Jackrabbits to try luck against 14th-ranked Utes

Dec 23, 2014 - 4:26 PM Salt Lake City, UT (SportsNetwork.com) - The South Dakota State Jackrabbits will attempt to secure their eighth straight win when they challenge the 14th- ranked Utah Utes at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on Tuesday.

South Dakota State began the season at 0-2, but the team has since reeled off nine victories in its last 10 games, including the last seven in a row. A 68-65 overtime triumph at Utah State on Saturday was the most recent, which evened its record in true road games at 2-2. The Jackrabbits will play one more non-league game (Dec. 28 at Northern Iowa) before beginning Summit League action at Denver on Jan. 2.

Utah has won all six of its home game this season, helping it log an 8-2 overall mark. The Utes recently bounced back from a tough loss to Kansas (63-60) by outlasting UNLV in Sin City on Saturday in a 59-46 final. It was the seventh victory in the last eight games for a Utah squad that is embarking on a five-game homestand tonight, with the third offering being its Pac-12 Conference opener versus USC on Jan. 2.

This bout marks only the second meeting between these two schools in men's basketball, with Utah winning the first in a 78-64 final way back in 1962.

South Dakota State used the 3-point shot to maximum effectiveness in its recent clash with Utah State, as it drained nine treys compared to only one for the Aggies in what turned out to be a three-point win for the visitors. Deondre Parks went 3-of-6 from distance to tally 17 points, while Cody Larson added 16 points to go with eight rebounds for the Jackrabbits, who shot just 37.3 percent from the field and only 56.3 percent at the free-throw line. USU was only 38.2 percent accurate from the floor, and scored 22 points at the charity stripe to keep the game close.

Parks (14.0 ppg) heads a list of four players averaging double figures in the scoring column for SDSU, which lights it up for 73.2 ppg despite rather pedestrian shooting percentages (.443 overall, .336 3-point, .692 free throws). The team's defensive effort yields only 64.8 ppg, with foes having an even worse time finding the bottom of the net (.389 overall, .301 3-point, .673 free throws). George Marshall (13.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg), Larson (13.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg) and Jake Bittle (10.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg) round out the unit's offensive-minded quartet.

Utah came out on top in a defensive struggle against UNLV over the weekend, as neither team shot better than 39.6 percent from the field (the Utes), while both had difficulty knocking down their free throws as well (Utah .571, UNLV .435). Delon Wright led all scorers with 17 points, and he was credited with half of Utah's eight assists, while Brandon Taylor hit a pair of 3-pointers en route to 16 points. Chris Reyes didn't do anything offensively, but pulled down 10 rebounds -- all at the defensive end.

Wright continues to pace the Utes on the score sheet with 16.3 ppg, while also providing value in other areas with 5.1 rpg and 4.7 apg. Utah has three other players netting double digits, none more than 11 ppg, and a guy like Jakob Poetl is close to averaging a double-double with his 10.6 points and 8.9 caroms per contest. Utah is putting up 74.8 ppg behind typical shooting efforts of .490 overall and .382 beyond the arc, while the team's defensive stand yields only 56.8 ppg, with foes connecting on just 36 percent of their total shots. The Utes usually have little trouble controlling the glass, doing so to the tune of a +8.3 rebounding margin.