Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Mayville State (Exhibition) on October 29, 2025 at 8:30 p.m.
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8:30 p.m.
Men's Basketball
vs Mayville State (Exhibition)
South Dakota State University Athletics
Monday, March 8
5:45 PM
South Dakota State University
vs
ORAL ROBERTS
Photo by: Richard Carlson/Inertia
SDSU MEETS ORAL ROBERTS IN SEMIFINALS
3/7/2021 8:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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South Dakota State
    The Jackrabbits are aiming for a seventh trip to the title game of the Summit League Championship as they take on No. 4 seed Oral Roberts in the semifinals Monday night at 5:45 inside the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls.
    No. 1 seed South Dakota State defeated eighth-seeded Omaha 84-71 Saturday night in the opening round. The Jacks shot 53 percent, the fourth consecutive game they've shot at least 53 percent. It was also the 11th time SDSU has made at least half of its attempts.
    State committed only nine turnovers and tallied 22 assists on its 31 makes.
    Douglas Wilson led the Jacks with 25 points, dished out a career-high seven assists and blocked a season-best three shots.
    Baylor Scheierman added his 13th double-double of the year, scoring 18 points and securing 11 rebounds. He also matched Wilson with seven assists.
    Matt Dentlinger continued his late surge with 14 points and six boards, scoring in double figures for the eighth straight outing.
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Opponent
  Summit League Player of the Year Max Abmas is the nation's leading scorer, anchoring a high-octane Oral Roberts offense averaging 11.3 3-pointers per game, the most in the country.
   Abmas averages 24.6 points and 3.78 treys per night, both of which rank first in the nation. He also makes 90 percent at the free-throw line, which is 10th in Division I.
   It isn't just Abmas, though. Kevin Obanor was also a first-team all-Summit League selection. The forward has posted 12 double-doubles, averaging 18.2 points and 9.8 rebounds.
   The Golden Eagles (14-10) are seventh nationally in 3-point percentage (38.8) and 12th in scoring offense (81.7 points per game).
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The Series
    Monday marks the 28th meeting, with SDSU holding a 17-10 series edge over ORU.
    The Jacks have won 13 of the last 15, but the two teams split last month in Tulsa.
    Oral Roberts won the opener 103-86 behind a remarkable performance by Abmas. He scored 42 points, the third-most by a Division I player this season, on 14-of-20 shooting.
    SDSU avenged that loss with a 95-80 victory the next day. Six Jacks scored in double figures and SDSU owned a 52-32 rebound advantage, winning despite 30 points from Abmas.
    Twice the programs have met in the Summit League Tournament, each ending in a three-point Jackrabbit win.
    SDSU made its tourney debut with an upset of No. 2 seed Oral Roberts, 72-69 in overtime on Mar. 7, 2009. Seven years later, second-seeded SDSU needed a late rally to avoid an upset, claiming a 73-70 win over the Golden Eagles on Mar. 5, 2016.
3-Point Shooting
    The Jacks are one of only two teams in the nation shooting 40 percent from long distance.
    SDSU has made 179-of-444 3-pointers, 40.3 percent. Only Baylor has made triples at a greater rate in Division I.
    Seven times the Jacks have hit at least half of their 3-point attempts in one game.
    Additionally, SDSU has made eight or more triples on 10 occasions, and six times the Jacks have knocked down 10 or more.
    The Jacks made a season-high 17 3-pointers in a Dec. 4 win at Bradley.
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Being Offensive
    In addition to ranking second nationally in 3-point percentage, the Jacks are ninth in overall field goal percentage (49.8 percent) and rank 26th in Division I in scoring offense, racking up 80.1 points per game.
    During conference play the Jackrabbits led the league in scoring (82 points per game), field goal percentage (51.3 percent), 3-point percentage (41.8 percent), and assists (14.2 per game).
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Kansas City Roo-ed the Jacks Offense
    Kansas City's defensive strategy in last weekend's two-game series was obvious - take away the 3-point shot and force SDSU to find other ways to score.
    The Jacks responded by making 49-of-72 shots, 68 percent, and more specifically 43-of-58 (74.1 percent) on attempts inside the arc.
    SDSU set a school record in Saturday's finale, shooting 73.5 percent (25-of-34). That also established a Summit League record for shooting percentage in a conference game.
