Tag: South Dakota State Jackrabbits

247Sports’ Nick Kosko’s game-by-game predictions for the Iowa Hawkeyes in 2022

247Sports’ Nick Kosko mapped out the results for Iowa in 2022, picking the Hawkeyes to finish the regular season 8-4.

As the reigning Big Ten West champion, any conversation about who will be in the mix from the West to get to Indianapolis has to include Iowa.

The Hawkeyes return a number of key players that helped Iowa start off 6-0 last season and then finish with four consecutive wins to end the 2021 regular season en route to a 10-win campaign and a trip to the Big Ten championship game.

Iowa brings back the nation’s leading tackler in linebacker Jack Campbell and he’s joined by a pair of talented linebackers in Seth Benson and Jestin Jacobs. Pro Football Focus just tabbed Campbell and Jacobs as two of its top-10 linebackers in their early 2023 NFL draft outlook.

On the back end of the defense, the Hawkeyes bring back the Tatum-Woodson Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year in cornerback Riley Moss. Jermari Harris was listed atop the spring depth chart opposite Moss, but look for Cooper DeJean and Terry Roberts to also make contributions at corner.

Iowa can feel comfortable about its options at safety, too. Kaevon Merriweather and Quinn Schulte were listed as the spring starters there with Sebastian Castro and Jaxon Rexroth the other two safeties listed on the Hawkeyes’ two-deep.

Up front defensively, Yahya Black, Joe Evans, Logan Lee, Lukas Van Ness, Noah Shannon and John Waggoner gives Iowa a group it’s excited about.

Flipping to the offensive side of the football, there’s optimism that the Hawkeyes’ offensive line will take a collective stride forward despite the loss of first-round 2022 NFL draft pick Tyler Linderbaum at center.

How the center position plays out will be one of the keys to watch there, but Iowa has guards Justin Britt and Connor Colby and tackles Nick DeJong, Jack Plumb and Mason Richman all returning with prior starting experience.

Iowa returns its top receptions and receiving yardage leader in tight end Sam LaPorta to go along with wide receivers Arland Bruce IV, Keagan Johnson, Nico Ragaini and Jackson Ritter.

The lion’s share of attention with Iowa will be on how the quarterback situation shakes out. If Spencer Petras remains the starter, what’s his ceiling in 2022? He’s been busy working to improve this offseason with quarterback trainer Tony Racioppi. Joe Labas and Alex Padilla will look to give him a run for his money at earning the starting gig throughout fall camp, but the wide belief is that it’s still Petras’ job to lose.

With all of that said, there’s some wide-ranging opinions on exactly how good Iowa will be in 2022. At least one writer is willing to serve up some game-by-game predictions for the Hawkeyes. 247Sports’ Nick Kosko took a crack at predicting results for Iowa’s 2022 season and he has the Hawkeyes finishing 8-4.

Take a look below at his score predictions and some of his thoughts.

What type of challenge does the Iowa Hawkeyes’ nonconference football slate present?

How challenging is Iowa’s nonconference slate? Let’s take a look at the Hawkeyes’ dates against South Dakota State, Iowa State and Nevada.

Nonconference games are massive for a Big Ten team’s bowl hopes. With both teams knowing each other well and the fans bringing an extra layer of emotional charge, nearly every conference game is a tough one. There are no gimme games in the Big Ten.

Teams in the conference usually take one of two approaches to their nonconference schedule. Either they throw in some big games to help boost their stock for a College Football Playoff push, or they throw in some games to give them a tune-up for the season. See Ohio State opening up their season at Notre Dame for the former and Michigan against Connecticut for the latter approach.

Recently, Andrew Harbaugh of Nittany Lions Wire took a look at every nonconference game for Big Ten teams, and Iowa is sort of in the middle of those two approaches.

While South Dakota State is an FCS school, usually an easy tune-up for a team that just made the Big Ten championship game, they are a unique test. A routine contender for the FCS national championship, their offense will be a great test for the experienced Hawkeyes defense.

Iowa State always presents a challenge. While not a conference opponent, this will be one of the most emotionally charged games of the season with the Cy-Hawk Trophy on the line. These two fanbases do not like each other, and many Hawkeye fans believe Iowa State head football coach Matt Campbell undeservedly gets more credit than Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz. It will certainly be a new-look Iowa State squad in 2022.

