USD football vs. Southern Utah

Today, the University of South Dakota football team hosts Southern Utah in a Great West Conference showdown in Vermillion.

USD comes in 3-5 overall and 0-2 in league play, while Southern Utah — easily the talk of the conference — is 4-4 and 2-1. The Thunderbirds have routed North Dakota and UC Davis, and lost by one point at Cal Poly.

I’ll have a live game blog going, so feel free to join in, follow along and comment (if you’re so inclined).

Here’s the link to the blog.

Johnston at Yankton QB Club

South Dakota State women’s basketball coach Aaron Johnston spoke to a larger-than-average crowd at the Yankton Quarterback Club on Wednesday, Nov. 4. James Grotenhuis, the emcee for the weekly gathering, even joked that “AJ” will be speaking again next week because the gathering was so much bigger than it had been in recent weeks.

That’s what making the second round of the NCAA Tournament will do for you.

All kidding aside, I know that most of the SDSU fans in attendance would have been there even if the Jackrabbit women would have had just three wins instead of the three losses they had. They are very loyal, even in down times, but they have had plenty to cheer about the past few years.

Here is the video of Johnston’s talk. He covers a number of basketball-related things, as well as touching on the success of other sports on campus and the changes to campus itself. Be patient, as the player needs to completely load the video before it starts playing.

 

Quarterfinal Updates

We will be doing score updates for the South Dakota Football Quarterfinals on our website.

Here is the link.

Second Round Picks

We are on the eve of the quarterfinals of the South Dakota football playoffs, and I am watching the Vikings and Packers square off. (Not a fan of either, just saying “GIVE THE BALL TO AP!”) No that that’s out of the way … here are my second round picks. (Home teams are in bold)

CLASS 11AA: Aberdeen Central over Stevens; O’Gorman over Roosevelt; Washington over Yankton; Brandon Valley over Pierre. (Hope I’m wrong on one, and I’ll let you guess which one.)

CLASS 11A: Sisseton over Milbank; Dakota Valley over Harrisburg; Todd County over Pine Ridge; St. Thomas More over Belle Fourche

CLASS 11B: Aberdeen Roncalli over Redfield-Doland; Tri-Valley over Flandreau; Wagner over Platte-Geddes-Dakota Christian; Winner over Mobridge-Pollock

CLASS 9AA: Leola-Frederick over Langford-Roslyn; Howard over Chester Area; Emery-Ethan over Canistota-Bridgewater; Herreid-Selby Area over Lyman

CLASS 9A: Arlington over Castlewood; Hanson over Mount Vernon; Avon over Irene-Wakonda; Harding County over Sully Buttes

CLASS 9B: Hitchcock-Tulare over Waverly-South Shore; Viborg over Dell Rapids St. Mary; Gettysburg over Sunshine Bible; Warner over New Underwood

For reference sake, I was 35-13 in the opening round, with 11A and 9B (5-3 each) giving me the most trouble. Assistant Sports Editor Jeremy Hoeck also went 35-13, including a perfect 8-0 in Class 11AA. Scott Morrison was 33-15, though he hurt himself by forgetting to circle 3 games.

USD Men Tabbed First In GWC

A quick break from high school football….

The University of South Dakota men’s basketball team has been picked to win the Great West Conference title this season, according to the coaches preseason poll released Thursday.

USD received a total of 41 points, including 3 first place selections.Rounding out the poll was Utah Valley (38, 2 first place votes), Chicago State (35, 1 first), North Dakota (26, 1 first), Houston Baptist (23), New Jersey Tech (17) and Texas-Pan American (16).

So, as you can see, the Coyotes weren’t the overwhelming favorite, but still, the league coaches appear impressed with USD’s chances in the conference’s first season.

USD senior forward Tyler Cain was named the league’s Preseason Player of the Year. Last year, Cain averaged 15.4 points, 11 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game on the way to All-Independent honors — including Independent Defensive Player of the Year.

Joining Cain on the Preseason All-Conference First Team were USD’s Louie Krogman, Chicago State’s Carl Montgomery, NJIT’s Jheryl Wilson and UTPA’s Nick Weiermiller.

Also for USD, senior Roman Gentry was named to the Second Team.

The Coyotes, under 22nd-year head coach Dave Boots, return three starters (Cain, Krogman and senior Steve Smith) and seven letterwinners. USD also brings in a pair of junior college transfers (Mitchell Bouie and Kendall Cutler), while also adding four freshmen.

USD opens its 2009-10 season Nov. 13 at the Duel in the Desert Classic, being hosted by Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Tex.