Men's basketball faces USC Tuesday

Tuesday, November 12

Los Angeles, Calif.

9 p.m. CT / 7 p.m. PT

South Dakota State University

USC

BROOKINGS, SD - OCTOBER 30: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx at the Frost Arena October 30, 2019 in Brookings, South Dakota. (Photo by Dave Eggen/Inertia)

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia Sports Media

11/11/2019 9:51:00 AM | Men's Basketball

GAME 4: South Dakota State (3-0) at Southern California (2-0)

When	Tuesday, Nov. 12 \| 7 p.m. PST / 9 p.m. CST
Where	Galen Center \| Los Angeles, Calif.
Live Audio / Radio	Jackrabbits All-Access \| Jackrabbit Sports Network I WNAX 570 AM \| Al Bahe
Live Video	Pac-12 Network \| JB Long, Eddie House
Live Stats	USCTrojans.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| USC
Social Media	Twitter I Facebook

Previewing the Game
Jackrabbit men's basketball wraps up a two-game swing in the Golden State Tuesday at Southern California. South Dakota State and USC tip at 7 p.m. PST / 9 p.m. CST from the Galen Center in Los Angeles.

South Dakota State is the two-time defending Summit League regular season champions, and under the direction of new head coach Eric Henderson are off to a 3-0 start this season.

USC is 2-0 to start the year with a pair of home wins. The Trojans took down Portland Friday evening, 76-65.

This is the first meeting between the programs.

About South Dakota State
The Jackrabbit men's basketball team is off to a fast start in the 2019-20 campaign, opening the season with victories over UT Rio Grande Valley (70-57), Peru State (86-58) and CSU Bakersfield (93-91).

Through three games, Douglas Wilson leads the team with 21 points per game, opening his career with three-straight double-digit scoring performances. The two-time NJCAA All-American and 2018-19 NJCAA Player of the Year has one double-double for the Jackrabbits, adding an 8.7 rebounding average for the season alongside a 60.9 field goal percentage.

Brandon Key (13.0 points per game) has been electric in the point, posting a pair of double-digit scoring performances on the season with 13 assists (4.3 per game). Key is back for the Jackrabbits after redshirting a year ago. He had 112 assists in 2017-18.

Matt Dentlinger turned in a double-double in the season opener (17 points, 14 rebounds), and is averaging 11 points and eight boards per game through three contests. The big man is 10-of-17 from the field (58.8 percent) and has six offensive rebounds.

Alex Arians is the most experienced Jackrabbit as a sophomore after starting 33 games a year ago. Arians has logged 29.7 minutes per game this season and has 17 points (5.7 per game) and 19 rebounds (6.3 average) for State.

Noah Freidel, the 2019 Argus Leader Class A Player of the Year, has started all three games in his first collegiate season and is playing 20 minutes per game, posting 10 in the scoring column against CSU Bakersfield for his first collegiate double-digit scoring game.

Baylor Scheierman (8.7 points per game, six assists) has 18 rebounds off the bench, as the Aurora, Nebraska native leads the team with five 3-pointers.

David Wingett has hit four triples and is fifth on the team in scoring for the year at 7.7 points per game.

Wingett joined the Jackrabbit squad in late May as a transfer from Memphis and received an NCAA waiver for immediate eligibility. The Winnebago, Nebraska product scored over 2,200 points in his high school career and spent a season at Bull City Prep Academy.

Scheierman is a two-time Class B All-State, All-Area and All-Conference selection from Aurora, Nebraska, and as a senior averaged 22.1 points, 9.8 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game while helping his team to a state tournament berth.

The Jackrabbits have held opponents under 60 points in two games while averaging 83 points on the offensive end, posting double-digit rebounding margins in two of three contests as well.
SDSU is shooting 46.5 percent as a team and averaging 48.0 boards per game.

About Southern California
The Trojans are coming off a 16-17 campaign a year ago and were picked fifth in the Pac-12 preseason poll.

Onyeka Okongwu leads the team in points (20.0 per game) and rebounds (11.5), providing a force down low alongside a 73.1 shooting percentage and 4.5 blocks per game.

Isaiah Mobley (11 points per game) and Jonah Mathews (10.5 ppg) are in double-figures as well, as Mobley has grabbed 14 total boards and is shooting 70 percent from the field. Mathews leads the team with four 3-pointers.

Nick Rakocevic, named to the Wooden Award Watch List, has 15 points, 11 rebounds and five steals through two games.

