Gonzaga men host to South Dakota on Sunday

It’s a game that falls between some rather large ones on Gonzaga’s nonconference men’s basketball schedule. Coming off an 84-50 thrashing of West Virginia and coming up on the Old Spice Classic over Thanksgiving weekend, the Bulldogs return to action Sunday against South Dakota at the McCarthey Athletic Center. No. 19 Gonzaga (2-0) has six players averaging in double figures, led by Guy Landry Edi’s 15 per game and Przemek Karnowski’s 14. Gonzaga has forced 48 turnovers while winning its first two games by an average of 36 points. “We have a lot of players with equal abilities,” coach Mark Few said, “so we will play a lot of guys a lot of minutes hopefully.” South Dakota is in its first season with full eligibility as Division-I program. The Coyotes, transitioning from being a Division II power, can compete in the Summit League tournament and are eligible for postseason play. The Coyotes finished 10-18 last season, 5-13 in the Summit League. It was the first losing record in coach Dave Boots’ 24 seasons at South Dakota. Boots guided the Coyotes to 10 D-II national tournaments. South Dakota (1-2) returns one starter, junior center Trevor Gruis, who scored 23 points in a season-opening loss to Southern. Freshman guard Casey Kasperbauer had a team-high 12 points in a 20-point loss to Wyoming and freshman forward Tyler Flack scored 21 as the Coyotes notched their first win, 81-69, over North Carolina Central.