South Dakota State Is Going Dancing, Wolters Gets Another Shot To Make A National Impression

For the second year in a row the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State will be hopping into the NCAA Tournament.

Tuesday night in the Summit League final SDSU defeated North Dakota State 73-67.  Nate Wolters led the way for the Jackrabbits with 27 points.



Wolters averaged 22.8 points per game this season which is fourth in the nation and just behind Creighton's Doug McDermott. 

McDermott has received national attention to the point where he is being considered for national player of the year honors.

You don't see Wolters on national publications and rarely on television outside the Summit League territory.  Sure Tuesday night Wolters got some attention across the country with the Summit League title game and had a great performance. 

If you a looking for a breakout star in the upcoming NCAA Tournament Wolters just might be that guy.

Last year the Jackrabbits lost to Baylor in the second round of the NCAA Tournament 68-60 and Wolters had 19 points.  Had South Dakota State upset the Bears then Wolters might have been top of mind in the college basketball world.

Instead the senior, who was named the Summit League's player of the year, remained in obscurity. 

Wolters will have one more chance to make a big time impression on the national college basketball stage. 

I'm sure Jackrabbit fans and Summit League followers already know this.

Nate Wolters Jacks Up IPFW With 53 Points

Heading into the Indiana University/Purdue University Fort Wayne game, South Dakota State guard Nate Wolters was leading the Summit League in scoring averaging 22.2 points per game plus had been named a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award given to the nation’s best guard.

Thursday against the Mastodons he proved why he deserves national recognition.

Wolters was 17-of-28 from the field, 9-of-14 from 3-point range and 10-of-11 from the free throw line Thursday night against IPFW.  Add those numbers up and you have an impressive 53 point performance in the Jackrabbits come-from-behind 80-74 win over the Mastodons.

Stating the obvious here, Wolters 53 points is a school record, the previous Jackrabbit record was 44 points by Dave Thomas in 1973.

"They were sagging off of me and it felt pretty good tonight, I was able to knock a couple down and just got into a little bit of a rhythm," Wolters said.

The win by SDSU improves their Summit League record to 10-2 tied for first place with Western Illinois.

The Jackrabbits might be one of those mid-majors you want to watch if South Dakota State can win the Summit League tournament and get the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.