USD Will Face Harangody-Less Irish

Not that this is something to cheer about, but I’m sure the USD men’s basketball team won’t mind.

Eighth-ranked Notre Dame will be without standout forward Luke Harangody indefinitely after the reigning Big East Player of the Year contracted pneumonia.

And remember, the Coyotes (3-3) travel to South Bend, Ind., Tuesday for a matchup with the Irish. Although there has been no official word that Harangody will miss the game against USD, one would think “indefinitely” refers to a stretch longer then 3 days.

Harangody became ill after scoring 29 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in Notre Dame’s 81-80 win over seventh-ranked Texas on Tuesday. And even with the illness, the junior had 13 points and seven boards in a 102-87 loss to top-ranked North Carolina on Wednesday.

Harangody, who has never missed a game at Notre Dame, leads the team in scoring (22.6) and rebounds (11.2) per game. The Irish play Furman Sunday before hosting USD on Tuesday, and Notre Dame’s release said that the junior will be on the bench for the Furman game.

OK, let’s face it: USD wasn’t going to beat Notre Dame anyway, and Harangody’s illness won’t change that. But like the games at Cornell and Cincinnati, this Division I game for the Coyotes will mean more in the long run. That’s what they’re all about; catching a glimpse of the top level, facing great competition and taking mental notes on what you can expect in the coming years.

D-1 Success Without Leaving Home

For years, the state of South Dakota was virtually ignored on the collegiate sports stage. Yes, there were the occasional success stories, a Division II or NAIA title here or there, the athlete that went from the Rushmore State to a Division I program, where he or she had success.

Now some of these success stories are being made by athletes without having to leave their home state.

A year ago, the South Dakota State volleyball team opened the door to NCAA Division I success, earning its way to state sport’s field of 64. Unfortunately, that story ended nearly as quickly as it began, with eventual champion Nebraska disposing of the Jackrabbits in under an hour.

This year SDSU is eligible in all sports, and has already earned its first-ever berth in women’s soccer. The Jacks earned their first NCAA Tournament win, blanking Colorado 1-0, before falling to the University of Minnesota.

The SDSU women’s basketball team, which has twice earned berths in the Women’s NIT because it has not been eligible for the “Big Dance,” is off to another great start, winning six of seven games to start the season. The Jacks have gone 4-1 against teams from the major conferences, the six involved in football’s Bowl Championship Series. (Wednesday’s loss to Maryland is the lone setback so far.)

The Jackrabbit women will get their chance to lock up their first NCAA Tourney berth on about as close to a home court as they can get without playing in Frost Arena, as the Summit League Championships will be played in Sioux Falls.

The success of the SDSU women has not gone unnoticed. ESPN.com’s Graham Hays posted a column on Wednesday touting the Jackrabbits, who were in Cancun, Mexico, for the Caribbean Challenge. (The Jacks lost to No. 10 Maryland, and beat Illinois and Montana in the trip.)

The Jackrabbits have not only had success in women’s sports, but on the men’s side as well, namely football. The SDSU football team won the Great West title in 2007, its first conference football title in a long time. This year the Jacks’ football record slid back a little in their first year in the Missouri Valley, but the team has shown it is on the right track to succeed at the Division I FCS level.

USD has shown some early signs in its first year in Division I as well but, as we did with the folks in Brookings, we’ll have to wait and see how the Coyotes progress in their transition to Division I.

And, once the Coyotes have completed their transition, can we PLEASE drop all the bickering and BS and get back to playing State-U games again?

Iverson Coming Up Big

Just five games into his collegiate career, Yankton native Colton Iverson is already making some noise for the University of Minnesota men’s basketball team.

Iverson has started all five games for the 5-0 Golden Gophers, the first true freshman to start in the post for Minnesota since current Portland Trail Blazer Joel Przybilla.

In just his second game, Iverson swatted away nine shots in a victory over Bowling Green, which ties as the second-best performance in school history. In game five, Iverson dropped 20 points on 10-13 shooting, and added five rebounds and four assists in a win over Eastern Washington.

So far, the former Bucks is averaging 9.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocked shots, and is shooting 67 percent from the field.

“He’s a little raw, but he’s got a ton of talent,” said Spencer Tollackson, who started for the Gophers from 2005-08, in a St. Paul Pioneer Press report. “It’s definitely hard to be thrown into the fire so early, but it’s a good thing for him to get the experience to be ready for the Big Ten.”

The Gophers host North Dakota State today, where Iverson will get to renew an old rivalry with former Pierre standout Michael Tviedt. Tveidt (14.0 ppg), the Bison’s third-leading scorer, and Iverson will not likely match up against each other often, as Tveidt plays power forward and Iverson plays center.