The Trojans are shooting 46.9 percent as a team and boast a plus-12 rebounding margin through two games.

A South Dakota State Win Would ...
Give SDSU a 4-0 record on the year ... hand the Jacks their eighth win over a Power Five program ... make coach Henderson 4-0 in his first season and the Jacks 2-0 in road games this year ... give the Jacks a 1,539-1,040-1 program mark.

A South Dakota State Loss Would ...
Snap a three-game winning streak and put the team at 3-1 for the year ... make SDSU 0-1 all-time against USC and 1-1 on the current road trip ... give the Jacks a 1,538-1,041-1 program mark.

#FearFrost

The Jacks own a 105-6 record at Frost Arena over the last seven seasons dating back to 2011-12, which includes perfect home records in five of the last seven years. That span includes two home winning streaks of 30 or more games and three of 25 or more.
Since 2011-12, South Dakota State has won 94.6 percent of its home games, a mark that top all Division I programs in that span. South Dakota State won 34 consecutive games from Jan. 30, 2014 to Dec. 28, 2016. It ended as the nation's second-longest active streak.
The Jackrabbits won 30 consecutive home games from Jan. 29, 2011 to Nov. 14, 2013.
SDSU won 26 consecutive home games from Dec. 31, 2016 to Dec. 22, 2018.
South Dakota State won 34 consecutive home nonconference games inside Frost Arena from Dec. 31, 2016 to Dec. 22, 2018. That mark was the fourth-longest active streak when it ended.
SDSU put together undefeated seasons inside Frost Arena the following years: 1984-85 (18-0), 2002-03 (17-0), 2011-12 (14-0), 2012-13 (13-0), 2014-15 (13-0), 2015-16 (12-0) and 2017-18 (15-0).

New Faces, New Roles
South Dakota State's lineup will feature new roles and new faces throughout the season, as the Jackrabbits return only 16.9 percent of their scoring from 2018-19, and 10.7 percent of their 3-point makes. SDSU's 15.8 points per game returning ranks fifth-lowest nationally, and the 16.9 percent back is the second-lowest margin.

Quick Hits

SDSU's 93-91 victory over CSU Bakersfield saw five Jackrabbits reach double figures for the first time in 2019-20. The feat last happened Jan. 31, 2019 against Oral Roberts.
State posted back-to-back 50-rebound games to open the season. The last time an SDSU program had 50-plus rebounds in consecutive games was Dec. 15 and 27, 2002 against Finlandia (60) and Fort Lewis (58). The Jacks also had three-straight games with 50-plus rebounds that season: Nov. 23, 29 and 30.
Douglas Wilson's 24 points on Nov. 5 are the most in a Jackrabbit debut dating back to 2000-01, when game-by-game statistics were readily available.
South Dakota State has not lost three consecutive games since January 2017.
SDSU went 13-0 when holding opponents under 70 points last season (11-9 when not) and scored 70-plus points in 32 of 33 contests. The Jackrabbits were 12-0 when holding opponents under 70 points in 2017-18. The Jacks have accomplished the feat twice this year.
At least one Jackrabbit has scored in double figures over the last 378 games dating back to Jan. 12, 2008 at IUPUI when Anthony Cordova had nine points to lead the Jacks.
State has made at least one 3-pointer in 408 consecutive games. The last time the Jackrabbits did not make a 3-point field goal was Jan. 25, 2007
SDSU is 94-18 all-time in home openers (where records available). Dating back to 2004-05, SDSU's first year of DI transition, SDSU is 12-4 in those games.
SDSU is 75-39 in season-openers all-time. The Jacks are 8-8 in season-opening games at the Division I level.

Jackrabbits in Two Scheduling Agreements
Summit League teams are in year two of scheduling agreements with the Western Athletic Conference and Big Sky.

The Jackrabbits took on Grand Canyon last year in the first year of the Summit League/WAC challenge, defeating the Lopes in the 2018-19 season opener. Year two of the challenge sends SDSU to face CSU Bakersfield Nov. 9.

The scheduling agreement with the Big Sky is a four-year contract. The Jackrabbits will play the following games as part of the deal:

2018-19: Montana (home), Eastern Washington (away)
2019-20: Idaho (home), Montana State (away)
2020-21: Eastern Washington (home), Montana (away)
2021-22: Montana State (home), Idaho (away)

Tough Tests
South Dakota State has four Power Five (ACC, SEC, Big 12, Big Ten, PAC-12) opponents on the 2019-20 schedule, facing USC, Nebraska, Arizona and Indiana this season.

