The Basics: South Dakota
Game Thirty
Oral Roberts (11-18), (5-11) vs South Dakota (12-19), (5-11)
Date/Time: Friday, March 8 / 7:00 p.m.
TV/Video: Summit League Network
Live Stats: Summit League
Audio: 99.9 FM ESPN Radio
Location: PREMIERE Center (Sioux Falls, S.D.)
 
TULSA, Okla. – The Oral Roberts men's basketball team travels to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to face the nine seeded South Dakota Coyotes in the first game of the Summit League Championship inside the PREMIERE Center at 7:00 p.m.

Important Links
Summit League Notes
Summit League Championship Bracket

Quick Hits
 
• Issac McBride was named to the Preseason All-Summit League First Team and Kareem Thompson earned a spot on the Second Team as the Golden Eagles were picked second in the league's preseason poll, but did receive seven first place votes.
 
• McBride was named Summit League Player of the Week on November 20, December 4 and January 29. He's had 14 20-plus point outings and 24 10-plus point outings so far this season. He continues to lead the team in scoring by averaging 19.7 points per game. He has recorded more than 1,000 points during his time at ORU. McBride scored a career-high 34 points in ORU's last home game versus Denver on February 3rd.
 
• Through 28 games, along with McBride, four other Golden Eagles average double-digits. Newcomer Jailen Bedford averages 14.4 ppg., Kareem Thompson adds 12.3 ppg and DeShang Weaver scores 10.1 ppg.
 
• McBride currently ranks first in the nation in most minutes per game (38.39)  and not far behind is Thompson in second (38.14). The Golden Eagles are 27th in the country in fewest turnovers per game at 9.8.
 
• McBride is currently 38th in the country in points per game.
 
• As a team, ORU leads the Summit League in three-pointers per game and second in  low-turnover margin.
 
• Russell Springmann took over the ORU program and is in his first season as a head coach of his career. He is in his sixth season at ORU. He earned his first career head coaching win on Nov. 6, 2023, with a 75-71 victory over Mid-America Christian. He earned his first Division-I win with a 65-63 victory at home against Texas Southern.
 
Opponent Information: South Dakota

• Friday's game will be the 22nd meeting all-time between the Golden Eagles and South Dakota.
• ORU leads the series 11-10 after splitting games with USD in the regular season.
• Kaleb Stewart leads the Coyotes in scoring averaging 15.5 points per game.
• Head Coach Eric Peterson enters into his second season with South Dakota.

For the latest information on ORU men's basketball, follow @ORUMBB on X or go to www.ORUAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on the team by downloading the ORU Athletics App in the Google Play or App Store.