BROOKINGS South Dakota State had to wait a long time to find out their matchup in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday night but in the final bracket of the selection show, they learned they were packing their bags for Spokane, Wash.
The 12th-seeded Jackrabbits will head West for next weekends NCAA tournament as theyll face Utah in the first round at 9 p.m. on Saturday. Should they advance, theyll face the winner of No. 4 Gonzaga and No. 13 UC Irvine in the second round on Monday.
The Utes are a really good team offensively and theyre a little banged up, SDSU head coach Aaron Johnston said. But they have some of the best players in the Pac-12.
Utah is making its third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament and won five of its past eight games to close the regular season and Pac-12 Tournament. Although theyll enter Saturdays game with a 22-10 record, the Utes have had several key injuries to navigate.
Guard Gianna Kneepkens was second on the team with 17.8 points per game and first with a .540 3-point percentage before suffering a season-ending knee injury on Dec. 2 and fellow backcourt mate Issy Palmer missed 14 games after suffering a knee injury before returning to the lineup on Jan. 19.
The injuries have forced several players to step up around forward Alyssa Pili, who leads Utah with 20.8 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game. With Kennedy McQueen (10.4 ppg), Jenna Johnson (9.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg) and Matyson Wilke (7.9 ppg) stepping into larger roles, the Utes were able to stay afloat before losing to UCLA in the conference quarterfinals.
Theyre a really talented team and they play a similar style to us, Johnston said. So theres some familiarity with that but just kind of matching their strength and physicality will be big.
That refrain may be familiar to Jackrabbits fans who have watched their team battle through injuries this season.
While Haleigh Timmer, Kallie Thiesen and Madysen Vlastuin all suffered season-ending injuries, its required players like Summit League Tournament Most Valuable Player Paige Meyer to step into larger roles and create a much different-looking team to the one that made the NCAA Tournament one year ago.
We had some really good seniors and some great leaders on our team last year, but we do this year again, Paige Meyer said. Its obviously nice to just be able to kind of observe and come off the bench in big games like that, especially in the March Madness Tournament. I feel like having gone through it, I feel like it kind of helps prepare you but I feel like our whole team is just ready for another chance to get back there and see what we can do.
Summit League Player of the Year Brooklyn Meyer also has assumed a larger role and is excited for the opportunity in Spokane.
Its a big stage this time in March, Brooklyn Meyer said. I think just having the leaders that we had last year, I was able to learn from them. Im excited to be in that role this year and kind of do what I can with it.
SDSU senior Tori Nelson is another player who has embraced the leadership role and believes that the previous experience will help the Jacks this time around.
We have a lot of girls who maybe havent had this experience before but it will be fun to go out there, Nelson said. I think its just important for those who have gone including me to just kind of calm everyones nerves, live in the moment, and enjoy the experience. Its really fun just to play the best we can and just enjoy the moment.
The moment will have some familiarity as the Jacks played Gonzaga in Spokane on Dec. 17. Although the game ended in an 83-58 loss, Johnston believes seeing the court will help and the key to beating the Utes will be to do what theyve done all year long.
We just need to keep doing what weve been doing, Johnston said. Theyve just played so well all year long and to see those new faces grow into really important roles for us has been one of the great joys of the year. I think everybody really gets excited for that so keeping them in that great mindset that theyve been getting them the way they have, thats all we can ask for.
If the Jacks advance past the second round, theyll head to Portland as part of the Region 4 semifinals and finals on from March 29 to April 1. The Final Four is slated to be held in Cleveland, Ohio with the national semifinals on April 5 and the national championship on April 7.
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