TGIF Linkage 11/28

I’ve been at home in Sioux Falls for the past two days, bonding with the fam for the Thanksgiving weekend. Here’s a quick peek at some of the conversation shared at the dinner table yesterday: High school football, enrollment, my mom’s neighbors in the 1970’s, Detroit Lions sucking, USD basketball (thanks to me) and of course, politics.

Let’s get to the linkage.

** ESPN’s Buster Olney penned a great story about Northern State University men’s basketball coach Don Meyer’s battle with both a car accident and subsequent dealing with cancer. ESPN had a camera crew at the Nov. 18 game between NSU and Mount Marty College, a game that marked the season-opener for the Wolves. I highly recommend that you check out Buster’s story.

** OK, seriously, how many second (or third or fourth) chances can a felon like Pacman Jones get? Hey, Roger Goodell, here’s an idea: Stop threatening and actually do something.

** Mark my words. Sioux Falls Skyforce head coach Nate Tibbetts, a former USD Coyote, is on the way up.

** Reason No. 5,606 why the BCS sucks. According to the Sagarin computer rankings, one of the ratings that counts toward BCS standings, James Madison is No. 24. That’s Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) James Madison. Division I-AA James Madison. 10-1 James Madison, which suffered its only loss to Duke. Yet, somehow, James Madison is ranked ahead of teams like Michigan State and California. What the heck?

** Hey, Allen Iverson, ever wonder why you keep getting traded?

Man, am I sarcastic this week, or what?

** As a Cleveland Cavaliers fan and therefore a LeBron James fan, I was pissed at ESPN’s overhyping of James playing in New York on Tuesday. Because you know, the Worldwide Leader is pretty damn sure that LeBron will be with the Knicks in 2010 when he becomes a free agent. And you wonder why some people hate ESPN.

** One of the funniest links I think I’ve ever included: What would Shawshank Redemption look like if it was filmed in 1983? Hmmmmm.

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Weekly Recommended Tune

Heard a new song on the way to Sioux Falls on Wednesday, and it’s already one of my new faves. The song is called “Rock and Roll” by Eric Hutchinson.

Iverson Scores 20 For Gophers

We all knew Yankton native, now a freshman at the University of Minnesota, was a force on defense.

He proved that a couple weeks ago with nine blocks for the Gophers in a win over Bowling Green.

But one of the biggest questions has been Iverson’s offensive game.

Consider that argument over.

Iverson connected on 10-of-13 shots from the field and scored a team-high 20 points in Minnesota’s 88-67 win over Eastern Washington on Wednesday. Iverson added five rebounds and four assists in 25 minutes of action.

The UM freshman came in averaging 6.5 points through his first four collegiate games, but showed off an arsenal of post moves that I’m sure coach Tubby Smith was delighted to see.

The Gophers (5-0) host North Dakota State on Saturday.

USD Men Vs. Graceland

The University of South Dakota men’s basketball team opens its home schedule with a 7 p.m. game tonight against NAIA Graceland University.

I won’t be having a live action blog, but I’ll post a halftime update, as well as post-game thoughts later tonight.

Quick look at the game:

** USD is 1-3 after losing to Post University 104-92 on Saturday. Junior Tyler Cain had 33 points and 14 rebounds in that game.

** Graceland comes in 2-6, and Jewell Carter is the team’s leading scorer at 14.6 points per game.

Back with more later.

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HALFTIME: USD 38, Graceland 30

To put it simply, the Coyotes aren’t hitting their shots. USD has hit 13-of-38 shots from the field for 34 percent, 5-of-17 from three-point range (29 percent). Meanwhile, the GU Yellow Jackets have hit 12-of-27 shots for 44 percent thus far.

USD’s biggest lead has been eight (28-20 and 38-30) and the game has been tied five times, the latest at 20-20.

Graceland’s Jewell Carter has hit some big shots so far, with 16 points at halftime. Dude hit a three at the 8:29 mark to tie the game at 20, but USD responded with a pair of threes from Jesse Becker and Louie Krogman, and a Mitch Begeman layup.

Becker leads USD with 11 points at halftime, while Tyler Cain has seven and Krogman has six. Cain already has eight rebounds and four assists.

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FINAL: USD 78, Graceland 66

There was actually a point in the second half when the Coyotes only led 58-51. But following a media timeout (welcome to D-I), USD ballooned the lead to 70-53 in four minutes.

For the game, the Coyotes shot 40 percent from the field and just 8-of-27 (30 percent) from three-point range. It’s not that they were taking bad shots, its just that they couldn’t hit them.

Senior point guard Jesse Becker hit six of USD’s eight 3’s and finished with 24 points. Both Steve Smith and Tyler Cain had double-doubles for the Coyotes, while freshman Louie Krogman had 11 points. In all, USD played just seven guys due to injuries, and of their two bench players (John Kreklow) left with an ankle injury.

It wasn’t the prettiest 12-point win, but even the players said that after Saturday’s loss to Point University, they just needed a win. And that’s what they got.