March Madness 2012: The South Dakota State Jackrabbits are Dancing in the NCAA Tournament
By Jason Lisk
Conference: Summit League (27-7)
Location: Brookings, South Dakota
Famous Alums: Adam Vinatieri and former Senator Tom Daschle
They’re In! South Dakota State has only been a D-I program for four years, and this is their first ever appearance in the NCAA tournament.
Resume: A 19-point win at Washington was the highlight of the regular season. The Jackrabbits also split with Oral Roberts, and lost to Georgia, Minnesota, and Nebraska.
Notable Player(s): Junior guard Nate Wolters is 6’4″ and likes to “get to the rack.” He had one of his worst games in the season in the Summit final, but he will need to bounce back in the tournament, as he creates his own shots and sets up all of his teammates for three pointers off his penetration.
Team Style/Strengths: Spread and shoot threes on offense. Wolters only shoots 25% from deep, but he has four teammates who shoot over 40% from 3-point range (Griffan Callahan, Chad White, Jordan Dykstra, and Brayden Carlson).
All-Important Rankings: 49 (RPI), 55 (Pomeroy)
Projected Outlook/Seed: Could be a 12 or 13, depending on where they bump the final “First Four” at-larges on the seed line.
[photo via US Presswire]
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