QUEENSLAND product Oscar Cluff is having a remarkable NCAA season. The senior from the Sunshine Coast is second in the entirety of college basketball for rebounding – his 115 offensive rebounds are second as well, while his 212 defensive rebounds are sixth overall. 

At 6-foot-11, Cluff has dominated all year for the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, leading his side in rebounds in 21 of their 28 games. His 12.6 rebounds per game are the most of any player on his team, as are his 17.3 points per game, 2.9 assists per game and one block per game. Cluff leads South Dakota State in four of the five major stat categories as well as field goal percentage at 64.4 per cent and three-point percentage at 60 per cent. The sheer dominance makes for elite reading, and it has translated to on court success. 

The Jackrabbits are 18-10 for the season, 9-4 in conference play and currently sit third in the Summit League standings. They have struggled on the road, but their home record of 12-1 is superb and they have won nine of their last eleven games. In the last three outings, Cluff has led the side in points and rebounds, while dishing out the most assists in two of those three games as well.

Cluff’s side have three games remaining in regular season play, against Kansas City, Oral Roberts and Denver, before heading into the most important month in College Basketball. In their bid to reach the March Madness festivities, the Jackrabbits picked up vital victories over the two teams above them in the Summit League standings, St. Thomas-Minnesota and Omaha.

Three wins to close out the year would give South Dakota State a fighting chance but would need other results to go their way to close the game-and-a-half gap between themselves and the top of the table. The team that comes out of the Summit league will likely face either Tennessee or Alabama. 

Omaha have played one more game, so face just two more opponents for the season, while St. Thomas-Minnesota have three clashes left just as South Dakota State do. Both sides the Jackrabbits are chasing will battle against Oral Roberts to close the season who have lost nine of their last ten games, so the likelihood of making up the ground to catch the conference leaders does not seem great.

However, in a little-known quirk, due to transitioning up to the Summit League from another division, St. Thomas-Minnesota are ineligible for the NCAA Tournament. If they were to finish on top of the standings, their automatic qualification would transfer to the second-placed team, so South Dakota State would just need to win all three of their final games of the season, against the bottom-three placed teams in their conference and have Omaha split their two matches.

This would leave both sides tied with a 12-4 record. The tiebreak in this circumstance would be the better record against the top placed team not involved in the tie. Since both sides split their season series against St. Thomas-Minnesota, it would then trickle down to the current next-best placed side North Dakota State, whom Omaha beat twice, and South Dakota State split their results against.

The only other side that can finish above North Dakota State is South Dakota, whom Omaha have the better season-record against too, meaning that Omaha would need to lose both of their final games for the Jackrabbits to advance.

Despite this unlikely situation, Cluff will look to end his college season in the form he has carried himself with all year, carrying his side to post-season success wherever that may be.