South Dakota State men s basketball wins the Summit League championship against Denver on Tuesday, March 12, 2024 at Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls. © Samantha Laurey / Argus Leader / USA TODAY NETWORK
After winning the Big 12 Conference tournament last weekend, No. 4 Iowa State (27-7) received a No. 2 seed on Selection Sunday in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament. The Cyclones will play in Omaha, Nebraska against No. 15 South Dakota State (22-12) on Thursday night inside the CHI Health Center (6:35 p.m., truTV).
Iowa State just completed one of the most dominant conference tournaments runs by any team in quite some time. The Cyclones defeated Kansas State by 19, No. 14 Baylor by 14, and No. 2 Houston by 28 points to claim the title. It is the program’s fifth tournament title in the last 10 years.
About the Jackrabbits
Coach Eric Henderson took over the South Dakota State program in 2019 after current Cyclone head coach T.J. Otzelberger left for UNLV. Since then, he has led his team to one other NCAA Tournament appearance in 2022, where they lost to No. 4 seed Providence in the Round of 64.
This season, Henderson’s team won the Summit League regular season title as well as the conference tournament championship to punch their ticket to the big dance.
The team enters the tournament riding an 8-game winning streak dating back to the February 17.
The Jackrabbits coaching staff is full of Iowa State connections. Assistant coach Bryan Petersen was an assistant for one season under Greg McDermott (2009-10) and two seasons under Fred Hoiberg (2010-12). Petersen also played for Iowa State for two years. He started 64 consecutive games and made 97 career 3-pointers as a recruited walk-on.
Along with Petersen, the Director of Operations Tyler Glidden also was a part of Iowa State’s program. He served as a student manager in 2006 under Greg McDermott and later became a graduate assistant coach for Fred Hoiberg in 2010 after graduating from Iowa State.
SDSU has played some common opponents with Iowa State. The Jackrabbits played both Kansas State and UCF back in November and ended up losing both games. They lost to the Wildcats by 23 and the Knights by 3.
Although the Jackrabbits have suffered twelve losses and currently rank outside the top 100 in the metrics, they remain a formidable team capable of making an upset. They are led by Zeke Mayo, the Summit League Player of the Year, who averages 18.8 points per and led the conference with 77 3-point field goals made.
The 6-foot-4 junior is capable of dropping 30 points on any given night. Dating back to last season, Mayo has scored 20 or more points 27 times. That includes multiple 30-point games and a 41-point outing against North Dakota State. Mayo loves to use the ball screen to free himself up from defenders. If Iowa State can trap the ball screen or hedge him out away from the basket, they might be able to force him into committing some turnovers.
Another key contributor is William Kyle III. The 6-foot-9 sophomore is an excellent athlete who is the leading rebounder (6.6) and shot blocker (1.6) on the Jackrabbits team.
Kyle excels as a finisher above the rim and poses a constant lob threat, boasting a 62.4 percent shooting from 2-point range. He also is the second-leading scorer for the Jackrabbits, averaging 13.1 points per game. Iowa State will be able to throw multiple bodies at him and pull him away from the basket with their side-to-side ball movement on offense.
South Dakota State has a pair of sharpshooters that can get hot in a hurry in Nebraska transfer Charlie Easley and red-shirt freshman Kalen Garry.
Easley, a senior guard, is third on the team in scoring with 12.0 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per game. His 3-point shooting should be a major focus for Iowa State. He shoots 46.0 percent from the field, 89.2 percent from the free-throw line, and 39.3 percent from 3-point range. Iowa State has cracked down on their 3-point defense and will need to continue to be lockdown in that area.
Garry averages 7.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game. Like Easley, he can light it up from 3-point range when he’s on. He shooting 34.3 percent from behind the arc, but when left open, he makes it at a high clip.
Breaking down Omaha
Coming off a dominant Big 12 Tournament run, the Cyclones are playing as well as anyone in the country. But it’s March and the season can come to an end at any time if they don’t come out ready to play right away.
The first two rounds set up advantageously for Iowa State. South Dakota State, Drake and Washington State are great teams, but they all have flaws that can be exploited by Iowa State’s defense.
The Cyclones’ defense is what could carry them in this tournament. Defense travels anywhere the team goes, and when you rely on scoring off turnovers, it plays right into what Iowa State wants to do.
Iowa State beat Houston by forcing them to turn the ball over and locking down the 3-point line. They held the No. 17 offense (KenPom) to 41 points on 15-56 shooting. I feel confident that Iowa State can turn these teams over and score in transition.
If the Cyclones play the way they did on offense in Kansas City, there aren’t a lot of teams that can beat them. Two of the biggest takeaways from the Kansas City stretch were the ball movement and freshman Milan Momcilovic getting out of his shooting slump.
Before heading into the Big 12 Tournament, the Cyclone offense looked like it hit a wall during the last five games of the regular season. In Kansas City, fans saw the version of Iowa State that looked like the team it was in late January and early February, especially on the offensive end.
The Cyclones looked refreshed and rejuvenated in their opening-round game against Kansas State and it carried them to the championship where they dominated Houston.
Often times when teams are run down and tired, their ball movement, spacing, and cutting is lacking. That was certainly not the case for Iowa State.
They were crisp, and the ball moved with ease. Their big-to-big passing was very impressive, and it led to a lot of easy layups and dunks in the half-court.
Momcilovic was selected to the All-Tournament team along with Keshon Gilbert (MOP), Tamin Lipsey, Jamal Shead, and LJ Cryer. Momcilovic getting out of his slump is huge if the Cyclones want to make a run in the big dance. When he is hitting shots, it opens up the defense and allows for guys like Gilbert and Lipsey to get to the rim for layups or dump-offs for Tre King, Robert Jones, and Hason Ward.
With Momcilovic and Gilbert getting their confidence back, the Cyclones have a chance to make it to the Final 4 for the first time since 1944.
