The college basketball offseason is here, and we decided to have some fun over the next few months, ranking ALL 364 teams in D1. Number 118 is South Dakota State basketball.
Before you say we’re crazy – or that all of this is up for debate, let’s go over the very intricate process of how we came to this conclusion. We took a very statistical approach – with the help of Chat GPT – taking into consideration everything from March Madness wins and finishes, to AP Poll appearances, to conference players of the year. And then, a good friend of ours, Scott Blanchard, took our approach to the MAX.
Click here to visit the FIRST article, which explains how the formula works!
Here’s the breakdown of South Dakota State basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 0
- NCAA wins: 0
- Bids: 7
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 19.2
- Bids per season: 0.33
- AP Polls: 0
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 0
- NBA players drafted & played: 3
- Conference Players of the Year: 7
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 9
- Conference tournament titles: 7
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on South Dakota State basketball
South Dakota State has virtually been a model for mid-major teams looking to make the move and stay as consistent winners. In 21 seasons, they have averaged over 19 wins per season, including 10 seasons with 20 or more wins. That included a 30-5 record in 2021-22.
But it hasn’t just been about the wins for the Jackrabbits. They’ve turned it into seven NCAA Tournaments, a rate of one every three years. Unfortunately, they are still waiting on their very first win in March Madness, but even getting there that often is a crazy rate.
And so far, while coaches have left for bigger jobs, it is safe to say they’ve never had a bad head coach since going D1. Here is the breakdown:
- Scott Nagy (2005-16): 190-163, 3 regular season titles, 3 NCAA Tournaments
- TJ Otzelberger (2016-19): 70-33, 2 regular season titles, 2 NCAA Tournaments
- Eric Henderson (2019-25): 129-60, 4 regular season titles, 2 NCAA Tournaments
New head coach Bryan Petersen only went 14-20 in his first season, but it is way too early to tell if that is a bad sign or if he can quickly bounce back for a program that has never had a bad stretch.
We also need to highlight one of the greatest scorers of all-time, Mike Daum, who played for SDST. With 3,067 career points, Daum still ranks ninth all-time in D1 history.
Overall, the Jackrabbits have built a great program culture and have shown no signs of slowing down, even with one off year.