It was proper there till it wasn’t for Omaha on Thursday evening in Frost Enviornment.
The Mavericks had chipped away at a 14-point second half South Dakota State lead, whittling it down to only two as a Zeke Mayo missed shot momentarily fell into the fingers of Frankie Fidler with 23 seconds left. Fidler had the ball, and an opportunity for the Mavericks to take the lead and put a jolt within the Summit League race — till he didn’t.
Jackrabbit senior Charlie Easley swiped the ball out of Fidler’s fingers for his career-high ninth rebound, was deliberately fouled and proceeded to knock down two free throws. Omaha nonetheless labored its method right into a game-tying 3-point strive as time expired, however the sequence summed up the place the Summit is thus far this season.
The league is huge open with early circumstances being made by Omaha (3-2), Denver (3-1) and St. Thomas (3-2) that every might be an element all year long. However, like with Easley’s rebound, the Jackrabbits (3-1) are there lurking.
That Easley, patched up with shoulder tape, corralled that key offensive rebound is not any shock. The Lincoln, Nebraska, native shouldn’t be this system’s star (that’s Mayo) or its most enjoyable expertise (that’s explosive sophomore ahead William Kyle III), however he’s a relentless supply of manufacturing for the preseason league favourite.
“We discuss in apply that 50-50 balls aren’t 50-50 balls when Charlie is concerned. He’s going to give you it, and that’s how he performs,” SDSU coach Eric Henderson mentioned earlier this 12 months.
Easley’s fellow senior Matt Mims had an identical view on that ultimate rebound.
“I ran as much as him and I used to be like, ‘you’re unimaginable,” Mims mentioned. “I’m stunned each time however he exhibits it each time, day in and time out.”
SDSU, even after an inconsistent non-conference, arguably stays the Summit crew filled with probably the most potential. A lot of that’s tied to Mayo, who’s averaging 22.5 factors per recreation in league play, in addition to the expertise of Easley and Mims and ceiling of Kyle III. The Jackrabbits, who’re used to successful underneath Henderson, have confirmed they will play nearer and rip the hearts out of the opposition this league season.
Easley’s rebound to stifle the Maverick comeback is one instance as is, extra dramatically, Mayo’s recreation winner at St. Thomas final week to grab away an enormous win from the Tommies in a recreation they have been oh-so-close to closing out. But these moments present exactly why the Summit race is thrilling: SDSU is being pushed, and by unfamiliar foes.
To make certain, the Jackrabbits should not at the moment atop the league standings.
That’s Jeff Wulbrun’s Denver, which simply blitzed SDSU for 99 factors final weekend, solely the second time they’ve scored that many factors in opposition to a Division I opponent since 2010. Spectacular as that win was, so was going to North Dakota State on Thursday and snapping an 11-game shedding streak to the Bison.
This has not been a classic NDSU crew up to now, however the Pioneers have been in a position to make performs down the stretch to win an in depth recreation by which their greatest participant – the nation’s main scorer, Tommy Bruner – didn’t have his greatest offensive displaying. We made the case in early December for Denver making its final place preseason projection look foolish, and so they’ve finished nothing however reinforce that argument during the last month and a half.
Between Bruner, Touko Tainamo (17.5 ppg) and Jaxon Brenchley, the Pioneers have an offense that may give them a shot in any league recreation, and are the lone visiting crew to have gained at Baxter Enviornment this 12 months, the place they put up 95 factors in opposition to the Mavericks.
“We’re creating an id for ourselves,” Bruner mentioned in December. “We’re going to be a 40-minute crew, it doesn’t matter what the sport throws at us, we’re going to play arduous for 40 minutes.”
That was exactly what occurred in Fargo, the place they have been uncharacteristically sloppy with the ball and ineffective from lengthy vary, however nonetheless discovered a solution to win.
For his or her half, the Mavericks – led by their very own offensive star in Fidler – weren’t in a position to finally make the performs they wanted to tug off the upset in Frost Enviornment. However that they have been in that recreation, and weathered a second half SDSU run, exhibits the upward development for Chris Crutchfield in his second 12 months.
The Mavericks offense, fueled by Fidler and his league-leading 28.4 factors per recreation in Summit play, has been harmful.
“He’s acquired an amazing feeling for scoring, he can rating in any respect three ranges and labored very arduous this summer season being constant from the 3-point line,” Crutchfield mentioned earlier than the season. “You should use him in so many alternative methods and his management has grown over the previous 4 or 5 months.”
The crew has the second highest continuity fee amongst league groups per KenPom, and whereas a lot of this roster completed 4-14 a 12 months in the past, the story has been very totally different as Omaha has practically reached that convention win complete already. Marquel Sutton and JJ White, two key contributors alongside Fidler, have a 12 months of Division I expertise underneath their belts after coming in from junior faculty a 12 months in the past, one thing Crutchfield talked about at Summit League media day.
In complete, that continuity has been an asset.
“Understanding the place one another will likely be on the ground and already having that chemistry will assist us so much,” Fidler mentioned in October.
This all goes with out mentioning the Tommies, who we wrote about extensively just lately, and who look each bit a professional contender within the Summit race. They have been tripped up Thursday at a sagging South Dakota crew, which can simply additional illustrate the purpose.
Anybody can win within the league on any given evening, and that’s not only a hole cliche this season. That’s an enormous change from a convention that has had an undefeated behemoth main the best way the previous two seasons, first with Baylor Scheierman’s SDSU in 2021-22 and Max Abmas’ Oral Roberts a 12 months in the past.
Depend out Dave Richman and the Bison in March? Achieve this at your individual danger. Low cost Isaac McBride and the remainder of the Golden Eagles’ successful DNA? I wouldn’t do it.
The Jackrabbits should look able to matching their preseason projection, however there are many applications pushing them this 12 months, and that ought to make for an thrilling few months within the Summit.
