2008 Woodie Awards
Men's basketball struggle in the first season in the Summit
After winning their first game, the youthful Jackrabbits have struggled.
Travis Kriens
Issue date: 1/30/08 Section: Sports
In its fourth year of Division I basketball, this season could potentially result in the most wins since the move up for the SDSU men's basketball team. This is of little comfort for anyone associated with the program.
After going 6-24 last season as an independent, the lowest season win total since the 1944-45 season, the Jacks are finding themselves at the bottom of the Summit League standings midway through conference play.
SDSU's fortunes, a 7-13 record, 2-7 in the Summit, could be better as they have dropped nine games by nine points or less. Head Coach Scott Nagy said that he has either "young players or players that don't know how to win."
The first game of the season was against the University of Mary (N.D.), which was one of those games decided by nine points or less that the Jacks would win, 61-54. While it was not the dominating win over a Division II school that would have been a good sign to the season opener, it was the first opening game win in four years. It was also the first time since 1999 that the Jacks opened their regular season schedule at home.
An early 3-2 start-- before SDSU started Summit League conference play-- was their best since the move to Division I. The .500 start would be followed by a four game losing streak, including three games that saw the Jacks tied or down by one at halftime.
Perhaps the best overall game that the Jacks played all season was in a loss during the losing streak to the University of Minnesota. Even though SDSU lost 78-72, they held a one-point lead over the Gophers with five and a half minutes left before an 8-2 Minnesota run sealed the victory. Garrett Callahan had a big part in the near upset scoring a career-high 28 points.
The Jacks would bounce back with back-to-back wins at home against Idaho and Denver to get within a game of .500 at 5-6. It looked like the Jacks would get back to .500 at Cal State Bakersfield only to lose in overtime 73-71. If the loss to the Roadrunners was tough to handle, the next game at San Jose State would prove to be devastating.
After going 6-24 last season as an independent, the lowest season win total since the 1944-45 season, the Jacks are finding themselves at the bottom of the Summit League standings midway through conference play.
SDSU's fortunes, a 7-13 record, 2-7 in the Summit, could be better as they have dropped nine games by nine points or less. Head Coach Scott Nagy said that he has either "young players or players that don't know how to win."
The first game of the season was against the University of Mary (N.D.), which was one of those games decided by nine points or less that the Jacks would win, 61-54. While it was not the dominating win over a Division II school that would have been a good sign to the season opener, it was the first opening game win in four years. It was also the first time since 1999 that the Jacks opened their regular season schedule at home.
An early 3-2 start-- before SDSU started Summit League conference play-- was their best since the move to Division I. The .500 start would be followed by a four game losing streak, including three games that saw the Jacks tied or down by one at halftime.
Perhaps the best overall game that the Jacks played all season was in a loss during the losing streak to the University of Minnesota. Even though SDSU lost 78-72, they held a one-point lead over the Gophers with five and a half minutes left before an 8-2 Minnesota run sealed the victory. Garrett Callahan had a big part in the near upset scoring a career-high 28 points.
The Jacks would bounce back with back-to-back wins at home against Idaho and Denver to get within a game of .500 at 5-6. It looked like the Jacks would get back to .500 at Cal State Bakersfield only to lose in overtime 73-71. If the loss to the Roadrunners was tough to handle, the next game at San Jose State would prove to be devastating.
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