South Dakota State's third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament will have them heading west to play a team from the Big Ten in Round One.

The Jackrabbits (28-6) are the #12 seed in the West Region and they'll open with Ohio State, Thursday (March 15) in Boise, Idaho.

SDSU won the Summit League regular season title outright for the first time and captured the Summit League Tournament championship for the third straight year.

The Jacks are #1 in the NCAA in defensive rebounds per game (30), #8 offense (85 points per game), in the top 15 in three-pointers made per game (11), free throws made (566), and three-point percentage (40%). and in the top 25 in three-pointers attempted (896) and fewest turnovers (340).

Junior forward Mike Daum is second in the NCAA in defensive rebounding (9 per game), third in double-doubles (21), sixth in points per game (24), and ninth in total rebounding (353).

SDSU's season featured non-conference wins over Ole Miss and Iowa.

The Buckeyes (24-8) are the number-five seed. They were upset by Penn State in their opening game of the Big Ten Tournament.

OSU is in the top 25 in the nation in field goal percentage (49%). Junior forward Keita Bates-Diop led the Big Ten on the defensive glass and ranked 20th in the nation in that category. He also led the Buckeyes in scoring, averaging 19 points per game. Three other players, senior forward Jae'Sean Tate (13 points per game), junior guard CJ Jackson (12 points per game), and freshman forward Kaleb Wesson (11 points per game), average in double figures.

Tipoff is 3:00 PM, Thursday in Boise.

The men's tournament begins with the First Four play-in games, in Dayton, Ohio, March 13 and 14.

First and second round games are March 15 and 16.

The regionals are March 22 and 23 in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Boston, and Omaha.

The Final Four is March 31 and April 2 in San Antonio.

The Jackrabbits are 0-5 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. This is SDSU's sixth appearance overall.

The SDSU women, winners of the Summit League Tournament for the eighth time in ten years will find out their NCAA Tournament opponent during tomorrow (March 12) night's selection show at 6:00 PM on ESPN.

The women's tournament starts March 16, with first round games games running through March 19.

The regionals will be March 23-26 in Albany, NY; Spokane, WA; Lexington, KY; and Kansas City, MO.

The Final Four is in Columbus, Ohio, March 30 and April 1.


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