| South Dakota State Men’s Basketball: Game 30 (at Oral Roberts) & Game 31 (at Denver) | |
| Date and Time (Gm 30 | Gm 31) | Thursday, Feb. 27 – 7 PM CT | Saturday, March 1 – 2 PM CT |
| Location (Gm 30 | Gm 31) | Tulsa, Okla. | Denver, Colo. |
| Site (Gm 30 | Gm 31) | Mabee Center | Hamilton Gymnasium |
| Television | None |
| Streaming | Summit League Network |
| Tickets | ORUAthletics.com | DenverPioneers.com |
| Audio | GoJacks.com |
| Live Stats | ORUAthletics.com | DenverPioneers.com |
| South Dakota State | Game Notes | Home Page |
| Opponents | Oral Roberts | Denver |
South Dakota State prepares for its final road trip of the 2024-25 regular season. The Jackrabbits open their travels with a 7 p.m. matchup on Thursday at Oral Roberts in the Mabee Center. They close their regular season out with a 2 p.m. CT contest at Denver on Saturday.
The Jackrabbits and Golden Eagles previously met in Brookings on Jan. 18. The two sides played a back-and-forth first half before six consecutive points led to a 41-35 edge for the Jacks at halftime. The Jacks built up a 15-point advantage, however the Golden Eagles cut the deficit to eight on multiple occasions. SDSU never allowed ORU to get the margin closer in both teams’ fifth games of their conference schedules.
SDSU’s win over Oral Roberts saw center Oscar Cluff record 21 points and 20 rebounds. He became just the second Jackrabbit to achieve a 20-20 stat line during the program’s Division I era. He was named the Kwik Star Summit League Peak Performer of the Week following the effort.
The game also saw SDSU have double digit scorers in Joe Sayler (17), Kalen Garry (11), Matthew Mors (11) and Owen Larson (10). ORU was led in the contest by 26 points from Issac McBride. SDSU outshot ORU 48-37%. The Jacks also had a 44-32 rebounding edge.
Oral Roberts had lost four consecutive contests before defeating St. Thomas, 71-66, in Tulsa on Saturday. The Golden Eagles improved to 7-20 overall and 3-11 in Summit League play. McBride leads the conference in scoring in league games at 22.4 points per contest and minutes played (36.5). Teammate JoJo Moore is 14th in scoring (14.3) and ninth in rebounding (5.6).
South Dakota State and Denver opened the league schedule on Jan. 2 in Brookings. The Jackrabbits jumped the Pioneers from the start and took a 27-point lead into halftime. SDSU eventually defeated Denver, 91-70, in First Bank & Trust Arena. Cluff led the Jacks in the contest with then career highs in both points (30) and rebounds (19). The Pioneers are currently 10-19 overall and 4-10 in league play, which has Denver seventh in the conference standings.
SDSU is coming off a 70-65 win over Kansas City. The Jackrabbits trailed 59-52 with 5:25 to play when SDSU began its rally. Two Jaden Jackson 3-pointers, along with a Kalen Garry jumper, brought the Jacks back into the contest. A Cluff layup put SDSU up for good, 66-64, with 47 seconds left as the Jacks held strong defensively.
The Summit League schedule ends this week and SDSU is currently tied for second in the standings with St. Thomas at 10-4. The Jacks can still claim a share of the regular season title, depending on results, and can be no worse than a three seed for the upcoming conference tournament.
COVERAGE INFORMATION
Both games will be streamed on The Summit League Network Powered by Midco Sports. Every SDSU men’s basketball game can be heard on the Jackrabbit Sports Network, at GoJacks.com.watch or on the Varsity App. To keep up with the Jackrabbits, follow along with the program on their social media accounts @GoJacksMBB or visit GoJacks.com.