The IPFW Mastodons (14-4) travel to South Dakota State to play the Jackrabbits (13-4) in a matchup that pits the Summit League’s top-ranked offense against the top-ranked defense. The game starts at 8:00 pm ET on Thursday, Jan. 14.
The Jackrabbits were beaten by IUPUI 74-67 the last time they played. Mike Daum finished with 23 points to lead the game. The Mastodons are coming off a 65-64 win over Denver in their last outing. Max Landis shot 4 for 9 and led in scoring with 19 points.
Over the last five games, John Konchar has been on a tear for the Mastodons. During that stretch, he has averaged 14.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.0 steal.
South Dakota State is a nine-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 149 points. The Jackrabbits look to build on their records of 13-4 Straight Up (SU) and 7-6 Against The Spread (ATS). They have been worse ATS (2-6) than their SU record (7-3) over their last 10 games would indicate. South Dakota State has gotten to the free throw line often this season. They average 16 made free throws per game, which is 45th-best in Division I.
Across the court, IPFW has a SU record of 14-4 and an ATS record of 12-1. Most recently, IPFW is 7-1 ATS over the last 10 games.
This is the first meeting of the season for these conference rivals. The last time they played, IPFW came out on top, but South Dakota State still leads the head-to-head record, 7-3 SU, over their most recent matchups. The Jackrabbits also hold the advantage ATS with a record of 6-4. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers, South Dakota State held the edge in all three of these categories twice in the last five meetings. IPFW never did so in those games.
Predictions: SU Winner – SDakSt, ATS Winner – SDakSt, O/U – Over
Notes
Ranked 84th, the South Dakota State Jackrabbits have an offensive rating of 110.1. The IPFW Mastodons rank 241st with a defensive rating of just 105.5.
With 68.8 possessions and 1.101 points per possession, the South Dakota State Jackrabbits perform worse on both metrics than the IPFW Mastodons. IPFW averages 70.1 possessions and 1.121 points per possession.
IPFW has an average effective field goal percentage of 55.6%, ranked 22nd in the nation. South Dakota State is a winning 2-1 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
The South Dakota State Jackrabbits average 20.0 three point attempts per game, and the IPFW Mastodons attempt 24.0 per game. When going for at least 20 three pointers in a game this season, both teams have winning records; South Dakota State is 8-4 and IPFW is 11-4.
IPFW ranks 70th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.25. South Dakota State is ranked lower at 268th with an A/TO of .90.
On average, South Dakota State makes 5.9 steals per game. IPFW has a winning 10-4 record when it gives up at least 5 steals.
