South Dakota vs Denver Prediction 2/19/2026 Today’s College Basketball Picks

The South Dakota Coyotes and the Denver Pioneers meet Thursday in college basketball action from Hamilton Gymnasium. Here’s a South Dakota vs Denver prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best South Dakota vs Denver pick. We will examine the recent form and player performances for both teams, as well as the recent betting trends and streaks pertaining to this matchup. As we conclude, we will tie it all together with a summary that produces a sensible pick for a favorable betting outcome in this game.

South Dakota Coyotes Betting Preview

South Dakota couldn’t stay above .500 over their first 17 games this year at 8-9 overall, but then beat Denver, Kansas City and Omaha over the next four games. The Coyotes would lose two of the next three versus St. Thomas-MN and North Dakota State, then beat Kansas City and South Dakota State ahead of another loss to North Dakota. That makes for a 14-13 run so far.

In the North Dakota matchup last Wednesday the Coyotes were ahead comfortably at the break 37-26. South Dakota was blitzed 46-34 the rest of the way however, leading to a 72-71 loss in the end on their home floor. Cameron Fens led the way on 22 points with 12 rebounds and Vince Buzelis had 17 points with five rebounds and three assists in the defeat.

Denver Pioneers Betting Preview

Over on the Denver side, they kicked off the year at 7-7 overall then lost seven of the next 10 games with wins over only UMKC, Oral Roberts and UMKC again. Since then it’s been a 3-1 run with wins over North Dakota State, North Dakota and South Dakota State ahead of a loss to Omaha. Over the first 28 games of the year that gives the Pioneers a 13-15 record.

In Sunday’s matchup with Omaha, the Pioneers were in trouble at halftime, trailing 49-38 on the scoreboard. Denver got slightly better from there on a 38-34 run but still ended up taking the loss in a road matchup 83-76. Tops in scoring was Logan Kinsey with 22 points and six rebounds while Jeremiah Burke put up 18 points with five rebounds and two assists.

South Dakota Coyotes @ Denver Pioneers Betting Trends: February 19, 2026

Why the Denver Pioneers will win

• Denver has won each of its last six games at Hamilton Gymnasium following a road loss.
• South Dakota has lost the first half in eight of its last nine road games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the South Dakota Coyotes will win

• The road team has won each of South Dakota’s last four games.
• Denver has lost three of its last four home games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

South Dakota vs Denver Prediction

I’m going to try Denver but you could call it either way. The Pioneers couldn’t keep up with Omaha in their latest loss despite shooting a solid 46.3 percent from the field with a 35-21 rebounding edge. Denver gave up 54.4 percent shooting on the other side however, along with a 38-32 deficit in the paint. The Pioneers are still 3-1 in their last four outings, scoring 76 or more points in all four of those matchups.

Back on January 10 when these teams last saw each other, Denver limped to an 82-72 loss on the road. The Pioneers shot a reasonable 43.1 percent from the field in that one but gave up 50.9 percent on the other side. The 21.7 percent (5-of-23) from 3-point range didn’t help matters either. I like this one to be pretty close most of the way, and it seems like a coin-flip proposition.

Andrew Jett's Pick: Denver Pioneers -6.5