Jim Flanery has never liked to take too long before allowing his team to get exposed against tough competition in a hostile environment. For the ninth time in his 15 years as head coach his Bluejays opened their season away from home, and for the eighth time in those nine games his team suffered a loss as they fell to 63-56 against a South Dakota State team loaded with experience.
The Jackrabbits, coming off a 66-65 loss at Stanford in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last March, returned 10 players from their 2015-16 roster, including all five starters.