Denver Pioneers vs South Dakota Coyotes Prediction, 1/10/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Denver Pioneers vs South Dakota Coyotes

Date: Saturday, January 10, 2026

Location: Sanford Coyote Sports Center in Vermillion, SD

TV: ESPN+

The South Dakota Coyotes (8-9) are welcoming the Denver Pioneers (8-9) at Sanford Coyote Sports Center on Saturday.

The Denver Pioneers took the court against St. Thomas and took a loss by a final of 92-88 in their last contest. Concerning fouls, the Pioneers ended up walking away with 22 and St. Thomas accumulated 19 fouls. They knocked down 13 out of their 33 shots from beyond the arc. St. Thomas finished the game shooting 58.6% from the charity stripe by knocking down 17 of 29 shots. On top of that, St. Thomas pulled down 32 rebounds (13 offensive, 19 defensive), but didn't notch a block. St. Thomas recorded 20 assists and had 7 steals for the contest. In regard to the defense, Denver allowed their opponent to shoot 46.3% from the field on 31 out of 67 shooting. They also doled out 12 assists in this matchup while forcing the other team into 7 turnovers and getting 3 steals. Pertaining to hauling in rebounds, they earned 32 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. From the free throw line, the Pioneers knocked down 26 of 30 shots for a percentage of 86.7%. Denver finished having earned a 49.1% field goal percentage (27 out of 55) and knocked down 8 out of their 21 shots from downtown.

Zane Nelson is a guy who was important for this game. He ended up finishing with 24 points on 4 out of 12 shooting. He played for 39 minutes and totaled 9 boards. He finished the contest at 33.3% from the floor and also earned 6 dimes.

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Denver will enter this game with a win-loss mark of 8-9 on the year. They currently have an average of 84.5 points per contest (62nd in the country) while shooting 49.0% from the field. The Pioneers are shooting 38.4% on shots from downtown (147 of 383) and 77.5% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Denver is pulling down 33.1 boards per game and has 199 assists so far this season, which has them ranked 275th in D-1 in terms of passing. They cough up possession 10.7 times per game and as a group they commit 17.4 personal fouls per game.

On the defensive end, the Pioneers are forcing 9.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 19.4 personal fouls. They give up 39.4% from 3-point land while they are 350th in college in opponents points per game (85.0). The Pioneers are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 49.5% (523 of 1,057) and they concede 34.3 rebounds per contest as a group. They currently rank 290th in the country in giving up assists to their opponents with 235 surrendered this season.

In their last game, the South Dakota Coyotes took a loss by a score of 99-86 against St. Thomas. In reference to how they rebounded, South Dakota permitted St. Thomas to collect 26 overall (5 offensive). They shot 45.0% from three-point range by shooting 9 of 20 and finished the contest at 16 of 21 from the free throw line (76.2%). The Coyotes permitted St. Thomas to convert 37 out of their 59 attempts from the floor which left them with a rate of 62.7% for the contest. When the game finished, the Coyotes ended up going 24 out of 52 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 46.2%. When it comes to three-point shots, South Dakota knocked down 11 out of their 21 attempts (52.4%). They were able to convert 10 of the free throw tries for a rate of 90.9%. St. Thomas earned 18 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Coyotes to the charity stripe for 11 shots. They coughed it up 13 times, while getting 1 steal in the game. The Coyotes snagged 20 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards totaling 29 for this game.

Isaac Bruns ended up having an impact for the Coyotes for the game. He earned 24 points in his 34 mins of playing time and earned 1 assist for this contest. He made 8 out of 17 for the matchup giving him a rate of 47.1%, and added 6 rebounds.

South Dakota has a mark of 8-9 for the season. The Coyotes are committing 16.2 fouls per contest while shooting 73.2% from the free throw line. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 11.7 times per game (332nd in the nation) and they turn it over 13.3 times per game. South Dakota has 1,400 points this year (82.4 per game) and they average 36.2 rebounds per contest. On the offensive side of the court, the Coyotes are shooting 45.6% from the field, which has them ranked 174th in the country.

The Coyotes on defense are ranked 343rd in D-1 in PPG given up with 83.2. They are able to force 12.9 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 51.2% from the floor (362nd in college). The South Dakota defense allows 33.2% on 3-pointers (106 of 319) and their opponents are converting on 73.6% of their free throw attempts. They relinquish 15.4 assists and 33.2 total boards per game, which ranks them 303rd and 103rd in those defensive categories.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Denver

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