Defending the Home Court

Sunday, March 19

Brookings, S.D.

2 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Colorado

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Photo by: Inertia Sports Media/Dave Eggen

3/18/2017 12:11:00 PM | Women's Basketball

GAME 32: South Dakota State [23-8] vs. Colorado [16-15]

When	Sunday, March 19, 2017 l 2 p.m.
Where	Frost Arena l Brookings, S.D.
TV	Midco Sports Network I Tom Nieman & Brad Newitt I Jackrabbits All-Access
Radio	Jackrabbit Sports Network l WNAX 570 AM l Jackrabbit All-Access l Scotty Kwas
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com
SDSU Links	Game Notes
CU Links	Game Notes
Social Media	Twitter l #EarsUp

South Dakota State will defend its home court and the NCAA's 15th-longest home win streak when it hosts Colorado Sunday in the second round of the Women's NIT in the friendly confines of Frost Arena.

The Jackrabbits, along with 31 other teams, advanced in the 64-team single-elimination tournament with a 94-84 win over Northern Illinois Thursday. Kerri Young led the Jacks with a career-high 28 points. Clarissa Ober and Ellie Thompson both posted double-doubles.

With its victory, State has won seven of its last 10 games and is 11-4 in its last 15 outings.

Colorado is 16-15 overall after defeating UNLV, 66-52, Thursday. Kennedy Leonard led the team with 23 points. The Buffaloes are making their sixth appearance in the Women's NIT.

The winner of Sunday's game faces the winner of the Iowa/South Dakota game in the WNIT's third round March 22-24. Location and time are yet to be determined. The WNIT Championship is April 1 at 2 p.m. CT on the CBS Sports Network.

The Jackrabbits were ranked No. 12 in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major poll.

Women's NIT History

South Dakota State is making its fourth appearance in the 2017 Women's NIT.
The Jackrabbits are 7-3 overall and reached the semifinals in 2014.
State is 7-1 in the WNIT in Frost Arena and has won its last five games in the friendly confines.

WNIT Postseason Field

Fourteen teams either won or tied for their regular-season conference title.
Two of SDSU's 2016-17 opponents—Iowa and South Dakota—are still on the Jackrabbits' side of the bracket.
South Dakota State could meet the Coyotes or the Hawkeyes in the third round.
A win in the third round and the Jackrabbits could face Washington State, Wyoming, Colorado State or UC Davis in the quarterfinals March 25-27.

For What It's Worth

South Dakota State closed the nonconference season 9-3 with losses to then-No. 13 Oklahoma, Green Bay and then-8 Louisville. All participated in the NCAA Tournament.
With a 23-8 record, seven of SDSU's losses have come to teams participating in The Big Dance or the Women's NIT.
The Jackrabbits are now 7-7 against teams participating in postseason tournaments.

Noteworthy

The Jackrabbits recorded their 20th overall win and sixth consecutive 20-win season Feb. 18.
The Jackrabbits have limited their last five opponents to 62.4 points per game, outscoring them by 12.4 points per outing and outrebounding their foes by 10.6 caroms.
SDSU head coach Aaron Johnston, who won his 400th career game Dec. 11, enters Sunday's game with a 415-141 (.746) overall record.

Jackrabbits in Mid-Major Poll

After spending the first four weeks of the season atop the CollegeInsider Mid-Major poll, South Dakota State is 12th in the poll.
SDSU has been ranked in the Mid-Major Top 25 Poll 99 of the last 100 weeks.
With its 26 first-place votes in the preseason poll, SDSU was the first team in The Summit League history to earn a top national preseason ranking.
The Jackrabbits were ranked first in the final 2015-16 poll, their highest-ever ranking.

A Quick Glance at South Dakota State

Seventeenth-year head coach Aaron Johnston's probable starters for the 14th consecutive game are:

            Alexis Alexander, point guard
            Madison Guebert, guard
            Kerri Young, guard
            Ellie Thompson, forward
            Clarissa Ober, center

The starting lineup is 12-5 overall this season.
SDSU has had three starting lineups after the Jackrabbits' leading scoring Macy Miller (Dec. 9) and leading rebounder Clarissa Ober (Dec. 21, return Jan. 11) suffered injuries that forced them from the starting five.
Guebert is currently SDSU's leading scorer, averaging 15.2 points per game. Young (13.8), Thompson (13.3) and Ober (10.3) are the other Jacks averaging double digits in scoring.
SDSU averages 70.9 points per game. Four Jackrabbits have led the team in scoring this season.
State has held 23 of its 31 opponents to 65-or-fewer points, including eight to less than 50.
There have been at least three Jackrabbits scoring in double digits in 24 of 31 games.
On the boards, Ober is SDSU's leading rebounder, grabbing 8.1 caroms an outing.
The Jackrabbits are outrebounding opponents by 5.3 caroms.
The Jackrabbits' top 3-point threat is Guebert, who is sinking 3.0 treys per game and shooting 43.6 percent.
Young is the Jacks' top playmaker, dishing 3.4 assists per game.
The Jacks have a plus-1.1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
SDSU is shooting 43.8 percent from the field, 34.2 percent from 3-point range and 76.1 percent from the free-throw line.

Glance at Colorado

Colorado is 2-3 in its last five games and enters Sunday's game 3-7 in the last 10 games.
The Buffaloes finished tied for ninth in the Pac-12 Conference with a 5-13 record.
CU is led offensively by sophomore guard Kennedy Leonard, who is averaging 17.0 points per game. The Buffaloes average 68.8 points per game and give up 65.5 an outing.
Colorado has two others averaging double digits in scoring—sophomore guard Alexis Robinson (11.4) and senior guard/forward Haley Smith (10.4).
Smith averages a team-leading 6.4 rebounds. The Buffaloes are being outrebounded by 2.4 caroms a game.
Leonard is dishing 5.7 assists per game and makes 2.4 steals per outing. Colorado averages 11.4 steals per game, good for eighth in the latest NCAA statistics.
Robinson is CU's top 3-point threat, sinking 54 3-pointers and shooting 35.3 percent (54-153).
The Buffaloes have five players averaging 5-or-more points and nine averaging 10-or-more minutes per game.
Colorado is shooting 39.1 percent from the field, 32.1 from 3-point range and 68.5 percent from 3-point range.

Breaking Down the Colorado Series

The all-time series is tied at 1-1 after each team won on its home floor in 2005 and 2006.
Colorado won the first meeting, 64-50, Dec. 28, 2005. The Buffaloes limited the Jackrabbits to a then-season low 23 percent shooting effort. Megan Vogel led the Jacks with 18 points.
Ashlea Muckenhirn tied a career high with 18 points as SDSU evened the series with an 80-58 win in Frost Arena, Dec. 13, 2006.
South Dakota State is 7-8 against teams from the Pac-12. Its most recent opponent was Stanford in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

For more information on the South Dakota State women's basketball team, follow the Jackrabbits on Twitter (@GoJacksWBB) or like South Dakota State women's basketball on Facebook.

-GoJacks.com-