    One thing Kansas City was able to do was turn the Jacks over. SDSU committed 17 on Friday and 16 Saturday. That's two of the five highest turnover counts for the Jacks this year.
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Double the Scheierman, Double the Fun
    Sophomore guard Baylor Scheierman has become a double-double machine.
    The Aurora, Neb., native has racked up 13 double-doubles, eighth most in the country.
    Scheierman currently ranks third in Division I with 8.68 defensive rebounds per game.
    How rare is what Scheierman is doing? He is only the fifth sophomore in State history to compile 10 or more double-doubles in a season. One freshman has also turned the trick.
    Since SDSU moved to Division I in 2004, Scheierman is the sixth player with 10 or more career double-doubles.
    As a point of comparison, Mike Daum had a total of 11 double-doubles in his first two seasons. He went on to set a school record with 54 in his career.
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Wilson Excels
    Douglas Wilson isn't the reigning Summit League Player of the Year for nothing.
    The Des Moines, Iowa, product has eclipsed the 20-point mark in a game against every Summit League team he has faced this season.
    In league-only action, Wilson is averaging 16.8 points per game, tops on the team and eighth in the conference.
    He shot 53.7 percent in league play, which ranked third, and hauled in 4.9 rebounds per game while playing an average of just 26.6 minutes.
    Wilson has also picked things up at the free-throw line. Over the last six games he is 26-of-33 (78.7 percent) at the stripe.
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Arians at the Stripe
    Junior guard Alex Arians has been very efficient at the free throw line this a year.
    The Madison, Wis., native has made 64-of-73 at the stripe. That's 87.7 percent, which ranks in the top 30 nationally.
    Arians had a string of 29 consecutive makes this year, including his first 18 in league play.
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An Appel A Day...
    Luke Appel has been a model of efficiency in the low post for the Jackrabbit offense.
    Appel was limited to only 21 minutes in the first five games. He has logged at least nine minutes in 14 of the last 17, scoring in double figures in seven of those tilts.
    In Summit League play, Appel averaged 8.8 points in only 14 minutes per game.
    He made 40-of-62 attempts, shooting 64 percent in conference play.
    Last weekend's series against Kansas City was Appel's most productive weekend since arriving at State. He led the team in scoring, averaging 16.5 points per game, making 11-of-14 from the field and 11-of-14 at the free-throw line.
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Easley Does It
    Sophomore transfer Charlie Easley rose to the occasion in February.
    He's started the six most recent games and played 20-plus minutes in seven of the last eight.
    During this eight-game stretch in which his name has been called regularly, he's scored 62 points - an average of 7.7 per game - and made at least one three in all eight.
    He has shot 20-of-42 overall and 14-of-27 from deep during this run, including the game-winning triple with 16 seconds left at North Dakota State Feb. 19.
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Dentlinger Picking Up Steam
    A year ago, Matt Dentlinger was an honorable mention all-conference player.
    He'd lacked consistency this year in the first 14 games - three times scoring double figures, twice going scoreless.
    Down the stretch, however, he has reverted to his old form.
    Dentlinger tied his season high with 21 points against South Dakota (Feb. 6). In the two games at Oral Roberts last weekend, he scored 16 and 10.
    He followed that up with scoring efforts of 13 and 15 in the two-game series at North Dakota State, making 5-of-6 from the field in each.
    Last weekend against Kansas City, Dentlinger made 10-of-12 for the field, scoring 29 points.
    Over this eight-game stretch, the Arcadia, Iowa native has done more than just tie shoes. He's averaged 14.8 points and 5.1 rebounds while making 45 of his 57 shots - that's 78.9 percent.
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Mims On Reserve
    A veteran presence off the bench can be vital and Jackrabbit fans were reminded of that with the recent performance of guard Matt Mims.
    The pride of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has logged big minutes in SDSU's last five games.
    Mims scored 16 points in the two games at North Dakota State, then followed that up by burying a triple in each game against Kansas City.
    He's committed only one turnover while playing 110 miuntes, dishing out seven assists and collecting seven steals. He's averaged 5.4 points per game during the stretch.
    Mims has also made a 3-pointer in each of the last five contests.
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Freidel's Season Ends Early
    Sophomore guard Noah Freidel was on his way to another all-conference season when the Tea native announced his season was over on Feb. 17.
