If you were to go back and time and tell any South Dakota fan that after 12 conference games, 8 of which were on the road, that they would be 9-3 I think 99% of them would have been ecstatic with that.
It’s how they’ve arrived at 9-3 that have people referencing my favorite article I’ve written on this site. It consisted of merely a question mark. The Yotes have dropped three straight after being swept this past weekend in Grand Forks.
In a year where we are all just happy to be playing basketball it is worth mentioning the schedule has been unkind to USD. No other team in the League had two back to back road weekends scheduled. Since the calendar turned 21, the Yotes have played one weekend at home. Perhaps the only team in the country that is jealous of that is the USD women who have played 0 home games. ORU has a home-away-home-away sequence. NDSU has similar but with back to back home weekends prior to finishing on the road the last weekend of regular season. SDSU had two road series canceled. So they will end up (in theory) with 8 home games and only 4 road games in conference.
The Coyotes stopped a 20+ year ache with a win in Brookings and if not for a late game rally by SDSU, had them beat a second time. Perhaps it was the amazing shooting performances by UND the following week or perhaps the Yotes simply ran out of on the road gas, but fortunately for them the schedule turns kinder the last two weeks of the regular season. The strength of the opponents however, does not get any easier. Obanor and Abmas lead ORU to Verm followed by perhaps the one team that has had regular success in the SCSC in defending Summit League Tournament Champs NDSU.
But in any case, the Yotes will be home. Fans will have a chance to have their say in the outcome as well. 4 games to decide the regular season champs at home. That’s all anyone could have asked for 12 games ago. Go Yotes.