BROOKINGS Every year the South Dakota State women play plenty of Power Four opponents in the non-conference to prepare them for the postseason. The Jackrabbits believe that facing that kind of competition gets them ready for the type of teams theyll face in the NCAA Tournament and this weekend theyll get the chance to prove themselves right again.
This season, SDSU had five teams from Power Four conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC) on its schedule. The Jacks also had Creighton on their schedule and the Blue Jays finished the season ranked No. 23 in the AP Top 25 Poll.
In those six games, the Jacks went 3-3. They picked up wins over Creighton, Wisconsin and Oregon, while falling to Duke, Georgia Tech and Texas. All but Wisconsin made the NCAA Tournament and SDSU also beat Ball State, who is in the NCAA Tournament as well.
The Jackrabbits will take on Oklahoma State in the first round of March Madness on Saturday. SDSU is a No. 10 seed and the Cowgirls are a No. 7 seed and tip off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Central time.
After SDSUs win in the Summit League championship game, Jackrabbit head coach Aaron Johnston was asked about his non-conference schedule and how it helped prepare his team for the NCAA Tournament. He said he thought his team showed up in all of those tough games and thinks that they have what it takes to win in the NCAA Tournament.
… I think we are certainly equipped to go on and win games. I think our team feels that way. We had our chances to compete and beat Duke and same with Georgia Tech. The Texas game got away from us and we didnt play well there, but theyre a top-four team in the country and that can happen. But outside of that Texas game, we were really in every game that we played [in the non-conference]. So, I think our team is talented enough [to win in the NCAA Tournament], Johnston said.
SDSUs last six tournament games have come against Power Four opponents. The Jacks have a record of 2-4 in those games with wins over Syracuse in the second round in 2019 and USC in the first round in 2023. SDSU also beat Miami in the first round in 2016.
Johnston has plenty of experience coaching in the Big Dance as this will be the 18th game that the Jacks have played in the NCAA Tournament under him. He said winning these games starts with the preparation but then ultimately comes down to how SDSU executes once the ball is tipped.
Not to put it too simply, but you have to have a good week, Johnston said. You have to have a good week of prep and feel like you have a good plan and everybody is comfortable with what youre trying to get done. That stuff matters a lot. Really, once the game starts, you have to play well in the game. Every game is different.
You dont know if theres going to be foul trouble. You dont know if the other team is going to start off and just catch fire from the 3-point line. You dont know if your team is going to have some of that too. Theres just so many variables. So, I think when weve won, my point is, weve handled some of those ups and downs and emotions going into those games. Weve adjusted well as a team and weve handled the challenges that come with playing these good teams.
Junior forward Brooklyn Meyer was on the team that beat USC in overtime in 2023. However, she only played five minutes. This season, in the seven games previously mentioned she averaged 15.7 points and 6.4 rebounds. She scored over 20 points and grabbed more than seven rebounds in the games against Duke and Georgia Tech.
Meyer said her and her teammates like going up against the major programs and theyre looking forward to the challenge of facing another one on Saturday, even if theyre undersized.
I feel like we got some good experience with playing different players and different teams [in the non-conference] and we had to have different plans against those kinds of teams. I feel like that was a good experience and now going into March Madness we have that under our belt going forward. I feel like it just comes down to how we play defense and how we defend when were undersized. Those are things that we can control and I think our past experience in playing teams with size will help and itll be good, Meyer said.
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