NCAA Basketball: 5 mid-major squads with early 2022 Cinderella potential

South Dakota State Jackrabbits (Summit)

Head coach Eric Henderson has South Dakota State basketball since taking over the reins in 2019 with a 19-4 record. The Jackrabbits possess the second-ranked scoring offense (87.7 ppg) in NCAA basketball as they’re out to a 10-0 start in Summit League basketball action. Sophomore Baylor Scheierman and junior Douglas Wilson have led their squad to 10-straight victories and counting as the back-end of conference play approaches.

They’re just one squad to keep an eye on in the Summit League after squeaking by North Dakota State on Saturday led by Scheierman and Wilson, as they combined for 41 points in an 80-76 win. Scheierman went 7-of-17 (41.2 percent) from the field with 23 points, eight rebounds, two assists, and two steals while Wilson was 7-for-11 (63.6 percent) from inside the arc with all five of his rebounds coming on the offensive end.

Junior forward Luke Appel was stellar off the bench as well with 14 points and eight rebounds. He’s working on Sixth Man of the Year in the conference while pacing the bench scoring attack. He’s produced 8.7 ppg and 3.2 rpg while shooting 58.8 percent from the floor as the second half of conference play approaches.

Keep an eye on this squad, they’ll square off with Oral Roberts on the road on Feb. 24 looking to sweep the season series. They took the first victory 82-76 at home back on Dec. 22.