South Dakota State Jackrabbits vs South Dakota Coyotes Prediction, 2/28/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: South Dakota State Jackrabbits vs South Dakota Coyotes

Date: Saturday, February 28, 2026

Location: Sanford Coyote Sports Center in Vermillion, SD

TV: ESPN+

The South Dakota State Jackrabbits (14-16) are on their way to Sanford Coyote Sports Center on Saturday where they will take on the South Dakota Coyotes (15-15).

The South Dakota State Jackrabbits stepped onto the hardwood against UMKC and went home with a win by a final score of 73-59 in their last contest. In regard to fouls, the Jackrabbits ended up walking away with 13 and UMKC totaled 16 fouls. They made 10 of their 28 attempts from distance. UMKC shot 60.0% from the charity stripe by converting 9 of their 15 attempts. Furthermore, UMKC snagged 18 rebounds (5 offensive, 13 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. UMKC recorded 9 assists and had 6 steals for this game. Pertaining to defense, South Dakota State let their opponent shoot 35.1% from the field on 20 of 57 shooting. They also dished out 10 assists in this game while forcing the opposition into 4 turnovers and having 2 steals. Concerning pulling down rebounds, they compiled 43 with 9 of them being of the offensive variety. When they shot from the free throw line, the Jackrabbits buried 11 of their 15 attempts for a percentage of 73.3%. South Dakota State ended the game having earned a 46.6% FG percentage (27 out of 58) and made 8 out of their 19 three-point attempts.

Joe Sayler is one player who was a major factor in the matchup. He accounted for 22 points on 7 of 15 shooting. He was on the court for 34 minutes and also collected 3 rebounds. He walked away from this one shooting 46.7% from the field and recorded 1 assist.

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South Dakota State will take the court with a record of 14-16 this year. They turn it over 11.0 times per contest and as a squad they commit 16.3 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, South Dakota State is grabbing 37.2 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 433 dimes so far this season, which has them ranked 113th in the country in terms of passing. The Jackrabbits are hitting 34.8% on shots from distance (244 of 702) and 70.6% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 75.9 pts per contest (183rd in the nation) while going 46.4% from the field.

On the defensive end of the court, the Jackrabbits have forced 10.4 turnovers per game and they draw 17.2 fouls. They are surrendering 33.7% on shots from distance while they are 140th in the country in PPG allowed (72.5). The Jackrabbits are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 42.9% (749 of 1,745) and they concede 32.9 rebounds per contest as a team. They are 238th in college in giving up assists to the opposition with 401 conceded this season.

The last time they took the hardwood, the South Dakota Coyotes walked away with a victory by a final of 89-72 when they faced Omaha. When it comes to rebounding, South Dakota permitted Omaha to get 35 in total (8 on the offensive side). They finished 35.7% from downtown by going 5 of 14 and ended up going 19 of 28 at the charity stripe (67.9%). The Coyotes allowed Omaha to bury 24 out of their 56 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.9% for the contest. When the final whistle was blown, the Coyotes ended up going 28 out of 58 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 48.3%. With regard to shots from beyond the perimeter, South Dakota knocked down 10 out of their 25 attempts (40.0%). They were able to bury 23 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 76.7%. Omaha had 23 fouls in this game which got the Coyotes to the charity stripe for a total of 30 attempts. They also turned it over 7 times, while recording 5 steals for the game. The Coyotes were able to corral 27 defensive boards and 5 offensive boards for a total of 32 in the matchup.

Jordan Crawford was important for the Coyotes for this game. He buried 8 of 12 for this game giving him a rate of 66.7%, and totaled 2 rebounds. He accumulated 26 points in his 39 minutes on the hardwood and added 1 assist for this game.

South Dakota has a win-loss mark of 15-15 for the campaign. The Coyotes commit 15.4 fouls every game and they shoot 73.8% from the free throw line. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 12.5 times per contest (285th in college) and they are losing possession via turnover 12.2 times per contest. South Dakota has accounted for 2,410 points so far this year (80.3 per game) and they average 34.4 boards per contest. When it comes to offense, the Coyotes are shooting 45.6% from the field, which is ranked 160th in college.

The Coyotes on defense are ranked 337th in D-1 in points given up per game with 80.7. They are able to force 11.9 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 49.3% from the floor (358th in college). The South Dakota defense gives up 33.6% on shots from distance (188 of 559) and opponents are converting on 73.3% of their shots from the charity stripe. They surrender 13.1 assists and 34.2 boards every game, which ranks them 154th and 169th in Division 1.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take South Dakota

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