One game after an underwhelming performance in its 2018 Summit League Tournament opener, South Dakota State reminded all just why it won the league’s regular season title.
And for those who haven’t seen the Jackrabbits much this year, here’s a tip: the reasons for their success go far deeper than just Mike Daum.
A game after being pushed by stubborn eighth-seeded Western Illinois, top seed South Dakota State was sharp on Monday, and with it opponent North Dakota State didn’t stand much of a chance. The Jackrabbits routed the Bison 78-57 in the tourney semifinals in Sioux Falls, S.D., picking up their 27th win and advancing to the tourney finals for the sixth time in seven years.
South Dakota State did it on both ends. It shot 48.3% from the field, outrebounded North Dakota State 39-33, and committed just eight turnovers in a strong offensive performance. On the other end, the Jacks limited the fifth-seeded Bison to 34.5% shooting, including holding outstanding NDSU guard Paul Miller to 14 points on 4 of 14 shooting.
SDSU scored the first 10 points of the game, led by 17 midway through the first half and 24 late in the half. The Bison staged an admirable rally early in the second half to get within eight, but the Jacks motored away again and eventually led by as much as 30.
“I think it helped us kind of refocus after that game seeing how well Western Illinois played us,” said Daum, the Jackrabbits’ leader and All-American candidate. “Knowing that we had to come out with such great focus and attention today I think led to us doing that and having a great start to the game.”
“I was really pleased with the effort our group came out with tonight defensively,” said SDSU coach T.J. Otzelberger. “I think for our team when we can defend like that, it really gets our flow and our pace going offensively.”
‘Flow’ and ‘pace’ have become buzzwords in the sport of basketball in recent years, used all too often to describe basically any team that scores a lot of points or shoots a ton of three-pointers. It’s an excellent term for describing the Jackrabbits’, though, because under Otzelberger on that end they are potent and also a lot of fun to watch.
SDSU is one of the more powerful offenses in the country, averaging 84.5 points per game, 10th-best in NCAA Division I. They do shoot and make a bunch of three-pointers-347 made triples this season is good for 11th nationally, and their 40% marksmanship from there is 15th best in D-I.
Otzelberger’s offense regularly features four and even five guys on the perimeter, depending on whether the 6-foot-9, 250-pound Daum is stationed outside-where he has a team-best 86 three-pointers-or on the block, and has plenty of perimeter motion, sometimes twisting defenses into a pretzel. The Jackrabbits are far more than the standard ball screen and stand around offense too often featured in today’s modern game, and it’s shown in the team’s better-than-most-think balance.
While Daum is the name always first recognized when it comes to South Dakota State and is the author of some monster performances again this year, his offensive numbers are actually down slightly from a year ago in some areas, his scoring average and field goal percentage declining slightly after an incredibly efficient 2016-17 campaign.
South Dakota State is better offensively, though, in almost every way than a year ago. It’s starting five includes four players who are scary three-point threats at any time. Skyler Flatten is significantly improved as a senior and nails 50% of his three-point tries, while long underappreciated, versatile fellow senior Reed Tellinghuisen also has canned 59 threes this year and shoots 39% from the arc. Even reserve senior Lane Severyn has hit 21 of 41 from deep in limited attempts.
The emergence of freshman David Jenkins has also helped take the Jackrabbits to a different level. The freshman can shoot it (79 three-pointers) or drive it (132 free throw attempts, and a 78% mark from the line). Against North Dakota State, he scored 24 points, regularly getting into the lane against the Bison with his quickness, a real asset for a team already with so many lethal three-point shooters.
Jenkins was coming off an uncharacteristic clunker in the quarterfinal against Western Illinois, when he made 1 of 10 shots and scored just three points, but bounced back in a big way.
“My teammates and my coaches just believe in me, telling me to stay aggressive at all times,” said Jenkins. “I knew at the same time myself that I couldn’t play no worse than I did two days ago, so just being aggressive, my teammates believing in me, hitting me when I’m open, helped me too in tonight’s game.”
The role of defense in SDSU’s improvement from 18-17 last year to 27-6 so far this year also can’t be understated. The Jackrabbits are holding opponents to 43.1% shooting and are considerably better defending the three-point arc, limiting opponents to 33.3% from there.
Junior Tevin King is the unsung hero, the one starter who isn’t a major three-point threat but is outstanding defensively and at 6-foot-2 also pulls down nearly six rebounds per game. He was mainly responsible for harassing NDSU’s Miller everywhere he went on Monday, providing exactly what South Dakota State needed.
Somewhat quietly-especially given their having a star like Daum-the Jackrabbits have had a heck of a season. With 27 wins, a Summit League title and victories over the likes of MAC champion Buffalo, Iowa, Mississippi, SDSU probably deserves at least a look at an at-large berth if needed, though 17 of its wins over teams ranked 200 or below in the RPI is likely a killer. That’s unfortunate, because this is a team whose numbers and few weaknesses say it would’ve been capable of winning big against an even tougher schedule.
“I think our guys have been focused night-in and night-out, and the challenge is Western Illinois had a week to prepare and did a really good job of putting us off balance,” said Otzelberger. “Our guys, like they’ve had to do through the course of the year, every night, every team that we’re playing against, they’re coming out and giving us their best shot, and what I really respect about our group is we get to a point where we have those challenges in a game, and ours guys stick together and play for each other.”