    Alongside head coach Eric Henderson, Freidel made the following statement to the media:
    "After meeting with Coach Hendo and my family, we have decided that I am not going to play for the remainder of the year, as I have been struggling with depression and anxiety. I am going to take this time to get healthy and work through these mental health issues. I am so thankful for my amazing teammates and I cannot wait to get back on the floor with them soon."
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Power Five Wins
    SDSU's victory at Iowa State Dec. 2 marked the fifth time in the past six seasons the Jacks have defeated a Power Five program. Dating back to 2008-09, SDSU has beaten a Power Five opponent eight times in 13 seasons.
    Iowa State and Iowa have each fallen twice to the Jacks. In fact, SDSU is 4-0 against those two programs since moving to Division I.
    SDSU also has wins over Ole Miss, TCU, Minnesota and Washington in that span.
    That doesn't include a win at No. 16 New Mexico on Dec. 22, 2012 in Albuquerque.
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Summit League Tournament History
    South Dakota State is a top-two seed for the eighth time in the Summit League Championship and has compiled an excellent run of success in the event.
    The Jacks have made it to Tuesday's championship game six times and hoisted the tournament trophy on five occasions, the most recent coming in 2018.
    SDSU's suffered upsets in each of the past two tournaments, losing as the No. 1 seed to Western Illinois 79-76 in 2019, and last year dropped a 77-74 decision to Purdue Fort Wayne as the second seed.
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Run of Success
    South Dakota State has played in eight consecutive postseasons, a run that would likely have grown to nine if not for the COVID-19 pandemic causing all the tournaments to be canceled last March. That includes five NCAA Tournaments, a pair of National Invitation Tournaments and one trip to the College Basketball Invitational.
    Only 16 programs in Division I have played in each of the last eight postseasons.
    During that string of success, the Jacks have won five Summit League Tournaments and claimed at least a share of six regular season league titles.
    The Jackrabbits have won 20 or more games each of the last three years and seven of the previous nine seasons.
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| Summit League Championship - Semifinals | #4 Oral Roberts (14-10) vs. #1 South Dakota State (16-6) |
| When | Monday, Mar. 8 | 5:45 p.m. |
| Where | Sanford Pentagon | Sioux Falls, S.D. |
| Live Audio / Radio | Jackrabbits All-Access | Jackrabbit Sports Network I Tyler Merriam |
| Live Video | MidcoSN | Midco Sports Plus ($) | ESPN+ ($) | Tom Nieman & Brad Newitt |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Game Notes | South Dakota State | Oral Roberts |
| Social Media | Twitter I Facebook |
South Dakota State
    The Jackrabbits are aiming for a seventh trip to the title game of the Summit League Championship as they take on No. 4 seed Oral Roberts in the semifinals Monday night at 5:45 inside the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls.
    No. 1 seed South Dakota State defeated eighth-seeded Omaha 84-71 Saturday night in the opening round. The Jacks shot 53 percent, the fourth consecutive game they've shot at least 53 percent. It was also the 11th time SDSU has made at least half of its attempts.
    State committed only nine turnovers and tallied 22 assists on its 31 makes.
    Douglas Wilson led the Jacks with 25 points, dished out a career-high seven assists and blocked a season-best three shots.
    Baylor Scheierman added his 13th double-double of the year, scoring 18 points and securing 11 rebounds. He also matched Wilson with seven assists.
    Matt Dentlinger continued his late surge with 14 points and six boards, scoring in double figures for the eighth straight outing.
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Opponent
  Summit League Player of the Year Max Abmas is the nation's leading scorer, anchoring a high-octane Oral Roberts offense averaging 11.3 3-pointers per game, the most in the country.
   Abmas averages 24.6 points and 3.78 treys per night, both of which rank first in the nation. He also makes 90 percent at the free-throw line, which is 10th in Division I.
   It isn't just Abmas, though. Kevin Obanor was also a first-team all-Summit League selection. The forward has posted 12 double-doubles, averaging 18.2 points and 9.8 rebounds.
   The Golden Eagles (14-10) are seventh nationally in 3-point percentage (38.8) and 12th in scoring offense (81.7 points per game).
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The Series
    Monday marks the 28th meeting, with SDSU holding a 17-10 series edge over ORU.