South Dakota State has seven wins over Power Five programs since joining The Summit League in 2007, picking up victories over Iowa State (2008), Iowa (2010 and 2017), Washington (2011), TCU (2015), Minnesota (2015) and Ole Miss (2017).

SDSU's wins over Iowa and Ole Miss in 2017-18 came in the shortest time frame of any Summit League team since 1998 (seven days). The Jackrabbits are the fifth league team to post a win over separate Power Five conferences in the same regular season, and the first to do it since 2009.

Jacks Picked Fifth in Preseason Poll
South Dakota State men's basketball earned two first-place votes and was tabbed fifth in the 2019-20 Summit League men's basketball preseason poll, released in October.

The poll is voted on by league coaches, sports information directors and select media.

Jackrabbits' Last Time Out
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — South Dakota State men's basketball opened its first road trip of the season in wild fashion Saturday night, topping CSU Bakersfield in double-overtime, 93-91.

Down three with the clock winding down in regulation, Baylor Scheierman buried a 3-pointer to force overtime, then sank three more over the next 10 minutes of extra time to help the Jackrabbits improve to 3-0 on the season.

Ahead 91-89 with under 30 seconds to go in the second overtime, the teams looked destined for a third extra period after the Roadrunners sank a layup in the waning moments. The game would not continue, however, as David Wingett came up with an offensive rebound and hit a put-back game-winner with four seconds on the clock.

Douglas Wilson paced all scorers with a 26-point effort, adding 13 boards for his first career double-double.

Brandon Key added a career-high 18 points alongside five rebounds and five assists. The Milwaukee, Wis. guard sank all seven of his free throw attempts and played a game-high 45 minutes.

Scheierman finished with 17 points and four 3-pointers in his third collegiate contest, pulling down seven rebounds with two assists in the win.

Wingett (11 points) and Noah Freidel (10 points) rounded out the double-figure scorers for South Dakota State, who shot 47.6 percent as a team and hit 24-30 at the free throw line.

Neither team gave way in a back-and-forth contest, with physical play starting from the opening whistle. CSU Bakersfield took its largest lead of the first half (14-8) midway through the period, but after back-to-back 3-pointers from Wingett, SDSU went in front for the first time, 21-18, near the eight-minute mark. The Roadrunners answered to regain the lead moments later, though a run of five unanswered for the Jacks to close the half sent the teams to the locker room, 34-34.

Both teams opened the second at a frenetic pace, but it was SDSU who build a 46-42 lead before the under-16 media. The advantage held until a pair of Roadrunner free throws gave the home team a 53-52 lead at 10:01, and after a brief flurry of trading buckets, CSU Bakersfield forced a Jackrabbit timeout at 7:59 after taking a five-point, 59-54 lead.

Down five (70-65) with under two to play, the Jackrabbits rallied behind a pair of Key free throws and a Scheierman 3-pointer with 44 seconds on the clock, forcing overtime on the road.

Scheierman kept the hot-hand going with a pair of 3-pointers in the first overtime, and though SDSU had the lead inside the final minute, it was CSU Bakersfield turn for a rally to force another extra period, tied at 81.

State led for most of the second overtime thanks to treys from Scheierman and Freidel, but despite leading by as many as five in the frame saw the hard-charging Roadrunners tie it late. Wingett's game-winner, though, sealed the victory.

Opponent Last Time Out
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Onyeka Okongwu had 20 points and 10 rebounds and Southern California pulled away to beat Portland 76-65 on Friday night.

Okongwu had 20 points, 13 rebounds and a school-record-tying eight blocks in a season-opening win over Florida A&M, becoming the first freshman to post a double-double in his debut since Taj Gibson in 2006.

He was dynamic down the stretch for the Trojans (2-0), who found themselves in a 48-all tie early in the second half. They never gave up the lead, but the Pilots (1-1) stayed within two until Okongwu took over.

He scored six points in a 9-0 spurt that extended USC's lead to 63-52. Okongwu's best move was a dunk after teammate Quinton Adlesh got blocked, USC controlled the rebound and got the ball to Okongwu to finish with a flourish.

In all, Okongwu had 12 of USC's final 19 points. He helped the Trojans dominate the boards, 42-27.

Grad transfer Isaiah White led the Pilots with 22 points, making six of their 13 3-pointers.

White hit consecutive 3-pointers to open the second half. Malcolm Porter's left-handed drive across the lane tied the game 48-all, but the Pilots' shooting cooled off over the final minutes.

-GoJacks.com-