South Dakota Coyotes vs. Western Illinois Leathernecks: How to watch NCAA Basketball online, TV channel, live stream info, start time

How to watch South Dakota vs. Western Illinois basketball game

By Scout Staff

Dec 14, 2024 at 1:00 pm ET • 3 min read

Halftime Report

South Dakota and Western Illinois have shown up to the game, but their offenses sure haven't. South Dakota has a bit of a cushion as they currently lead Western Illinois 53-31. This match looks nothing like the tight 70-68 margin from South Dakota's win over Western Illinois in their previous head-to-head back in December of 2023.

If South Dakota keeps playing like this, they'll bump their record up to 9-4 in no time. On the other hand, Western Illinois will have to make due with a 6-5 record unless they turn things around (and fast).

Who's Playing

Western Illinois Leathernecks @ South Dakota Coyotes

Current Records: Western Illinois 6-4, South Dakota 8-4

How To Watch

When: Saturday, December 14, 2024 at 12 p.m. ET
Where: Sanford Coyote Sports Center -- Vermillion, South Dakota
Follow: CBS Sports App
Online Streaming: Catch select College Basketball matches on Fubo (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
Ticket Cost: $15.00

What to Know

Western Illinois is 2-8 against South Dakota since December of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The Western Illinois Leathernecks will head out to face off against the South Dakota Coyotes at 12:00 p.m. ET at Sanford Coyote Sports Center. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Last Friday, Western Illinois took their match with ease, bagging a 96-49 win over East-West. That looming 96-49 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Leathernecks yet this season.

Western Illinois was working as a unit and finished the game with 21 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in December of 2023.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for South Dakota, who bounced back after a tough loss on the road on Saturday. In a tight game that could have gone either way, they made off with an 82-81 victory over Wyoming. The Coyotes' season wasn't pretty last year but it's starting to look like struggles are in the rearview.

South Dakota can attribute much of their success to Chase Forte, who went 8 for 14 en route to 25 points plus five assists and five rebounds. Forte is trending in the right direction considering he's improved his point production for three straight games. Kaleb Stewart was another key player, going 7 for 12 en route to 17 points plus two steals.

Western Illinois pushed their record up to 6-4 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. As for South Dakota, their victory bumped their record up to 8-4.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Western Illinois has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 38.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like South Dakota struggles in that department as they've been averaging 37.2. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Western Illinois is hoping to beat the odds on Saturday, as the experts think they're headed for a loss. Anyone thinking of taking them against the spread should keep this in mind: the team hasn't covered the last six times they've played South Dakota.