Busting Brackets
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Summit League Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2019-20 season

By Austin Hamm

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 22: Jordan Horn #33 and Vinnie Shahid #0 of the North Dakota State Bison react against the Duke Blue Devils in the second half during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 22: Jordan Horn #33 and Vinnie Shahid #0 of the North Dakota State Bison react against the Duke Blue Devils in the second half during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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SALT LAKE CITY, UT – MARCH 16: The South Dakota State Jackrabbits mascot stands on the court at the start of the game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 16, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – MARCH 16: The South Dakota State Jackrabbits mascot stands on the court at the start of the game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 16, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

6. Western Illinois Leathernecks

Key Returner: Kobe Webster

Western Illinois scored the upset of the season in the Summit League last year, knocking off defending champions South Dakota State in the first round of the conference tournament. In hoping to find more consistency this year, they will once again lean heavily on Webster.

The major losses for this roster come in the frontcourt, but that may allow coach Bill Wright to go to smaller lineups with more shooting around Webster, potentially raising the offensive ceiling of this squad. Players like C.J. Duff and Zion Young figure to factor in, but ultimately how far this team does or doesn’t go will fall on Webster.

5. South Dakota State Jackrabbits

Key Returner: Alex Arians

It’s a new day in Brookings, with coach Eric Henderson taking control of a program losing, most notably, Mike Daum to graduation and David Jenkins to transfer. Arians is the lone returning full-time starter, and he averaged just over six points per game last year. You can see my breakdown of the Jacks’ rotation here, but that was before Memphis transfer David Wingett was declared eligible for this season. His fit as a true wing with size and athleticism fills a big hole for this roster if he’s ready to compete after missing most of last year with injuries.

It’s been a long time since South Dakota State played anything besides winning basketball, but if that’s to continue this season and they have dreams of competing to win the conference again, production will have to emerge from some relatively unknown entities.