Missouri St @ South Dakota (Mon. 11/25, 8p ET)

[Plebe]

Missouri State at South Dakota
Monday, November 25
8:00 p.m. ET
Sanford Coyote Sports Center, Vermillion, SD
ESPN+, live stream

Possibly the two most impressive mid-majors so far this season.

Missouri State is 5-1, including road wins at Minnesota, Boise State and Oklahoma, and a competitive loss at Oregon State.
Team leaders:

Alexa Willard, Sr., 6'2" guard, 19.8 ppg, 54% FG, 55% 3FT, 90% FT​

Brice Calip, Jr., 5'8" guard, 13.6 ppg​

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South Dakota is 5-0, including road wins at Green Bay and Utah, and home wins over Drake and Missouri. (The Utah and Drake games went to overtime.)
Team leaders:

Ciara Duffy, Sr., 6'0" guard, 18.8 ppg, 6.4 apg, 50% FG, 55% 3FG​

Monica Arens, Jr., 5'9" guard, 14.6 ppg, 44% FG, 90% FT​

 

[nwhoopfan]

Willard really impressed me in that game against OSU. She's really smooth, has a nice shot and has no problem finding good looks from various spots on the floor.

 

[LoTrader]

Willard really impressed me in that game against OSU. She's really smooth, has a nice shot and has no problem finding good looks from various spots on the floor.

Agreed. Willard has "WNBA" written all over her.

 

[Plebe]

Great start to this game. Both teams starting off hot from outside and showing why they've been successful so far. Each team hit three 3s in the first 5 minutes of the game.

 

[Plebe]

Missouri State showing all kinds of toughness in this game, now up 10 after 3Q. Every time South Dakota goes on a mini-run, they answer with one of their own.

Both teams are very well coached.

 

[Lorcan]

Every time I put a mid-major in my top 15, they stumble. I'm looking at you, Drake and South Dakota.

So, now I have to decide how much Missouri State jumps if they hold on here, and create a new hex for the future.

 

[Plebe]

South Dakota was down by 15 but now on a 8-0 run to cut the lead to 7, forces Coach Mox to call timeout.

A great 3-point shooting team can get back in the game in a hurry.

 

[LoTrader]

Two excellent teams, both play with poise. Mississippi State is lucky they didn't have to play one of these teams tonight.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Missouri St. is 4-1 in true road games already this year. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say nobody else has anywhere close to as many good road wins as they do.

 

[Plebe]

Missouri St. is 4-1 in true road games already this year. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say nobody else has anywhere close to as many good road wins as they do.

Hardly anyone has even played that many true road games this year. Except maybe some of the scrubs playing guarantee games.

Willard was good as advertised, 5-6 from the arc and 21 points overall.
Gartner and Franklin are a solid frontcourt duo. Gartner did a lot of damage early, Franklin took over late.

Arens for South Dakota had a great game, 19 points including 5-8 from the arc.
Duffy had an off night, only 5-6 from the field.

 

[bennyskid]

I've got Missouri State penciled into my Sweet 16.

 

[militarydog]

Missouri State showing all kinds of toughness in this game, now up 10 after 3Q. Every time South Dakota goes on a mini-run, they answer with one of their own.

Both teams are very well coached.

Thanks for nothing South Dakota.

 

[Plebe]

I'm not surprised by the outcome. Missouri State has shown its quality, giving Oregon State a decent scare in Corvallis. South Dakota had been undefeated but needed overtime against both Drake and Utah.

I had both of these teams in my top 20, and they'll probably be staying there (certainly Missouri State will).

 

[LoTrader]

Pretty impressed with Willard. She was killing OSU until OSU went to zone defense. Willard had little time to get off shots in the game against South Dakota, but she nailed em when she had an opening. Really a clutch player.

Both of these squads may not have the length and athletes of some of the top 10 teams, but they are all competent, high IQ basketball players, with tons of grit, and confidence. Exactly the team you don't want in your side of the bracket come tournament time.