SDSU loss vs Iowa State was an encapsulation of their resilience this season

Not many expected South Dakota State to pull off the 2-15 upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Iowa State, but for stretches in the first half – and the first minutes of the second – it seemed possible.

After going down 17-3 early, a 10-0 run by the Jackrabbits in the first half cut the deficit to five. Later in the second half, a 5-2 scoring stretch from SDSU had them within four. That they were able to be within striking distance against one of the favorites to win a national championship, against a team with one of the best defenses in the country, is a testament to South Dakota State’s resilience.

“It’s just a credit to our teammates and how well we stay together,” Luke Appel said, after the Jackrabbits’ 82-65 loss to the Cyclones. “I mean, I would say we had a chance.”

The game against Iowa State was almost an encapsulation of the SDSU season in that it didn’t start great – South Dakota State went down 17-3 against the Cyclones and started the 2023-24 season with an 8-7 record – but they fought through that difficult start and won eight consecutive games and 10 of their last 12.

The slow start to the season could be attributed to a lack in ball movement that affected their defense as well, but after a loss to North Dakota State on a last-second tip-in, the coaching staff preached more player and ball movement. They’d already changed some of their defensive coverages a couple games into the conference season after South Dakota State head coach Eric Henderson told his team they were second to last in the Summit League in defensive rating.

The players completely bought in.

“We made a lot of jumps at just being connected on the floor,” William Kyle III said. “We made a lot of jumps. I feel like we also really loved on each other, which helped us (win) in the postseason.”

After starting the season 8-7, the Jackrabbits closed their conference season strong, winning their last eight games and establishing themselves as the clear best team in the Summit League. SDSU rolled to the Summit League championship and their second NCAA Tournament appearance under Henderson.

The fifth-year head coach credited the team’s turnaround to the way they stuck together when things were difficult.

“(The) belief in each other continued to grow throughout the season,” Henderson said. “Our guys just honestly, like Will said, just loved each other. When you do that, good things can happen.”

Moving forward, it might be a difficult road back to the NCAA Tournament for South Dakota State in 2024-25. They’ll lose three seniors in Appel, Charlie Easley, and Matt Mims, who were all core pieces to a team that played a tight rotation.

They’ll return only two starters, although Kalen Garry should slide into the starting lineup pretty easily after starting half the season, so the Jackrabbits will have plenty of holes to fill before even mentioning the transfer portal.

The two cornerstones of the program, Zeke Mayo and William Kyle III, could be prime candidates to move to teams in stronger conferences after their impressive individual seasons. Mayo has now averaged 18 points per game in two consecutive seasons and won the Summit League Player of the Year award while Kyle III made huge strides in his development and won Summit League Defensive Player of the Year and the Summit League Tournament MVP.

There are a lot of question marks to answer before next season but Henderson has given SDSU fans plenty of hope after showing he can get the most out of the talent on his roster. His approach to next season will remain unchanged.

“It's pretty simple. We'll recruit really, really awesome dudes that have great character that play their tail off, that love each other,” he said. “And we're going to go try to win every game we play.”

Jonathan Fernandez covers high school and college sports for the Argus Leader. Contact him at jfernandez1@argusleader.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JFERN31

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: SDSU basketball: Jackrabbits show their resilience in NCAA Tourney loss