There are plenty of challenges awaiting the South Dakota State men's basketball over the final five games of the 2018 Summit League schedule.

Three of those games are on the road, and one of the two home games is with South Dakota, the only team to beat SDSU in conference play so far.

The Jackrabbits (20-6/8-1 Summit League) play at Denver tonight (February 8).

The Pioneers (10-13/4-5 Summit League) have won three-of-four. They are leading the conference in field goal percentage and assists and have a quartet of players who average in double figures in scoring.

Junior Joe Rosga was hitting at a 60 percent clip before last week's loss to Fort Wayne. Senior Jake Pemberton averages 14 points per game and is sixth in the Summit in steals. Senior Daniel Amigo averages 12 points a game, but has seen his playing time limited over the last two games. Sophomore Ade Murkey averages 11 points a game.

South Dakota State win the first meeting 94-72.

The Jackrabbits shot 54 percent and outscored the Pioneers by 21 points at the three-point line.

Mike Daum scored 21 of his 34 points in the first half. David Jenkins Jr scored 19 of his 27 points in the second half.

Tipoff is 8:00 PM, tonight in Denver.

Saturday (February 10), the Jackrabbits travel to Oral Roberts.

The Golden Eagles (9-17/3-6 Summit League) have lost two straight coming into the week.

Fouling has been a problem for ORU. They were outscored by 18 points at the free throw line in losses to Fort Wayne and Western Illinois last week.

Oral Roberts takes more shots per game (63) than any team in the Summit. They also grab more offensive rebounds than any team in the conference.

Sophmores Emmanuel Nzekwesi and Sam Kearns average a combined 27 points per game. Senior Albert Owens comes off the bench to score ten points per game. He's third in the Summit in blocked shots. Sophomore Chris Miller led ORU with 14 points in the first meeting with SDSU.

The Jackrabbits won that game 78-75, outscoring the Golden Eagles by 12 points from the three-point line and 11 points at the free throw line.

Oral Roberts scored 46 points inside and outscored the SDSU bench 26-0.

Daum led the Jacks with 27 points. Reed Tellinghuisen added a season-high 24 points.

Tipoff is 7:00 PM, Saturday in Oral Roberts.

Last Tuesday (January 30), the Jackrabbits led wire-to-wire in an 80-60 win at home against Omaha.

Daum scored 20 of his 35 points in the first half as SDSU led by 16 at the break.

State extended the lead with a 7-0 run early in the second half.

The Jackrabbit defense held the Mavericks to 38 percent shooting.

Thursday (February 1), the Jackrabbits pushed their home win streak to 18 games with an 82-63 win over North Dakota State.

The Jackrabbits forced nine first half turnovers and led by five at intermission.

SDSU scored the first eight points of the second half to blow the game open.

Daum finished with his fifth straight double-double - 31 points and 13 rebounds. Jenkins broke out of a three-game shooting slump with 18 of his 20 points in the second half. Tevin King has 16 points, seven rebounds, six steals, and four assists.

I talked with South Dakota State head coach TJ Otzelberger about last week's sweep and this week's match-ups with Denver and Oral Roberts:

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