Under the Radar Game of the Day – Wednesday, February 10 – South Dakota State at Omaha

Under the Radar Game of the Day: South Dakota State at Omaha, 8:00 PM Eastern, Midco Sports/espn3

The UTR Game of the Day heads to Omaha, Nebraska tonight for a key Summit League battle between the South Dakota State Jackrabbits and the hometown Mavericks.  Scott Nagy’s South Dakota State team enters the game tonight in first place in the conference standings at 8-2, 19-5 overall.  They also have the league’s best power rating numbers with an RPI of 44, BPI of 77 and KenPom of 76.  After dropping a pair of early conference games at IUPUI aand North Dakota State, the Jackrabbits have run off five straight wins to pull back into sole possession of first place, including a home win over Omaha back on January 28, 87-76.  George Marshall and Deondre Parks led the way in that win, with Marshall scoring 28 points and Parks right behind him with 22.

The Mavericks of Nebraska-Omaha enter tonight’s game at 7-4 in conference play, a game and a half behind South Dakota State, and 15-10 overall.  After an impressive 6-1 start to conference play, the Mavs have dropped three out of four games including a very disappointing loss at Western Illinois, giving the Leathernecks their only Summit League victory so far this season.  Omaha is led by Jake White, Devin Patterson and Tre-Shawn Thurman, all three of whom scored in double figures in the earlier loss to the Jackrabbits.  White needs to step up tonight.  After already recording four double-doubles this season, he has found himself in foul trouble the last two games, fouling out in the Western Illinois loss and being held to only 8 points and 2 rebounds (and 4 fouls) in a loss to Denver.  If he can stay on the court and Patterson and Thurman can light up the scoreboard, the Mavs could be in line for their first ever home win as a D1 program over South Dakota State.  A win tonight will also help them move up in the standings as they prepare to participate in the Summit League tournament for the first time ever with a shot to make the NCAAs in their first season of postseason eligibility since transitioning up.