Providence vs. South Dakota State 3/17/22 - College Basketball Picks & Predictions

The South Dakota State Jackrabbits play the Providence Friars at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York on Thursday in the first round of the Midwest region in the NCAA tournament. South Dakota State finished its regular season 30-4 overall and 18-0 in the Summit League. The Jackrabbits defeated the North Dakota State Bison 75-69 to win the Summit League tournament title last Tuesday. Douglas Wilson was the leading scorer for South Dakota State with 21 points.

Douglas Wilson is the leading scorer for South Dakota State with an average of 16.5 points per game, while Baylor Scheierman is the second leading scorer, the leading rebounder and the leader in assists with averages of 16.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. South Dakota State has three players averaging double-figures in scoring and as a team is scoring an average of 86.7 points per game.

Providence concluded its regular season at 25-5 overall and 14-3 in Big East play. The Friars were defeated by the Creighton Blue Jays 85-58 in the semifinals of the Big East tournament. Al Durham was the leading scorer for Providence with 21 points. Although Providence did not win the Big East tournament, the Friars won the regular-season title in the Big East for the first time in 43 years as a member of the conference.

Nate Watson is the leading scorer for Providence with an average of 13.8 points per game, while Noah Horchler is the leading rebounder with an average of 8.3 rebounds per game and Jared Bynum is the leader in assists with an average of 4.2 assists per game. Providence has four players averaging double-figures in scoring and as a team is scoring an average of 71.8 points per game.