. 27).
The Summit League Tournament will be held March 5-8 in Sioux Falls, S.D. Eight of the league’s top nine teams will compete then for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
A full listing of the schedule follows:
Date Opponent Location Time (CT)
N 13 Wright State DeKalb, Ill. TBA
N 14 Northern Illinois DeKalb, Ill. TBA
N 15 Cal State Northridge DeKalb, Ill. TBA
N 20 Kansas State Manhattan, Kan. TBA
N 24 South Dakota Mines Vermillion, S.D. 7 p.m.
N 28 Sacramento State Sacramento, Calif. 5:30 p.m.
N 29 Eastern Washington Sacramento, Calif. 4:30 p.m.
D 5 Minnesota Minneapolis, Minn. TBA
D 8 Kansas City Vermillion, S.D. 7 p.m.
D 12 CSU Bakersfield Vermillion, S.D. 5:30 p.m.
D 17 Milwaukee Milwaukee, Wis. TBA
D 19 Illinois Champaign, Ill. TBA
D 22 UNLV Las Vegas, Nev. TBA
D 28 Florida Gulf Coast Sioux Falls, S.D. 7 p.m.
J 1 IUPUI* Vermillion, S.D. 2:30 p.m.
J 3 Oral Roberts* Tulsa, Okla. TBA
J 6 Fort Wayne* Fort Wayne, Ind. TBA
J 9 Omaha* Vermillion, S.D. 4 p.m.
J 13 North Dakota State* Fargo, N.D. 7 p.m.
J 20 Western Illinois* Vermillion, S.D. 7 p.m.
J 23 South Dakota State* Vermillion, S.D. 4 p.m.
J 28 Denver* Denver, Colo. TBA
J 30 Omaha* Omaha, Neb. TBA
F 4 Fort Wayne* Vermillion, S.D. 7 p.m.
F 6 Oral Roberts* Vermillion, S.D. 2 p.m.
F 11 North Dakota State* Vermillion, S.D. 7 p.m.
F 13 South Dakota State* Brookings, S.D. 4:30 p.m.
F 17 York College Vermillion, S.D. 7 p.m.
F 21 Denver* Vermillion, S.D. 2 p.m.
F 25 IUPUI* Indianapolis, Ind. TBA
F 27 Western Illinois* Macomb, Ill. TBA
M 5-8 Summit League Tournament Sioux Falls, S.D. TBA
*Summit League contest