Speaking of a new look, Nevada pretty much lost everybody. We’re not just talking about a few key pieces, we really mean everybody. With the exit of former head coach Jay Norvell to Colorado State, Nevada saw some of their top returning talent transfer. The team also lost some of its best players to the draft as well.

Iowa certainly doesn’t face the most daunting nonconference schedule across the Big Ten or nationally, but it’s no cakewalk either. It’s a good three-game test prior to league play where the Hawkeyes will presumably be favored in each.

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Iowa Hawkeyes 2022 schedule breakdown: South Dakota State

With spring in the rearview, Hawkeyes Wire takes a look at the opponents on Iowa’s 2022 schedule. Up first? South Dakota State in week one.

It was a strange season for the Iowa Hawkeyes in 2021. There was a six-week stretch where all of Iowa City believed that they would be playing on the national stage in the College Football Playoff.

They just beat No. 4 Penn State and had one of their highest-ever USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll rankings at No. 2. Then, everything came crashing down with crushing defeats at the hands of unranked Purdue and Wisconsin.

It was a far cry from the team that took down three ranked opponents, and while they would go on another hot streak to make it to the Big Ten championship game, let’s just say that didn’t go well.

Overall, when you take out the sting of getting destroyed 42-3 by a determined Michigan squad on national television with the conference championship on the line, it was a successful season for the Hawkeyes. They finished 10-4 (one of the losses in the Vrbo Citrus Bowl against Kentucky, 20-17) and once again established themselves as one of the Big Ten’s elite. They did lose some key players including center Tyler Linderbaum who was a first-round selection in the 2022 NFL draft.

On paper, the first-week matchup at home seems like the perfect tune-up game for a home encounter with rival Iowa State the following week. They’re playing an FCS opponent. That should be easy, right? Not so fast.

The South Dakota State Jackrabbits should not be ignored at all. They are a strong team that is returning a lot of key players, and should not be taken lightly. Here are five players to watch out for in week one against South Dakota State.

Buy stock on the 2022-23 Creighton Bluejays, who just landed top transfer Baylor Scheierman

One of college basketball’s best transfers just committed to playing for the Creighton Bluejays.

One way to build off an NCAA Tournament Round-of-32 loss is to immediately add proven talent. The Creighton Bluejays just did that, nabbing one of the most sought after players in the transfer portal.

South Dakota State transfer Baylor Scheierman announced his commitment to Bluejays this week with a simple message for his new fanbase — “Can’t wait to come home…Roll Jays.”

Home would be Aurora, Nebraska, where Scheierman left to attend SDSU. Now, the do-it-all wing leaves Brookings, South Dakota three years later having led the Jackrabbits in 2022 to both an NCAA Tournament appearance and a conference championship. He also averaged 16.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists en route to a Summit League Player of the Year Award.

Quite the addition for the Bluejays, if you ask me (a former Bluejays forward).

The 6’6″ smooth-operating lefty will enter a Creighton lineup that featured last season’s Big East Freshman of the Year, three members of the Big East All-Freshman Team and one All-Big East Honorable Mention selection.

The Bluejays’ 2022 season concluded in the second round of the NCAA Tournament after falling to the eventual national champion Kansas Jayhawks, which is nothing to hang their heads about. Especially considering the aforementioned conference freshman of the year, Ryan Nembhard, and honorable mention center, Ryan Kalkbrenner, ended the season on the sideline with injuries.

And while simply running it back minus Ryan Hawkins (yes, another Ryan), would have been awesome, Scheierman’s addition raises the ceiling. The team gets some much-needed 3-point shooting (46.9 percent) along with additional rebounding and playmaking. Enough to make the Bluejays serious favorites to win the Big East, and potentially go farther in the NCAA Tournament than ever before.

Are you optimistic enough to get in on Creighton’s +4000 national championship odds at Tipico Sportsbook?

You should be with Scheierman headed home to Nebraska.

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Lions check out draft sleeper RB, DBs at South Dakota State pro day

The Detroit Lions checked out a draft sleeper RB and a pair of very athletic DBs at South Dakota State pro day, with former Lions RB Zach Zenner in the house too

Pierre Strong put his name on the NFL draft map back at the scouting combine. The South Dakota State running back was the fastest RB in Indianapolis with a 4.37 40-yard dash.

Strong and his Jackrabbit teammates had their pro day last week, and the Detroit Lions were among the 20-something NFL teams in attendance in Brookings, South Dakota.

