The 2017–18 South Dakota Coyotes men's basketball team represented the

University of South Dakota The University of South Dakota (USD) is a public research university in Vermillion, South Dakota, United States. Established by the Dakota Territory legislature in 1862, 27 years before the establishment of the state of South Dakota, USD is t ...

during the

2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 10, 2017. The first tournament was the 2K Sports Classic and the season ended with the Final Four at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on April 2, 2018. Practices offici ...

. The Coyotes, led by fourth-year head coach Craig Smith, played their home games at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center in

Vermillion, South Dakota Vermillion (; "The Place Where Vermilion is Obtained") is a city and the county seat of Clay County. It is in the southeastern corner of South Dakota, United States, and is the state's 12th-most populous city. According to the 2020 census, the ...

as members of the

Summit League The Summit League, or The Summit, is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic conference with its membership mostly located in the Midwestern United States, from Minnesota in the east, to the Dakotas, Nebraska and Colorado to the West, and Mis ...

. They finished the season 26–9, 11–3 in Summit League play to finish in second place. They defeated

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

and

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

to advance to the championship game of the

where they lost to South Dakota State. They were invited to the

College Basketball Invitational The College Basketball Invitational (CBI) is a men's college basketball tournament created in 2007 by The Gazelle Group. The inaugural tournament occurred after the conclusion of the 2007–08 men's college basketball regular season. The CBI sel ...

where they lost in the first round to

North Texas North Texas is a term used primarily by residents of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to refer to a geographic area of Texas, generally considered to include the area south of Oklahoma, east of Abilene, Texas, Abilene, west of Paris, Texas, Par ...

. On March 25, 2018, head coach Craig Smith was hired as the head coach at Utah State. On April 6, the school hired former

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a mile (). The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon Nati ...

assistant and South Dakota alum

Todd Lee Todd Walter Lee (born February 20, 1964) is an American college basketball coach who is the former head coach of the South Dakota Coyotes men's basketball team. Coaching career Assistant coach (1986–2005) After graduating from the University ...

as head coach.

Previous season

The

Coyotes The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely relat ...

finished the 2016–17 season 22–12, 12–4 in Summit League play to win the Summit League regular season championship. As the No. 1 seed in the Summit League tournament, they defeated Western Illinois in the quarterfinals before losing to South Dakota State in the semifinals. As a regular season conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament title, they received an automatic bid to the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

where they lost in the first round to

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

Preseason

In a poll of league coaches, media, and sports information directors, the Coyotes were picked to finish in second place. Junior guard Matt Mooney was named to the preseason All-Summit First Team and junior forward Trey Burch-Manning was named to the Second Team.

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=9 style=, Exhibition , - !colspan=9 style=, Regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, Summit League tournament , - !colspan=9 style=, CBI Source

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2017-18 South Dakota Coyotes men's basketball team South Dakota Coyotes men's basketball seasons

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

Coyo Coyo