March Madness: 10 teams that deserve your fandom

By Doug Winkey | Mar 16, 2017

Mar 11, 2017; Birmingham, AL, USA; Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders head coach Kermit Davis with Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders forward Reggie Upshaw (30) and Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders forward JaCorey Williams (22) hold the trophy after defeating the Marshall Thundering Herd for the Conference USA Tournament Championship at Legacy Arena. Blue Raiders defeated the Herd 82-73. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports /

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Mar 7, 2017; Sioux Falls, SD, USA; South Dakota State Jackrabbits forward Mike Daum (24) drives on Omaha Mavericks forward Tre’Shawn Thurman (15) during the Summit League Conference Tournament at Denny Sanford Premier Center. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports /

1. South Dakota State Jackrabbits

Location: Brookings, South Dakota

First Appearance since: 2016

Name to know: Mike Daum (25.3 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 42% 3pt)

We come to maybe one of the more entertaining low seeds of the entire tournament. SDSU won the Summit League title as the 4-seed in head coach T.J. Otzelberger’s first season. The former Cyclone assistant has done well and will challenge the West’s top seed Gonzaga in Salt Lake City.

Next: Ranking the entire field of 68

March Madness always has tremendous youth in play, but few players are perhaps as dominant as the Jackrabbits’ Mike Daum, the “Dauminator”. The 6’9″, 245 pound sophomore from Kimball, Nebraska has been superb for the boys from Brookings. Daum looks truly unguardable many nights and it will be interesting to see how Gonzaga tries to stop him. He hoisted the 12th most shots in the regular season. SDSU will also use Reed Tellinghuisen and A.J. Hess to try and open up space for the versatile forward. A 16 has to beat a 1 eventually, right? Be a South Dakota State fan this year.

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