How South Dakota State Compares to Oklahoma State Ahead of NCAA Tournament
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Oklahoma State is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2023 and will face an incredibly tough opponent.
OSU coach Jacie Hoyt felt her team had been disrespected throughout the season by its projections as a No. 7 seed in the big dance. Despite her case to the committee, the Cowgirls still finished on the 7 line and is headed to Storrs to play on UConn’s floor.
Of course, the No. 7 seeded Cowgirls are set to face a No. 10 seed, which might typically be a team that doesn’t sniff the AP poll. Instead, OSU will face a ranked team in the first round.
South Dakota State will give the Cowgirls all they can handle and then some in the first round. The Jackrabbits enter the tournament at 29-3 and won the Summit League’s regular season and tournament titles. Oh, and they’ve won 19 straight games.
With a 16-0 mark in conference play and a perfect run in the Summit League Tournament, the Jackrabbits have been one of the hottest teams in the entire country. In that 19-game span, the Jackrabbits have more wins of at least 30 points than games within single digits.
Still, the Jackrabbits’ three losses could tell the story of how their matchup against the Cowgirls will go. Their losses came against Duke, Georgia Tech and Texas. Those losses came by four, 14 and 46 points, respectively.
While OSU won’t be able to replicate Texas’ 103-57 beating of South Dakota State, it will need to force the Jackrabbits to play outside of their strengths.
This season, SDSU is one of the best offensive teams in the country, averaging 76.3 points per game and ranking in the top 10 in field goal percentage and two-point percentage. Keeping the Jackrabbits from getting inside will be critical to OSU’s chances. However, forcing them into outside shots might not lead to success either as the Jackrabbits are 15th in the nation in 3-point percentage at 37%.
One area OSU might be able to succeed is against SDSU’s defense. The Jackrabbits rank in the bottom 10 in the country in forcing turnovers. Still, they rarely allow offensive rebounds and force teams to shoot only 38.5%.
Considering the styles of these teams, this could easily be a slugfest or a run-and-gun affair. With so many variables in play, this is sure to be one of the most entertaining matchups of the first round.
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Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.