South Dakota State Jackrabbits are a trendy pick for first-round upsets and could even follow up with that with a run to Sweet 16. I get it, they have a lot of desirable qualities, just Remember if you’re making those picks for your bracket, you’re backing a team you’ve probably never seen play in this season. That’s hard to do in general, and you’re also tarnishing the team that won the Big East regular season title. That’s a pretty big risk for me.
Let’s take a quick look at SDSU. They finished perfectly 18-0 in the Summit League and finished second nationally in points. They are the top three-shot team in the country and that puts them at the top of the country in effective scoring. Those are great achievements but at the same time, they don’t beat anyone. Their best win was in the first game of the season against Bradley (#92 at KenPom). In two games against Power Conference rivals, they lost to Alabama and Washington by double digits. Those games are a few months old, but they’re probably still out of their league.
Otherwise, no, Providence isn’t the best Big East regular-season champion we’ve ever seen. All they did was win game after game by a final score of 14-3. I don’t like what we’ve seen from the brothers in the Big East Tournament where they were beaten by Creighton, but this team has a proven track record of winning matches against good competition so I don’t know why so many people are disappointed with them. join this game. This is more like a narrative that has gained some traction than a real analysis of these teams.
Game Info
South Dakota State Jackrabbits (April 30) vs. Providence Friars (May 25)
Thursday, March 17, 2022
12:40 p.m. ET
KeyBank Center, Buffalo, New York
truTV
Betting odds
Spread: Jackrabbits +2.5 (-110), Friars -2.5 (-110)
Total: 149.5
Cash flow: Jackrabbits +110, Friars -130
Best bet
Confidence level -2.5
If people are going to give Jackrabbit a bump because they shoot really well from the deep then at least we have to admit that Friars are very good at defending arcs. Opponents only achieved 31.2% of their three-point effort against Providence.
If South Dakota State hits the ball well then they can play, but I still like the Brothers for a couple of key reasons. The first is experience. According to KenPom, they are the 6th most experienced team in the country. In comparison, SDSU comes in at just 293rd by that measure.
I also think the Jackrabbits will struggle with the size of the Brothers. The Providence Nate Watson Center is larger than most Summit League card players and the Friars make sure he uses a fair amount of assets. SDSU big man Luke Appel could try to get him out of the ring but teams don’t really need to watch out for him there. He only scored three times five times in the whole season.
SDSU isn’t a very good counter-attacking team and playing against bigger, more physically fit opponents won’t help them there. They really have to hit the mark because they’re not going to get the second most at the lap.
Confidence rarely prevails and I don’t expect them to make it difficult for a quality South Dakota State team. I just don’t find this the most annoying point. The brothers just have so many advantages and will be a tough opponent for who is next. Let’s look for a win where we don’t have to worry about owning the last match affecting the odds.