Strong is the headliner for the FCS program, but he’s not the only SDSU prospect who the Lions could have some interest in drafting or signing as a priority free agent. Safety Michael Griffin definitely grabbed attention with his workout. From Matt Zimmer of the Sioux Falls Argus Leader,

The 6-foot, 215-pound safety provided the first true ‘wow’ moment of the morning with a vertical leap that was so high it exceeded the limits of the measuring tool. When they extended the marker so Griffin could jump again, he reached a whopping 43.5 inches, drawing hoots and hollers from the players and coaches in attendance. His leap would have been the top jump at this year’s NFL Combine and among the top 10 in Combine history.

Later, Griffin ran a sub-4.5 40-yard dash (no official times were posted, every scout had their own stopwatch), and also impressed in the other skills.

Griffin doesn’t get projected as a draft pick often, but those athletic marks merit deeper attention. The same is true of CB Don Gardner, a physical 6-footer with impressive ball production and tackling skills. He turned in great games against Trey Lance and North Dakota State, as well as Northern Iowa,  a couple of seasons ago (the only times I’ve seen him).

Former Lions RB Zach Zenner was also there, though not representing the team. He’s now a player agent and returned to his alma mater to represent clients.

March Madness: Final Four long shots worthy of NCAA Tournament futures bet

Assessing the NCAA Tournament futures betting odds, with the best long-shot predictions and picks to make the Final Four.

The “Big Dance” is finally here, and it’s time to dive into which teams could get hot and surprisingly make a Final Four run with the Round of 64 kicking off Thursday. Below, we look at 4 teams with decent value and their NCAA Tournament Final Four futures odds and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.

The last week of college basketball has been thrilling. With teams like Virginia Tech making runs to win its conference championship, fans have already been given a plethora of upsets.

However, nothing compares to that Cinderella story that may commence its run in just a few short days. Let’s dive into which teams have a chance to make their Final Four dreams a reality.

Final Four long-shot predictions

Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday, March 15 at 10:53 a.m. ET.

Virginia Tech Hokies (+2000)

  • Bet $100 to win $2,000

The No. 24 nationally-ranked Hokies are one of the hottest teams in the nation, and sometimes, that’s all you need.

As fans saw against Duke, the Hokies have versatile big men mixed with elite sharpshooters. Their Kenpom ranking is 23. The only higher double-digit seed is San Francisco.

Tech may actually have to go through San Fran to reach the final four, but its region has the bubble No. 1 seed and then a No. 2 seed that’s reluctant to shoot threes.

VT has an adjusted offensive efficiency that ranks 18th in the nation per Kenpom. If they stay hot, watch out. The Hokies will play No. 6-seeded Texas Longhorns in the Round of 64.

Rankings courtesy of the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.

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North Carolina (+2000)

  • Bet $100 to win $2,000

North Carolina, like Tech, has defeated No. 2 Duke recently. UNC is the No. 8 seed in the same region — the East. The Tar Heels will have Marquette in the first round. UNC beat Duke and Virginia Tech late in the season.

One key for UNC is its size. Led by 6-foot-10 C Armando Bacot so it’ll be able to hang with teams like Kentucky in the paint and also a tandem of quick guards in Caleb Love and Leaky Black.

UNC is Kenpom’s 29th-best team with a top-65 offense and defense. It has the talent, size, and shooting to make a run.

South Dakota State (+10000)

  • Bet $100 to win $10,000

Sure, it was in the Summit, but SDSU won every single conference game (18-0) and then its conference tourney en route to a 30-4 record.

SDSU is a 13 seed and will take on No. 4-seeded Providence. Providence is favored by just 1.5 points which sounds absurd for a 4 vs. 13 seed.

SDSU comes in at No. 71 on the Kenpom rankings, and the impressive part about its game is that it sits No. 12 in adjusted offensive efficiency. The Jackrabbits are going to be able to score at a high rate.

F Douglas Wilson has averaged over 16 points per game for three straight seasons. He’s the real deal and has shot 57.4% from the floor for the season.

The road is difficult with Iowa, Providence, Kansas and Wisconsin or Auburn in the way, but the value here is impeccable for a team as dominant and experienced as SDSU.