    The Jacks have won 13 of the last 15, but the two teams split last month in Tulsa.
    Oral Roberts won the opener 103-86 behind a remarkable performance by Abmas. He scored 42 points, the third-most by a Division I player this season, on 14-of-20 shooting.
    SDSU avenged that loss with a 95-80 victory the next day. Six Jacks scored in double figures and SDSU owned a 52-32 rebound advantage, winning despite 30 points from Abmas.
    Twice the programs have met in the Summit League Tournament, each ending in a three-point Jackrabbit win.
    SDSU made its tourney debut with an upset of No. 2 seed Oral Roberts, 72-69 in overtime on Mar. 7, 2009. Seven years later, second-seeded SDSU needed a late rally to avoid an upset, claiming a 73-70 win over the Golden Eagles on Mar. 5, 2016.
3-Point Shooting
    The Jacks are one of only two teams in the nation shooting 40 percent from long distance.
    SDSU has made 179-of-444 3-pointers, 40.3 percent. Only Baylor has made triples at a greater rate in Division I.
    Seven times the Jacks have hit at least half of their 3-point attempts in one game.
    Additionally, SDSU has made eight or more triples on 10 occasions, and six times the Jacks have knocked down 10 or more.
    The Jacks made a season-high 17 3-pointers in a Dec. 4 win at Bradley.
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Being Offensive
    In addition to ranking second nationally in 3-point percentage, the Jacks are ninth in overall field goal percentage (49.8 percent) and rank 26th in Division I in scoring offense, racking up 80.1 points per game.
    During conference play the Jackrabbits led the league in scoring (82 points per game), field goal percentage (51.3 percent), 3-point percentage (41.8 percent), and assists (14.2 per game).
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Kansas City Roo-ed the Jacks Offense
    Kansas City's defensive strategy in last weekend's two-game series was obvious - take away the 3-point shot and force SDSU to find other ways to score.
    The Jacks responded by making 49-of-72 shots, 68 percent, and more specifically 43-of-58 (74.1 percent) on attempts inside the arc.
    SDSU set a school record in Saturday's finale, shooting 73.5 percent (25-of-34). That also established a Summit League record for shooting percentage in a conference game.
    One thing Kansas City was able to do was turn the Jacks over. SDSU committed 17 on Friday and 16 Saturday. That's two of the five highest turnover counts for the Jacks this year.
Â
Double the Scheierman, Double the Fun
    Sophomore guard Baylor Scheierman has become a double-double machine.
    The Aurora, Neb., native has racked up 13 double-doubles, eighth most in the country.
    Scheierman currently ranks third in Division I with 8.68 defensive rebounds per game.
    How rare is what Scheierman is doing? He is only the fifth sophomore in State history to compile 10 or more double-doubles in a season. One freshman has also turned the trick.
    Since SDSU moved to Division I in 2004, Scheierman is the sixth player with 10 or more career double-doubles.
    As a point of comparison, Mike Daum had a total of 11 double-doubles in his first two seasons. He went on to set a school record with 54 in his career.
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Wilson Excels
    Douglas Wilson isn't the reigning Summit League Player of the Year for nothing.
    The Des Moines, Iowa, product has eclipsed the 20-point mark in a game against every Summit League team he has faced this season.
    In league-only action, Wilson is averaging 16.8 points per game, tops on the team and eighth in the conference.
    He shot 53.7 percent in league play, which ranked third, and hauled in 4.9 rebounds per game while playing an average of just 26.6 minutes.
    Wilson has also picked things up at the free-throw line. Over the last six games he is 26-of-33 (78.7 percent) at the stripe.
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Arians at the Stripe
    Junior guard Alex Arians has been very efficient at the free throw line this a year.
    The Madison, Wis., native has made 64-of-73 at the stripe. That's 87.7 percent, which ranks in the top 30 nationally.
    Arians had a string of 29 consecutive makes this year, including his first 18 in league play.
Â
An Appel A Day...
    Luke Appel has been a model of efficiency in the low post for the Jackrabbit offense.
    Appel was limited to only 21 minutes in the first five games. He has logged at least nine minutes in 14 of the last 17, scoring in double figures in seven of those tilts.
    In Summit League play, Appel averaged 8.8 points in only 14 minutes per game.
