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Steve Smith's collegiate basketball career has come full circle with South Dakota's appearance in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament against Creighton.

The 6-foot-11 center from Sioux Falls, S.D., began his career at Creighton in 2004. After two injury-plagued seasons in which he played a total of seven games, Smith transferred to South Dakota.

He has played for four seasons with the Coyotes, including this season after the NCAA granted him a waiver for a sixth season of eligibility. Smith will be in the starting lineup Tuesday as the Coyotes try to bring Creighton's season to an end in the 7:05 p.m. game at Civic Auditorium.

“I'm pretty excited about getting a chance to play the Bluejays,'' Smith said.

Smith said he isn't regretful about the events that led him to transfer after spending two seasons in Omaha. He played five games as a freshman in 2004-05 before a foot injury forced him to the sidelines. A bad back limited him to two games in his second season, leaving him to ponder other options after the season.

“I really wanted to be at Creighton, but I had to look at it from a coach's and the athletic department's perspective,'' Smith said. “I was a guy who had not produced in two years. I wasn't sure if I would be able to play all that much my third year because of my back.

“I totally understood Coach's position, and I just decided to look for other opportunities. Now I have no regrets about coming back closer to home. I had a great four years, and I met my future wife here.''

Smith will wed Julie Zimmerman in June. For now, his thoughts are on extending what amounts to his first injury-free season.

“It's been really fun playing a full season,'' Smith said.

He was slowed by back and leg injuries during his first two USD seasons, and he played last season with a torn rotator cuff and torn labrum that required offseason surgery. In spite of the injuries, Smith has scored 967 points, grabbed 582 rebounds and blocked 137 shots in his four seasons with the Coyotes.

South Dakota comes into Tuesday night's game having won 13 straight games in a 22-9 season. The Coyotes are in their third season of making the transition from Division II to Division I. Teams in transition don't normally get chances to play in the postseason, but South Dakota finds itself in the CIT after claiming the berth that goes to the champion of the Great West Conference tournament.

“It definitely means a lot to us to get this opportunity,'' Smith said. “This might not be the biggest postseason tournament out there, but this was a goal that we set out to reach, and we accomplished it. We're excited about getting a chance to play in this tournament.''

The Coyotes will be facing a Creighton team resigned to the fact that it has fallen far short of its preseason goals. The Bluejays failed to make the NCAA tournament for the third straight season, and their 16-15 record wasn't good enough to merit consideration for a spot in National Invitation Tournament.

That left Creighton to consider playing in the two-year-old CIT or the three-year-old Collegiate Basketball Invitational. The Bluejays picked the CIT, in part because the privately run tournament guaranteed Creighton a home game.

So how many fans will show up at the Civic on Tuesday night? Creighton officials said they had sold about 3,300 tickets as of late Monday afternoon. Ticket sales to the public will begin at noon Tuesday.

The game will test Creighton's physical and mental readiness.

“We're not where we want to be, but we can make the most out of this,'' Creighton center Kenny Lawson said. “There are a bunch of teams whose seasons are done now. We're fortunate to still be playing.

“As long as we're playing, we might as well try to go out and win this thing.''

Contact the writer:

679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com

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