Leatherneck Nation

USD is having a pretty impressive run this year. I also find it interesting that they've been hosting all of their games so far and will host their next one as well against TCU. USD is now in the "elite eight" (can I legally call it that?...probably not) of the WNIT.

Here's the current full bracket:

ST_Lawson wrote: ↑Fri Mar 23, 2018 8:57 amUSD is now in the "elite eight" (can I legally call it that?...probably not) of the WNIT.

Like "March Madness," the phrase "Elite Eight" originally referred to the Illinois High School Boys Basketball Championship: the single-elimination high school basketball tournament run by the Illinois High School Association.

When the IHSA finals were reduced from sixteen to eight teams in 1956, a replacement nickname for "Sweet Sixteen" was needed, and "Elite Eight" won popular favor.

The IHSA trademarked the term in 1995. The trademark rights are now held by the March Madness Athletic Association, a joint venture between the NCAA and IHSA formed after a 1996 court case allowed both organizations to use "March Madness" for their own tournaments.

If you had your druthers, would it be a one and done in the big dance or a nice long run in NIT in front of your base. No brainer for me. It would be the latter. Chance to build on that base and showcase your program to a lot of youngsters and potential recruits down the road. In a state like SD with only two D1 programs, that is striking gold.

We might have to start calling Sioux Falls the "mecca" of college basketball. They are hosting the D2 Mens AND Womens NCAA tournament this year at the Sanford Pentagon (L'il Den?). No doubt the Northern State Wolves from Aberdeen, SD will be a crowd favorite today in the men's championship game. The Jennies from Central Missouri took home the women's title last night. Here is an interesting fact. The Wolves (enrollment 3K) average home attendance this year was just over 3700 for men and 3000 for women in a town with population of about 27K. The Jacks averaged 2300 and 2000 in Brookings, population 24K. IMO, the strong NSIC conference ties between member schools has a lot to do with the Wolves attendance success. The conference has had a lot of stability for the last 80 years and a lot of rivalries have blossomed over that time. Yep, basketball is a religion out there in the Sunshine and Blizzard State and the Summit League has a hell of a lot of work to do.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_ ... Conference

sealhall74 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 24, 2018 6:25 amSioux Falls is hosting the D2 Mens AND Womens NCAA tournament this year at the Sanford Pentagon.

In the NCAA Division 2 Men's National Championship game, Ferris State (Big Rapids, Michigan) beat Northern State (Aberdeen, South Dakota) 71-69.

Attendance at Sioux Falls (Sanford Petagon) = 3,538.

Rough day for USD basketball as there women fall to TCU and sounds like Smith is taking Utah St job.

In Sunday's WNIT Quarter-final game, TCU beat South Dakota 79-71.

South Dakota (29-7) won 23 of its last 25 games on the season, became the first Summit League regular-season champion to go undefeated since 1994, and set a Division I era record for consecutive games won with 20.

TCU (23-12) becomes just the third road team in 33 games to win inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center in the facility's first two seasons. USD has a 73-6 home record in the last five seasons.

Today's attendance at South Dakota = 3,885.