Providence Earns a 4 Seed in the NCAA Tournament, Will Take on South Dakota State in Buffalo on Thursday
Providence fans couldn’t have asked for much more out of Selection Sunday, as the Friars earned the school’s highest NCAA Tournament seed since the field expanded to 64 in 1985, and they’ll head to Buffalo to play on Thursday.
PC finished with a 25-5 overall record this season, and 14-3 in the Big East, but there were concerns following a blowout loss on Friday night to Creighton that Providence could get bumped down to a five seed. Instead, they were rewarded for a year in which they won their first Big East regular season title.
The game time and television network have not been announced as of 8pm on Sunday night, but Providence will take on South Dakota State in one of the most intriguing first round matchups of the tournament.
The Friars and Jackrabbits have never played against one another, and when they do for the first time it will be a matchup of contrasting styles. Ed Cooley’s squad lives at the free throw line and will look to take advantage of Nate Watson’s massive size advantage in this one.
The Friars better have their running shoes on, however. South Dakota State is one of the best offensive teams in the country. How is this for offensive firepower? They are:
Second in the country in scoring, trailing only Gonzaga, and putting up nearly 87 points per game
Looking to be the first NCAA team in 27 years to shoot 45% from 3-point range as a team. They certainly fire away, having made 319 shots from distance this year. Six players have made at least 35 3-pointers, while six of their regulars are shooting over 40% from three.
The 12th most efficient offensive team in the country, and first in both effective field goal percentage and 3-point percentage. They are also 10th in the country in two point field goal percentage.
The Jackrabbits are ranked in the 100th percentile in points per possession (1.092), in the 99th in transition, and 100th in halfcourt offense.
Let’s dig a little deeper on South Dakota State.
Team Overview:
Head coach Eric Henderson’s team owns the longest current winning streak in the country at 21 games, which includes a perfect 18-0 record in the Summit League, and a conference tournament championship. They won their conference games by an average of 15.5 points per game.
They finished this season 30-4 overall after returning all five starters from the previous season, and 99% of their minutes from last year.
One thing they don’t have is great size. So, how do they handle Nate Watson inside? Henderson’s group rarely turned to zone defense this season, playing it in just two possessions all year. They’ll likely look to spread PC out and make Providence’s bigs chase on the perimeter — hoping to negate the Friars’ interior edge.
High Major Opponents:
South Dakota State finished 1-2 this year against high major opponents, which included a 104-88 loss at Alabama. That was a three-point game at halftime, before the Tide ripped off an early second half lead.
They then split with Washington (a loss) and Washington State (a 77-74 win).
This will be their sixth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last ten years, and they have lost by single digits to Maryland, Baylor, and most recently, Ohio State, in the Big Dance.
Synergy Stats:
I can’t recall seeing a Friar opponent with an offense that ranks so highly in so many categories across the board. It was eye-popping when I first looked tonight.
Check out how they rank nationally on a variety of play types on a points per possession basis:
Spotting up: 100th percentile
Transition: 99th percentile
Posting up: 88th percentile
Pick and roll ball handler: 90th percentile
Cuts: 99th percentile
Isolation: 91st percentile
Jump shots: 100th percentile
Providence will have to hope that their length and athleticism will affect South Dakota’s shooters — and that they can control the pace by being physical on the other end when they have possession of the ball.
Defensively, it has been a different story for South Dakota State. They are ranked in the 26th percentile in points per possession against — a mark that drops to 17th percentile in halfcourt defense. They are particularly susceptible to the pick and roll, where pick and roll ball handlers are puting up .904 points per possession. That number leaves the Jackrabbits down in the third percentile in that category.
The Roster:
The offense is anchored by Douglas Wilson and Baylor Scheiermann. Wilson is in the 90th percentile in the country in points per possession, while Scheiermann is in the 96th.
Scheierman (a 6’6 sophomore) is a force, leading the Summit in both rebounds (7.7) and assists (5.1), while also scoring 18.2 points per game in conference play.
The 6’7 Wilson has scored over 1,300 points in his three years in South Dakota, including seven games this season with over 20 points.
Eight different Jackrabbits have scored 20 points in a game this season, including a 41 point outburst from 6’8 junior Luke Appel. Six players have made at least five 3-pointers in a game.
Nine players average at least 15 minutes a night.
And this is just wild:
Highlights:
Here they are in the Summit League championship.
And here they are against Alabama:
We’ll have a lot more on both the Friars and South Dakota State throughout the week, but wanted to provide an early primer as we head into an utterly massive week for PC’s program.