Tuesday Tidbits
No time for formalities:
Both SDSU basketball teams rebounded from disappointing losses with impressive wins over the weekend. The men beat Marshall, a team that finished 53rd in RPI last season. The women beat No. 15-ranked Nebraska, marking the third-ever win by a Summit League team over a top-15 foe. Coming into this season, the Summit was 2-70 in those situations. And that makes two power-conference victories for the Jacks on the young season.
On a related note, the SDSU men will host a four-team pod in the 2K Sports Classic next year. The other participating teams have not been announced.
The trip was plenty worthwhile for the Jacks as they got visits from Sports Illustrated, CBSSports.com and Associated Press writers and senior point guard Nate Wolters played before scouts from roughly 15 NBA teams.
The Jacks return home Wednesday night to face Southwestern Minnesota State.
Former SDSU pitcher Caleb Thielbar and the Peoria Javelinas won the Arizona Fall League championship on Saturday. Thielbar, a Minnesota Twins farmhand, did not factor into the championship game. He finished the fall with 11 appearances, going 1-0 with an ERA of 12.0 in 12 innings, striking out two and walking two.
One of the supposed knocks on the SDSU football team in relating to making the postseason field was strength of scheduled. But the Jacks’ schedule is ranked 137th by the Sagarin Ratings, ahead of fellow Valley qualifiers North Dakota State (151st) and Illinois State (147th).
SDSU beat three teams who finished with winning records (Indiana State, Youngstown State, Southern Illinois). Its two non-conference wins came against FCS scholarship programs, and both (UC Davis, Southeastern Louisiana) won at least four games.
Terry Vandrovec also posts regular updates on his Twitter page.
