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South Dakota State’s Oscar Cluff has quietly been one of the most productive players in the country this season

It’s not every day you see a player go for 20+ points and 15+ rebounds in a game, but South Dakota State’s Oscar Cluff has now done that seven times this season, including in each of the last two games for the Jackrabbits. On the season, Cluff averages 17.4 ppg (95th nationally) and 12.7 rpg (second nationally), becoming the favorite to win Summit League Player of the Year honors and finding himself on the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award finalist list.

Cluff’s production has been steady all season long, scoring in double figures in 24 of 27 games and grabbing at least nine rebounds in 21 contests so far. Two games where Cluff wasn’t at his best came early in Summit League play, when the Jackrabbits fell to the conference’s current top two teams, St. Thomas and Omaha, as Cluff finished with four fouls in each game and committed seven turnovers across the two games. South Dakota State fell to 1-2 in conference play, since then, the Jackrabbits are 8-1 though, and Cluff has continued to elevate his game, becoming virtually unstoppable this weekend in wins over Omaha and South Dakota.

Omaha came to Brookings, South Dakota with a 10-1 record in the league on Thursday night, but Cluff’s 25 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, two steals, and two blocks led the way in a 98-85 victory to claim revenge for the Jackrabbits. An in-state rivalry awaited South Dakota State on Sunday afternoon, as the Jackrabbits traveled to take on South Dakota in Vermillion, where the Coyotes were 12-1 on the season. A second loss was tallied to the column though, as the Jackrabbits completed the season sweep with a 94-91 win, headlined of course by Cluff’s 21 points, 16 rebounds, and five assists.

Cluff has taken over this team with authority as of late, exploding into one of the country’s top big men just a year after averaging seven points per game at Washington State last season. The Jackrabbits played in the same NCAA Tournament pod as Washington State last March, with both teams falling to Iowa State, but with Zeke Mayo, William Kyle III and others out the door, 2024-25 was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Eric Henderson with a young backcourt.

Cluff’s instant impact via the transfer portal has changed all of that talk though, as South Dakota State sits a game back of the Summit League leaders St. Thomas with two weeks left in the regular season. Johnny Tauer’s Tommies have been a tough beat all season, but if St. Thomas falls once more in their final four games and South Dakota State runs the table, the Jackrabbits will a claim at least a share of the Summit League regular season title for the seventh time in eight seasons.

The Jackrabbits are also in prime contention to head back to the Big Dance for the third time in four seasons with a good weekend at the Summit League Tournament in Sioux Falls from March 5-9. Approaching KenPom’s top 100, the Jackrabbits would become an extremely tough out for whatever 2-3 seed has to face Cluff and the rest of the squad in the NCAA Tournament’s opening round with a bid to the dance.

Other Things to Note:

• 23 points and 14 rebounds from RJ Luis Jr. leads #9 St. John’s to 79-73 win at MSG over #24 Creighton
• Wichita State stuns #14 Memphis in overtime to end Tigers’ eight-game winning streak
• #20 Michigan survives late push from Ohio State in 86-83 thriller to stay atop the Big Ten
• #3 Duke looks to move to 15-1 in ACC play with road test at Virginia on ESPN Big Monday (8:00 ET, ESPN)
• #19 Arizona, Baylor meet in Waco for second game of the ESPN Big Monday doubleheader (10:00 ET, ESPN)