South Dakota State Jackrabbits

[xu_fan]

What do we all think about the matchup? Quite honestly don't know anything about them. Haven't really had the time to do much research. I all most feel like from what I do know that if we stop the 3 point shot they can't beat us. Our All Americans down low should have there way. They have had some success in the tourney and are playing hood at the right time so I hope our ladies don't overlook them. If they get hot from downtown though it could get scary like last year. I checked there message board and they seemed pretty optimistic about playing us.

It should be a good game! I'm ready for Sunday to get here!

[bobbiemcgee]

good jump shooters. :D:);)

just a hutch I have.

[JackJD]

Good rabbit puns! :D

Here’s a little introductory information about South Dakota State University and the Jackrabbits.

The Jackrabbits won their third-straight Summit League title to advance to the opening round game against Xavier. To win the improving Summit League, SDSU had to beat Oral Roberts led by Kevi Luper, the top-scorer in NCAA women’s basketball this season, and then face a tough Oakland University team in the finals. The Jackrabbits have been NCAA-tourney eligible for only three years after transitioning from D-II. In their first season of eligibility, 2009, the Jackrabbits won the Summit League and advanced to the tourney. SDSU met and abused a good TCU team, 90-55. In the second round of the 2009 tourney, SDSU squared off against pre-Griner Baylor and lost by a basket, 60-58.

Last season, SDSU faced off against Oklahoma, at Oklahoma, and lost 68-57. The game was close much of the way.

The team has a deep history of success at the DII level including the national DII title in 2003. As SDSU transitioned to Division I and before it was eligible for the NCAA Tourney, it appeared in the 2007 WNIT, beating Illinois State and the University of Indiana in the first two games before falling to Wyoming in the quarterfinals. Wyoming went on to win the WNIT that season. In 2008, SDSU again appeared in the WNIT, losing the first round to Creighton.

The Jackrabbits struggled early this season but found its rhythm half-way through the year. The team won 11 of its last 12 games and is currently riding an eight-game win streak. SDSU has excellent three-point shooters but it's revival is probably attributable to finding ways to win without depending on the three.

Xavier is taller than SDSU and the Jackrabbits will have real trouble inside. I expect Xavier’s great home-court crowd will be a factor although SDSU has played at, and ignored, hostile environments before. No question Xavier is HEAVILY favored but if SDSU brings its best game, it will be entertaining and exciting basketball.

Here’s the link to the Wikipedia article on South Dakota State: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Dakota_State_University

The Jackrabbit Athletics homepage: gojacks.com

Fan message board: http://sdsufans.com/board/

Good luck! JackJD

[xu_fan]

Thanks for all the info... Sounds like quite a program brewing up there is South Dakota... Good luck you to your team. (although I'm hoping they lose lol)

What about athleticism?

[X-band '01]

Yep - you guys happened to beat NKU (a local D-II school across the Ohio River) for that title in 2003.

[Titanxman04]

What do we all think about the matchup? Quite honestly don't know anything about them. Haven't really had the time to do much research. I all most almost feel like from what I do know that if we stop the 3 point shot they can't beat us. Our All Americans down low should have there their way. They have had some success in the tourney and are playing hood goodat the right time so I hope our ladies don't overlook them. If they get hot from downtown though it could get scary like last year. I checked there their message board and they seemed pretty optimistic about playing us.

It should be a good game! I'm ready for Sunday to get here!

Just a little grammatical help, friend.

It's a pet peeve of mine that I usually keep to myself, but alas, I had to help.

"There" is a reference to a PLACE. "Here, we hang championship banners, over THERE at Dayton, they don't.

"Their" is a reference to possession. Xavier Men's Basketball has THEIR share of conference titles and Sweet 16's. Dayton doesn't.

And it's "almost", not "all most".

[coasterville95]

I think this has the makings of a very interesting game, due to the relative unknown that is South Dakota State. It sounds like they are already putting themselves on the road to becoming a well known name in women's ball.

[xu_fan]

Just a little grammatical help, friend.

It's a pet peeve of mine that I usually keep to myself, but alas, I had to help.

"There" is a reference to a PLACE. "Here, we hang championship banners, over THERE at Dayton, they don't.

"Their" is a reference to possession. Xavier Men's Basketball has THEIR share of conference titles and Sweet 16's. Dayton doesn't.

And it's "almost", not "all most".

Wow! I'm feeling stupid now lol... To my credit I type all my posts on my phone so its hard to focus on getting those things right.. I would be lying if I said I didn't struggle with there, their, and they're though. I'm not representing my alumni very, well the above mentioned NKU... I would rep you if I knew how on this stupid phone lol...

[JackJD]

Thanks for all the info... Sounds like quite a program brewing up there is South Dakota... Good luck you to your team. (although I'm hoping they lose lol)

What about athleticism?

Not sure how to respond on that with this year's team. Jackrabbit fans are still trying to figure out this team. All I really know is they're playing very well when they need to be.

Once this year's team and the coaches started figuring it out after one of the poorest starts in decades (we had some injury problems early but we were not playing well), a team has emerged which controls the tempo a little more than past years (we like to run), and can shoot the three in amazing streaks. What was a solid presence underneath is starting to be a very good presence -- but we're really at a height disadvantage to Xavier. Our two tallest are 6-2.

We have good, intelligent athletes with very good basketball sense.

Some of the improvement in the second half of the season may be attributable to freshmen and sophomores simply maturing. We have a very deep bench so nobody runs us off the court.

Intelligent athletes: Our teams, including this year's team, are very smart. We traditionally are a national leader in team grade-point average with players not shying away from difficult majors (e.g. Pharmacy; Pre-Med; Nursing; Biology; etc.). Last year, SDSU's women were second in the country in GPA among DI schools (seventh overall among all NCAA levels). In its six seasons competing at the Division I level, the Jackrabbits have finished no lower than third place in the Division I academic rankings. SDSU led all divisions of women’s college basketball -- DI, DII and DIII -- in team GPA for three consecutive seasons (2005-06 through 2007-08), adding a second-place finish at the D-I level in 2004-05 and a third-place effort during the 2008-09 campaign. Similar results when the team was DII.

I don't know...all of the above may be meaningless. Xavier well deserves its national ranking. But, we'll see what happens on the court. This may be one of those classic games that will have the analysts all talking about the upset.... :D

[rabidrabbit]

Much of the success at South Dakota St is due to the expectations and coaching by Aaron Johnston (AJ). He has the knack for finding high quality, upper Midwest stars and mold them into a team were the sum of the parts is definitely more than any one talent. The Jacks roster is either from South Dakota or Minnesota this year. Brookings, SD is 30 miles from the MN line and 45 min north of Sioux Falls, SD.

The WNIT team has AJ on speed dial as SDSU brings good, knowledgeable attendance, and are competitive with the top 50 RPI most years. Jacks are 1-6 vs this year's NCAA tourney roster, reaching the final four of the WNIT pre-season tourney before playing Purdue.

Since joining Div 1, in 2004, Jacks have 20 BCS team wins, and 18 BCS losses. Through transition, SDSU has had a "we'll play anybody, anywhere" mentality. Now, Jacks line up last year's post-season teams, and have been successful in getting home and home games with top teams.

Looking forward to a good game, and hopefully, see the Jacks accomplish not yet achieved in NCAA WBB tourney history. ;)