Purdue Fort Wayne (17-11, 9-4) vs. South Dakota State (21-7, 11-2)
Frost Arena, Brookings, South Dakota; Thursday, 8 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: South Dakota State seeks revenge on Purdue Fort Wayne after dropping the first matchup in Fort Wayne. The teams last played each other on Jan. 3, when the Mastodons outshot South Dakota State from the field 57.1 percent to 46.5 percent and made eight more 3-pointers en route to the 16-point victory.
VETERAN PRESENCE: Senior leadership could play a big role in this game's outcome. Mike Daum, Skyler Flatten and Tevin King have combined to score 59 percent of South Dakota State's points this season and 62 percent of the team's points over its last five games. For Purdue Fort Wayne, John Konchar, Kason Harrell, Matt Holba and Marcus DeBerry have collectively accounted for 64 percent of all Purdue Fort Wayne scoring, including 71 percent of the team's points over its last five games.
OFFENSIVE THREAT: Konchar has either made or assisted on 51 percent of all Purdue Fort Wayne field goals over the last three games. Konchar has accounted for 18 field goals and 25 assists in those games.
STREAK STATS: South Dakota State has won its last five home games, scoring an average of 82.4 points while giving up 65.6.
ACCOUNTING FOR ASSISTS: The Mastodons have recently used assists to create baskets more often than the Jackrabbits. South Dakota State has an assist on 47 of 83 field goals (56.6 percent) across its previous three contests while Purdue Fort Wayne has assists on 52 of 85 field goals (61.2 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: The South Dakota State offense has scored 84.6 points per game this season, ranking the Jackrabbits ninth among Division 1 teams. The Purdue Fort Wayne defense has allowed 77.7 points per game to opponents (ranked 283rd).
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This was generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com
