Who's Playing
South Dakota Coyotes @ Santa Clara Broncos
Current Records: South Dakota 9-5, Santa Clara 7-5
How To Watch
- When: Saturday, December 21, 2024 at 5 p.m. ET
- Where: Leavey Center -- Santa Clara, California
- TV: ESPN Plus
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online Streaming: Catch select College Basketball matches on Fubo (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
What to Know
The South Dakota Coyotes are taking a road trip to face off against the Santa Clara Broncos at 5:00 p.m. ET on Saturday at Leavey Center. One thing working in the Coyotes' favor is that they have posted at least 82 points in their last five matches.
South Dakota is headed into Saturday's contest after beating the impressive 163.5-point over/under the oddsmakers set for their last matchup against Utah Tech. South Dakota fell 92-87 to Utah Tech on Thursday. The Coyotes didn't live up to their potential and found themselves falling short of the advantage oddsmakers thought they had coming into the game.
South Dakota struggled to work together and finished the game with only seven assists. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Utah Tech posted 21.
Meanwhile, Santa Clara came tearing into Wednesday's game with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 10.7 points) and they left with even more momentum. They were the clear victor by a 94-74 margin over the Owls.
Santa Clara can attribute much of their success to Adama-Alpha Bal, who went 6 for 11 from beyond the arc en route to 27 points. That's the most threes Bal has posted since back in February. The team also got some help courtesy of Tyeree Bryan, who scored 14 points along with two steals.
South Dakota's loss was their fourth straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 9-5. As for Santa Clara, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a massive bump to their 7-5 record this season.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: South Dakota has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 37.4 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Santa Clara struggles in that department as they've been averaging 38.3. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
