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South Dakota State: 3 Reasons why the Jackrabbits will beat Ohio State

By Nolan Schmidt

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MARCH 16: Tevin King
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MARCH 16: Tevin King /
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LAWRENCE, KS – NOVEMBER 17: Marcus Garrett
LAWRENCE, KS – NOVEMBER 17: Marcus Garrett /

Reason 3: Better X-Factor(s)

The NCAA Tournament is built upon a foundation of unsung heroes. Ali Farokhmanesh, Ben Woodside, or even Dexter Werner, there is one for every mid-major team. An advantage South Dakota State has is the simple fact that they are less visible than Ohio State. Everyone knows the Buckeyes and their top players or guys to keep an eye on. How many people outside of diligent Summit League followers know who Brandon Key is? I am willing to bet not many.

Key provides a tremendous change of pace for the Jackrabbits at the guard spot. He can blow by any player with ease, but he can also shoot the jumper too. Not only that, he is arguably the best on-ball defender the Jackrabbits have. If he performs at a high level, like he did in the Summit League tournament, Ohio State will not know what hit them.

It does not stop there though. South Dakota State has a collection of players that continually get forgotten because of Mike Daum. Both Skyler Flatten and Reed Tellinghuisen are deadly from beyond the arc. What happens if they get hot? Can the Buckeyes handle that along with keeping Mike Daum in check? I am not so sure.

Lastly, everyone seems to be overlooking David Jenkins Jr. The freshman won the Jackrabbits the Summit League tournament title, but yet, everyone has their eyes on Daum. Perhaps that is to the advantage of South Dakota State. Either way, if Jenkins Jr. continues his hot streak, the Buckeyes are in big trouble.

Next: Ranking all 68 teams in the NCAA Tournament Field

I did not even mention the fact that Ohio State has lost three of their last five games. Two of those games were by 10 or points as well. So, the Buckeyes are coming into the tournament on a bit of a cold streak. All I am saying is that South Dakota State has a lot of elements working in their favor coming into this game. I truly believe that they can make some serious noise in this tournament. It begins with this contest with the Buckeyes.

Again, not biased…

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