South Dakota State — 30-4 on the season and 18-0 in the Summit League — has become perhaps the trendiest pick to pull an upset in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament when they take on Providence.
You’ve likely heard the numbers by now: The Jackrabbits are the second highest scoring team in the country behind only Gonzaga, they are looking to be the first D1 team in nearly 30 years to shoot over 45% from 3-point range as a team, and they have the 12th highest rating in the country in terms of offensive efficiency.
Perhaps you also heard about how they fared against high major teams this season, posting a 1-2 record against Alabama, Washington, and Washington State.
But let’s take a look at how the games against Alabama, Washington, and Washington State played out — with shot charts for both clubs in each matchup, how many unguarded jumpers each team took, and how the points were scored.
November 12, 2021: Alabama Beat South Dakota State, 104-88
Alabama features one of the best offenses in the country themselves, and that was on full display as they ripped off 63 second half points in a 104-88 win at home. Bama shot 63.6% from two, a rather inaccurate 13-40 from deep (32.5%), took 14 free throws, and grabbed 18 offensive boards.
The Tide haven’t been a great outside shooting team this season, making just 30.8% of their threes, but they got better looks than South Dakota State in this one — with a 17-5 advantage in unguarded jump shots.
Alabama also did a ton of damage on the interior. Nearly 41% (40.5) of their shots came at the rim. For context, the national average for shots at the rim is 24.9% of all of a team’s field goal attempts.
Neither team played a possession of zone defense in this game.
South Dakota State shot 64.1% from two, but only 9-31 (29%) from three. They also missed seven of their 18 free throw attempts.
Here are the shot charts for both teams (courtesy of NCAA Live Stats):