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South Dakota State vs Providence NCAA Tournament First Round odds, tips and betting trends

The No. 4 seed Providence Friars (25-5) are a 2.5-point favorite in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament against the No. 13 seed South Dakota State Jackrabbits (30-4) on Thursday at KeyBank Center. The matchup starts at 12:40 PM. Here are …

The No. 4 seed Providence Friars (25-5) are a 2.5-point favorite in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament against the No. 13 seed South Dakota State Jackrabbits (30-4) on Thursday at KeyBank Center. The matchup starts at 12:40 PM. Here are insights into this Midwest Regional Region 4-13 matchup to help you fill out your bracket.

Rankings courtesy of the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.

Providence’s record against the spread so far this season is 15-14-0, while South Dakota State’s is 18-14-1. The Friars have a 16-14-0 record going over the point total, while games involving the Jackrabbits have a record of 17-16-0 when it comes to hitting the over. The two teams combine to score 158.5 points per game, nine more points than this matchup’s total. Providence is 4-6-0 against the spread and 7-3 overall in its last 10 contests, while South Dakota State has gone 6-3-1 against the spread and 10-0 overall.

Here is everything you need to prepare for Thursday’s college basketball action.

South Dakota State at Providence odds, spread and lines

Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list.

  • Spread: Providence -2.5
  • Total: 149.5
  • Moneyline: Providence -135, South Dakota State +114

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South Dakota State at Providence odds, spread, & more

Prediction

Providence 75, South Dakota State 74

Moneyline

  • The Friars have won 85% of the games this season when they were favored on the moneyline (17-3).
  • Providence has a record of 16-1 in games it has played as a moneyline favorite with odds of -135 or shorter (94.1%).
  • Based on this matchup’s moneyline, the Friars have an implied win probability of 57.4%.
  • This season, the Jackrabbits have won one out of the three games in which they’ve been the underdog.
  • South Dakota State has a record of 2-2 in games where bookmakers have them as underdogs of at least +114 on the moneyline.
  • The moneyline for this contest implies a 46.7% chance of a victory for the Jackrabbits.

Against the spread

  • The Friars put up 71.8 points per game, only 1.6 fewer points than the 73.4 the Jackrabbits allow.
  • When Providence puts up more than 73.4 points, it is 6-4 against the spread and 9-2 overall.
  • South Dakota State has an 8-4 record against the spread and a 13-0 record overall when allowing fewer than 71.8 points.
  • The Jackrabbits score an average of 86.7 points per game, 19.7 more points than the 67 the Friars give up to opponents.
  • South Dakota State has put together a 17-12 ATS record and a 27-3 overall record in games it scores more than 67 points.
  • Providence’s record is 14-9 against the spread and 23-2 overall when it gives up fewer than 86.7 points.
  • The Friars have out-scored their opponents by a total of 144 points this season (4.8 points per game on average), and the Jackrabbits have put up 453 more points than their opponents on the year (13.3 per game).

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Over/Under

  • The Friars have an average implied point total equal to their implied total in Thursday’s game (76).
  • This season, Providence has scored more than 76 points in 10 games.
  • The average implied point total on the season for the Jackrabbits (85.5) is the same as the team’s implied total in this matchup.
  • This year, South Dakota State has put up more than 74 points in a game 31 times.

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WATCH: South Dakota upsets South Dakota State on a wild double-tipped Hail Mary

Do you believe in miracles?

Wild things are happening in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Just one week after the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, the No. 4 team in the Football Championship Subdivision, upset No. 2 North Dakota State, they caught the upset bug themselves against the in-state and conference rival South Dakota Coyotes.

The No. 19 Coyotes found themselves down 20-17 with just one second to play and the ball at their own 43. They had little more than a prayer of winning.

But that prayer was answered as quarterback Carson Camp took the snap, rolled right outside of the pocket, stepped up and fired the ball as hard as he could towards paydirt.

The ball didn’t make it all the way to the end zone, instead arching down near the five-yard line, where a tip drill ensued. When the dust settled, the ball was securely in the arms of Caleb Vander Esch across the goal line as the Coyotes walked it off against one of the best FCS programs in the country at home.

Here’s an angle from the alternate side. Look upon it in all its splendor.

North Dakota State still leads the conference and therefore the race for the league’s auto-bid in the FCS playoff. But this game could go a long way toward earning an at-large spot for South Dakota, and at the very least, it provides the Coyotes with bragging rights in the Mount Rushmore State and their first winning streak against South Dakota State since 1986-1988.

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