The South Dakota State Jackrabbits begin its NCAA Tournament run Thursday afternoon as they take on Providence in the first round of the tournament in Buffalo, New York.
The Jacks are making its sixth tournament appearance in the last 11 years, but this is the first time they’ve ever gone undefeated in conference play making it to the big dance. Only SDSU and Murray State of the Ohio Valley Conference were able to go undefeated all throughout conference play this season.
Although the Jacks had been receiving votes into the AP and Coaches poll, they still sit as a 13 seed in the tournament, which also means the Friars have to be on upset alert. Providence finished the season at 25-5 and 14-3 in the Big East reaching its highest seed ever in program history. The Friars fell in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament as the top seed to Creighton by 27 on March 11.
This is the first ever meeting between South Dakota State and Providence. Tipoff from the KeyBank Center in Buffalo is set for 11:40. KCCR will have continued whip-around coverage of the entire day.
