SIOUX FALLS – There have been plenty of college basketball games played at the Sanford Pentagon, but Monday was unique in the fact that there were three games that were played by mid-major teams on opening day.

Southern Illinois and College of Charleston got the Field of 68 Showcase going and St. Louis and Santa Clara were up next, but the marquee matchup of the day was the final one as South Dakota State took on McNeese State. The Cowboys and Jackrabbits both made the tournament last season and McNeese State received votes in the first AP Top 25 Poll.

South Dakota State head coach Eric Henderson was weary of the game before the season started as he knew the talent Cowboys possessed. However, the Jackrabbits, who played four freshmen, pulled off the upset on Monday night, winning 80-73.

Henderson said Monday night was a great opportunity for his team because they got to open the season with a win against a team that could be playing in March Madness again, but they also got to play in front of a lot of Jackrabbit fans.

“I know what’s going to happen [with McNeese State] going forward. They’re extremely talented. They have a lot of new guys too. … To take on this challenge early, we’re very fortunate with the Pentagon and what the Field of 68 did. To be able to play a team like McNeese in Sioux Falls with 2,800 Jackrabbit fans, I mean come on, we’re pretty fortunate,” Henderson said.

SDSU’s win was highlighted by the four freshmen combining to score 53 of the teams 80 points and White River native Joe Sayler led the way with 18 points. Sayler redshirted last season and said it was nice to finally be out on the court and feel the roar of the crowd when the Jacks were hitting big shots down the stretch.

“It was super, super cool. I’m used to being on the bench, so it was super cool to see the crowd and see all the noise,” Sayler said.

Charleston was the other team from Monday’s showcase that made the NCAA Tournament last season. The Cougars' matchup against Southern Illinois held some intrigue to Jackrabbit fans as well as former SDSU head coach Scott Nagy began his tenure with SIU on Monday. Nagy was the leader of the Jacks from 1995-2016.

The Jackrabbits played at the Pentagon a couple times during Nagy’s tenure and that was why he wanted to make sure his team was a part of this event to begin the season.

“I know they do a great job [at the Pentagon]. None of our players have been to Sioux Falls and they wonder why we’re coming here and then we get into this place and they see why, because they do such a great job,” Nagy said.

Charleston ended up pulling away from the Salukis and won 90-80. The afternoon game showcased some of the top mid-major talent in the country between St. Louis and Santa Clara. SLU is led by big man Robbie Avila, who took the country by storm last season at Indiana State because of his talent and his goggles that he wears on the court.

He transferred to SLU after his head coach Josh Schertz took over the Billikens in the spring. Avila played well on Monday as he scored 16 points and grabbed five rebounds. However, he had to leave the game with just over five minutes to play as he hurt his ankle. 

Avila wasn’t the best player on the court though as Santa Clara’s Adama-Alpha Bal took it to SLU, leading the Broncos to an 85-78 victory. He scored 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting and was 3-of-7 from three. Bal entered his name into the 2024 NBA Draft but decided to come back to Santa Clara for his senior season. He is projected to be a second round pick in some 2025 mock drafts.

I went to all three games on Monday and it reminded me why I love college basketball. All six of these teams don’t get a lot of national recognition but that’s why the Field of 68 wanted to hold this event. They wanted to showcase these mid-major teams and show that there’s not only talent at the major level of college basketball, and I thought they did a great job of that. There’s talent all over the country and sometimes you just need to sit down and watch to find it.