South Dakota State Jackrabbits
2021-2022 Overall Rank: #108
Conference Rank: #1 Summit
Oral Roberts obviously deserves a lot of credit for their Sweet Sixteen run last year. However, the best team in the Summit League was South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits went 16-7 overall and 9-3 in conference play and have now won at least a share of the conference title four seasons in a row. With the entire roster returning, this should be the season the Jackrabbits grab some of the national headlines.
2020-21 Record: 16-7, 9-3
2020-21 Postseason: None
Coach: Eric Henderson
Coach Record: 38-17 at South Dakota State, 38-17 overall
Key Departed Players:
None
Key Returning Players:
Douglas Wilson, Senior, Forward, 16.8 ppg
Noah Freidel, Sophomore, Guard, 16.0 ppg
Baylor Scheierman, Sophomore, Guard, 15.4 ppg
Alex Arians, Junior, Guard, 10.5 ppg
Matt Dentlinger, Junior, Forward, 10.2 ppg
Luke Appel, Junior, Forward, 7.5 ppg
David Wingett, Sophomore, Guard/Forward, 6.1 ppg
Charlie Easley, Sophomore, Guard, 4.9 ppg
Matt Mims, Sophomore, Guard, 3.1 ppg
Aaron Fiegen, Sophomore, Forward, 0.4 ppg
Key New Players:
Jaylon Gentry, Junior, Guard, JC Transfer
Broden Lien, Freshman, Forward
Zeke Mayo, Freshman, Guard
Projection:
Coach Eric Henderson’s team will look pretty much exactly the same as they did in 2020-2021. This was a group that shared the ball effectively and shot the ball extremely efficiently. The Jackrabbits are loaded with good passers, but guard Baylor Scheierman leads the way. The 6-6 sophomore dished out 4.0 assists and added an impressive 15.4 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. Scheierman was also one reason why SDSU ranked second in the nation in three-point field-goal percentage. He knocked down 43.8 percent of his long-range attempts. Alex Arians shot 44.3 percent from beyond the arc. Noah Freidel missed the end of last season following his Summit League Freshman of the Year honors in 2019-2020. In 14 games though, Freidel averaged 16.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists. Despite all of that talent in the backcourt, last year’s leading scorer was forward Douglas Wilson. The 6-7 senior tallied 16.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Fellow forwards Luke Appel and Matt Dentlinger both shot 63.7 percent from the floor and are obviously very efficient If Coach Henderson needs any more depth, he has junior college transfer Jaylon Gentry and a couple of freshmen looking for minutes. Regardless, South Dakota State has everything they need to win their fifth straight Summit League title and possibly make a little NCAA Tournament run of their own.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 80.4 (18th in nation, 2nd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 73.5 (256, 4)
Field-Goal Percentage: 49.8 (7, 1)
Field-Goal Defense: 43.6 (181, 4)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 8.0 (100, 2)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 40.4 (2, 1)
Free-Throw Percentage: 71.6 (152, 5)
Rebound Margin: 4.7 (48, 2)
Assists Per Game: 14.2 (95, 2)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.3 (106, 3)
