COLUMN: Fan support crucial for ‘Yotes
While average fans often overlook it, home court advantage can make all the difference in the world. For the South Dakota-South Dakota State men’s basketball rivalry, it has been the definitive edge this season, as neither team was able to win on the road against the opposition.
The last 10 times these two teams have played, the home team has won, which shows just how important fan support has been for a rivalry fueled by animosity.
After defeating SDSU 74-71 at home on Jan. 5, USD went to Brookings, Jan. 31 with the fate of their season on the line. The Coyotes were able to keep up until half, despite SDSU’s hot start from three-point range. In fact, the Jackrabbits were 7-13 from downtown in the first half alone. In the end, their efforts obviously weren’t enough, as the Coyotes fell 54-67.
The real story of this season for the Coyotes however, has to be their play at home versus their play on the road. The Coyotes are 5-5 at home , they are just 2-8 on the road with a split record in neutral games.
Contrary to what many believe, when it comes to USD, the home court advantage has led to back-to-back upsets at home against the Summit League golden child South Dakota State.
Beating SDSU is not an easy task and is virtually impossible in Brookings where they have won 27 straight. To win twice in a row in Vermillion is a good indication for the future of the program.
USD has a lot of work to do, and will need to rattle off some wins to close out the season if they want to make the conference tournament in March. Unfortunately, a lot of that will have to be done on the road, as the Coyotes only have two remaining home games to try to boost their record .
The Coyotes are sitting at the 6th seed, and should be able to make it into the tournament. The funny thing is, if the season ended today the Jacks and Coyotes would meet at the arena in the first game of the tournament.
It is likely these two teams could match up in the opening round because of where their records are standing currently and the remaining schedules for both teams.
If this match-up occurs, and the Jacks and Coyotes meet for the third time in three months, it would be one of the biggest basketball games in this state’s history.
However, before fans can start looking forward to the game of the century, the Coyotes have to push through their difficult remaining schedule and make it to the tournament.
Whatever the case is, the basketball team needs full support from the fans for the last two home games. That could truly help the team pick up the necessary wins to coast into the conference tournament in their first year of eligibility.
