South Dakota State Basketball Are Viable Contenders with Victory over Washington

South Dakota State men's basketball is slowly making a name for itself among the mid-major teams to beware.

Sunday in Seattle, the Jackrabbits avenged a 89-70 loss to North Dakota on Thursday to take out the Pac-12 perennial power Washington Huskies, 92-73.  It's also important to note that  SDSU and North Dakota collided a week earlier in an SDSU route, winning by 38.

At this point in the season, the Jacks hold a 10-4 record, winning key conference road tests at IUPUI and Western Illinois in back-to-back thrillers earlier this month. 

In their game on Sunday, SDSU nailed their first seven three-point attempts and concluded the game going 10-16 beyond the arc—something that has plagued them through much of the year. 

Going into this game, the point guard battle was interesting.

Abdul Gaddy—the high profile recruit Washington landed a few years ago—looked to make people forget about losing Isaiah Thomas to the NBA.  His counterpart for the game, SDSU's Nate Wolters, has proven time and again that he deserves to be mentioned among the great point guards in the nation.

When all was said and done, Wolters trumped Gaddy without so much as a hesitation. 

While Gaddy spent much of the game in foul trouble, Wolters took over and—along with the senior leadership of Griffan Callahan (16 points, 3-3 three-pointers)—propelled the Jacks to an upset victory over the Huskies.

Wolters finished the game with a season-high 34 points, five rebounds, seven assists and zero turnovers while never coming out of the game, playing in all 40 total minutes. 

This is the second year in a row South Dakota State has staked it's claim on a higher-level Division-1 opponent by gaining the victory over an unsuspecting foe. 

Last year, the Jacks took out the Iowa Hawkeyes—also on the road.

Gaining this win helps build credibility for a team that's been looking for an identity when it comes to high-quality competition.  Losses to Minnesota and Georgia earlier in the year are nothing to be disappointed about, considering Georgia is a legitimate threat in the tough SEC and their loss to Minnesota was during Trevor Mbakwe's short-lived active season. 

It's the losses to Nebraska and North Dakota that may have more of a downward effect for the upstart Jackrabbit squad.  Picking up the impressive 19-point road win over Washington certainly helps their NCAA tournament consideration. 

Also, South Dakota State was able to win some big games in their sub-region of the CBE Classic in November—taking care of business against Niagara, Sam Houston State and Mercer in consecutive days. 

Now, head coach Scott Nagy, Wolters, Callahan and Co. have to focus on the Summit League opponents in order to make what they've been able to do thus far in the season worthwhile.

Powerhouses Oakland and Oral Roberts have started to make their case as the favorites to win the Summit League. Oakland took out Tennessee at home, and Oral Roberts ended Xavier's undefeated season—granted, Xavier was without three starters as they served suspensions for the brawl with Cincinnati a few weeks ago. 

Another team that could be a thorn in the side of the Jacks is North Dakota State.  Their schedule may not say so, but this is a team that could surprise a lot of people come March. 

With success comes the potential for letdowns.  South Dakota State suffered a setback with that loss to North Dakota. 

After this huge victory over Washington, SDSU cannot afford to let it go to their heads again.  They have the potential to do great things the rest of the year, they just need to stay focused and determined.