    He made 40-of-62 attempts, shooting 64 percent in conference play.
    Last weekend's series against Kansas City was Appel's most productive weekend since arriving at State. He led the team in scoring, averaging 16.5 points per game, making 11-of-14 from the field and 11-of-14 at the free-throw line.
Â
Easley Does It
    Sophomore transfer Charlie Easley rose to the occasion in February.
    He's started the six most recent games and played 20-plus minutes in seven of the last eight.
    During this eight-game stretch in which his name has been called regularly, he's scored 62 points - an average of 7.7 per game - and made at least one three in all eight.
    He has shot 20-of-42 overall and 14-of-27 from deep during this run, including the game-winning triple with 16 seconds left at North Dakota State Feb. 19.
Â
Dentlinger Picking Up Steam
    A year ago, Matt Dentlinger was an honorable mention all-conference player.
    He'd lacked consistency this year in the first 14 games - three times scoring double figures, twice going scoreless.
    Down the stretch, however, he has reverted to his old form.
    Dentlinger tied his season high with 21 points against South Dakota (Feb. 6). In the two games at Oral Roberts last weekend, he scored 16 and 10.
    He followed that up with scoring efforts of 13 and 15 in the two-game series at North Dakota State, making 5-of-6 from the field in each.
    Last weekend against Kansas City, Dentlinger made 10-of-12 for the field, scoring 29 points.
    Over this eight-game stretch, the Arcadia, Iowa native has done more than just tie shoes. He's averaged 14.8 points and 5.1 rebounds while making 45 of his 57 shots - that's 78.9 percent.
Â
Mims On Reserve
    A veteran presence off the bench can be vital and Jackrabbit fans were reminded of that with the recent performance of guard Matt Mims.
    The pride of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has logged big minutes in SDSU's last five games.
    Mims scored 16 points in the two games at North Dakota State, then followed that up by burying a triple in each game against Kansas City.
    He's committed only one turnover while playing 110 miuntes, dishing out seven assists and collecting seven steals. He's averaged 5.4 points per game during the stretch.
    Mims has also made a 3-pointer in each of the last five contests.
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Freidel's Season Ends Early
    Sophomore guard Noah Freidel was on his way to another all-conference season when the Tea native announced his season was over on Feb. 17.
    Alongside head coach Eric Henderson, Freidel made the following statement to the media:
    "After meeting with Coach Hendo and my family, we have decided that I am not going to play for the remainder of the year, as I have been struggling with depression and anxiety. I am going to take this time to get healthy and work through these mental health issues. I am so thankful for my amazing teammates and I cannot wait to get back on the floor with them soon."
Â
Power Five Wins
    SDSU's victory at Iowa State Dec. 2 marked the fifth time in the past six seasons the Jacks have defeated a Power Five program. Dating back to 2008-09, SDSU has beaten a Power Five opponent eight times in 13 seasons.
    Iowa State and Iowa have each fallen twice to the Jacks. In fact, SDSU is 4-0 against those two programs since moving to Division I.
    SDSU also has wins over Ole Miss, TCU, Minnesota and Washington in that span.
    That doesn't include a win at No. 16 New Mexico on Dec. 22, 2012 in Albuquerque.
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Summit League Tournament History
    South Dakota State is a top-two seed for the eighth time in the Summit League Championship and has compiled an excellent run of success in the event.
    The Jacks have made it to Tuesday's championship game six times and hoisted the tournament trophy on five occasions, the most recent coming in 2018.
    SDSU's suffered upsets in each of the past two tournaments, losing as the No. 1 seed to Western Illinois 79-76 in 2019, and last year dropped a 77-74 decision to Purdue Fort Wayne as the second seed.
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Run of Success
    South Dakota State has played in eight consecutive postseasons, a run that would likely have grown to nine if not for the COVID-19 pandemic causing all the tournaments to be canceled last March. That includes five NCAA Tournaments, a pair of National Invitation Tournaments and one trip to the College Basketball Invitational.
    Only 16 programs in Division I have played in each of the last eight postseasons.
    During that string of success, the Jacks have won five Summit League Tournaments and claimed at least a share of six regular season league titles.
    The Jackrabbits have won 20 or more games each of the last three years and seven of the previous nine seasons.
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Players Mentioned
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