OMAHA South Dakota State will play in its seventh NCAA Division I Tournament game on Thursday night as the Jackrabbits will be taking on Iowa State at the CHI Health Center.
SDSU is a No. 15 seed and ISU is the No. 2 seed. Both teams come into the tournament with momentum. The Jackrabbits (22-12) enter Thursdays contest riding an eight-game win streak and the Cyclones (27-7) won the Big 12 Tournament this past weekend.
The win streak for the Jacks began on Feb. 17 in Omaha, two days after they lost in Kansas City. SDSU trailed by six points with 49 seconds left in regulation and scored six-straight to force overtime. The Jacks then outscored the Mavericks 12-4 in the overtime period and that sparked the eight-straight wins.
In this eight-game stretch the Jackrabbits have held opponents to an average of 56.5 points per game. Sixth-year senior Matt Mims said the season flipped for the Jackrabbits when they decided to lock in more on the defensive side of the floor.
I think throughout the season we kind of fought through a lot of adversity, whether it be injury or just not playing the way we want to, Mims said. I think we’ve definitely hit our stride and kind of found what is going to work for us. I think our identity is just mainly on the defensive end. Just really taking that effort to want to get stops.
We kind of talk about when you get scored on, it’s got to hurt a little bit, and I think that’s kind of hurt us a little bit if someone has kind of scored on us and we’ve taken that to heart. Yeah, I would just say we’ve been a lot more defensively-minded.
SDSU head coach Eric Henderson echoed Mims’ statement and said the Jacks have come together as a team over the last eight games and that has resulted in victories.
I think we’re a lot more connected at this time of the year than we ever have been throughout the season. We’re just helping each other out. We’re having each other’s back. The trust factor. We’re putting pressure on people, but we’re also making them earn everything. So I think that’s probably what’s been the biggest factor is just that trust and ability to believe in each other, understanding you don’t have to do it on your own. If you do make mistakes, which everybody does, your brother will have your back, Henderson said.
For the Cyclones, defense has been their calling card all season. They hold the top defense in the country in effective defensive efficiency, holding teams to 87.2 points per 100 possessions and ISU is second in turnover rate in the country as the Cyclones force their opponents to turn the ball over 25.7 percent of possessions.
SDSU sixth-year forward Luke Appel said keeping turnovers low will be a major key if the Jacks want to pull off the upset on Thursday night.
I think we really just have to focus on taking care of the ball and not letting them get run-outs and just keeping the game in front of us. Make them make shots and make them make mistakes. Both teams are going to make mistakes. When we make mistakes, just not getting down on ourselves and knowing we can stay in it and just trusting every single one of our guys to go out there and play to their best ability, Appel said.
SDSU has done a better job of taking care of the ball as of late as the Jacks have single-digit turnovers in each of the last four games. Theyve also been well-balanced on offense as three or more players scored in double figures in each of their three Summit League Tournament games.
Henderson credited the recent efficiency on offense to the team coming together and believing in one another.
I think it goes back to that trust factor and belief in each other. Once we were able to really make that happen midway through the year, everybody benefits, right? I really believe that’s what it starts with. I think we’re sharing the basketball. I think we’re moving the basketball, and our player movement really improved midway through the year as well, Henderson said.
SDSU is 0-6 in NCAA Tournament games. This will be the second-highest seed for the Jacks and not many people have picked them to win, whether itd be experts or just general fans filling out their brackets.
Henderson said his team hasnt talked about being the underdog, but they will be entering the game with a lot of confidence because thats how they approach every game.
They call it March Madness for a reason, right?, Henderson said. At the end of the day we’ve all got an opportunity in front of us. I’ll say this about our group. I’ve said this about all of our groups. This is when T.J. [Otzeleberger] was here, and I’m sure, I didn’t coach under Scott [Nagy], but ever since I’ve been at South Dakota State, it doesn’t matter who we’re playing. We believe we’re going to win the game.
Doesn’t mean we always do. Doesn’t mean we always will, but we go into that baby thinking, we’re going to win this game. We’re going to put a plan together to win the game, and that doesn’t matter if we’re a 15 seed, a 13 seed, a 7 seed or 5 seed. We feel like we’re going to win the game.
SDSU and Iowa State are scheduled to tip things off at 6:35 p.m. You can watch the game on TruTV or listen to the game on 570 WNAX.
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