MBB Preview – South Dakota

The University of Iowa men’s basketball team hosts South Dakota in the final game of the Kenny Arnold Classic on Tuesday at 8 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The game will be televised on BTN.
• Tickets are $15-25 for adults and $5-10 for youth through the Iowa Athletics Ticket Office.

FOLLOW LIVE

Radio: Tuesday’s game will be broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network with Gary Dolphin (play-by-play) and Bobby Hansen (color) on the call. The network includes more than 40 stations that blanket the state of Iowa and include portions of Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin. The Hawkeye Radio Network includes a 60-minute pregame show.
Television: Tuesday’s game will be televised on BTN with Kevin Kugler (play-by-play) and Jess Settles (color) on the call.

OPENING TIP

• The Hawkeyes won their second straight game, downing Southern, 89-74, on Thursday in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa has now started 2-0 in four consecutive seasons.
• Iowa has won 91 of its last 97 nonconference home games, dating back to 2012.
• The Hawkeyes’ first three games against Texas A&M Commerce, Southern and South Dakota are part of the Kenny Arnold Classic.
• Senior Payton Sandfort has had 17+ points, 8+ rebounds and 7+ assists in Iowa’s two season-opening victories. He notched his 19th career 20-point game and sixth career double-double in the season opener. He is averaging 18.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and seven assists.
• Sophomore Pryce Sandfort has notched career highs in points, field goals, 3-pointers and rebounds in back-to-back games. He led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting with six 3-pointers and four rebounds in the win over Southern.
• Splash Brothers… Payton and Pryce Sandfort have combined to make 17 3-point field goals in Iowa’s first two games. Pryce has made 9-of-17 attempts; Payton is 8-of-20. They are 1-2 in the Big Ten in 3-pointers made. They are 1-2 in the Big Ten in 3-pointers made.
• Iowa made 18 3-point field goals — its most in a game since the 2022 Big Ten Tournament — in the victory over Southern. The 18 makes are tied for the fifth-most in a game under Fran McCaffery at Iowa.
• One more… Iowa has had more than 20 assists in each of its first two games. The Hawkeyes have assisted on 76.6 percent of their field goals this season.
• Sophomore Owen Freeman is averaging 15 points, 8.5 rebounds and three blocks in two games. He made his first career 3-pointer in Iowa’s win over Southern.
• Josh Dix (honorable mention), Owen Freeman (honorable mention, Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Year) and Payton Sandfort (third team) all earned All-Big Ten honors last season. Sandfort is a preseason first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2024-25.
• Payton Sandfort has been named the John R. Wooden Award preseason Watch List and to the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Preseason List.

SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA

• The Coyotes enter Tuesday’s game with a 3-0 record with all three wins coming at home. South Dakota beat Southern (93-79) and Texas A&M Commerce (91-83) as part of the Kenny Arnold Classic.
• In its most recent game, the Coyotes downed Mount Marty, 77-47. USD had 41 bench points in the victory.
• USD’s Chase Forte is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 14.7 points per game. He is one of four Coyote players averaging in double digits. Paul Bruns is the top rebounder, averaging 5.7 per game.
• Tuesday’s game is USD’s first road game of the season.
• USD junior center Cameron Fens is a native of Dubuque, Iowa, who prepped at Dubuque Hempstead. He began his career at UIC.

SERIES HISTORY

• Iowa leads the all-time series over South Dakota, 12-0. The last meeting came in 2017 when the Hawkeyes downed the Coyotes, 87-75, in an NIT game in Iowa City.
• The Hawkeyes are 44-5 all-time against current schools from The Summit League.

 

LAST GAME: IOWA 89, SOUTHERN 74

Iowa shot 53.3 percent from the floor and made 18 3-point field goals in an 89-74 victory over Southern on Nov. 7 in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes had five players land in double figures with sophomore Pryce Sandfort leading the way with a career-high 22 points. He made 8-of-10 field goals in the game, including six 3-pointers.

SPLASH BROTHERS

Brothers Payton and Pryce Sandfort have been deadly from 3-point range for the Hawkeyes. The duo have combined to make 17 3-point field goals in Iowa’s first two games. Pryce has a team-high nine 3-pointers, shooting 52.9 percent (9-of-17) from long range.
• The Sandforts rank No. 1 and No. 2 in the Big Ten in 3-point field goals.

PRYCE’S FAST START

• Sophomore Pryce Sandfort has posted career-highs in scoring, field goals, 3-pointers and rebounds in consecutive games to open the 2024-25 season. The Waukee, Iowa, native made his first eight field goals en route to a 22-point outing in Iowa’s win over Southern on Nov. 7. He made 8-of-10 field goals in the game with six 3-pointers.
• Sandfort is averaging 17.5 points — second on the team — shooting 60 percent from the field and 52.9 percent from long range.

PRESEASON WATCH LISTS

Senior Payton Sandfort has been named to the prestigious John R. Wooden Preseason Watch List. He is one of 50 players named to the list and one of nine from the Big Ten Conference.
• Sandfort is also one of 20 players named to the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Preseason Watch List. It is his second straight year that he has been on the list that for an award that recognizes the best small forwards in men’s college basketball.

1-2 PG PUNCH

Iowa’s point guard duo of Brock Harding and Drew Thelwell are averaging 16.5 points and eight assists in two games this season.
• Thelwell has landed in double figures in both games, where he is averaging 11 points. Harding has 12 assists to one turnover in two games.

18 FROM DISTANCE

The Hawkeyes made 18 3-point field goals in the victory over Southern on Nov. 7. They are the most for the program since the 2022 Big Ten Tournament and tied for the fifth-most under head coach Fran McCaffery at Iowa.
• Iowa had seven different players make at least one 3-pointer in the victory, including Owen Freeman’s first career 3.
• As a team, Iowa averages 14 3-pointers per game, while shooting 40.6 percent. The team ranks second in the Big Ten and fifth nationally in 3-pointers per game.