The Summit League men’s tournament is starting on Wednesday, and it should be a fun one! This year, two teams stood out, and surprisingly(!), neither one was perennial powerhouse South Dakota State.
Instead, it was rival North Dakota State that exceeded expectations to win the league outright by two games. Their primary adversaries appear to be the St. Thomas Tommies, who have completed their four-year transition from Division III to Division I and are eligible for the NCAA Tournament for the first
time. Will one of those two cut down the nets in Sioux Falls, or will there be a surprise run from a lower seed?
Here’s a little bit to know about each team:
- North Dakota State (14-2, 24-7 overall)
Surprise! NDSU, picked fourth in the preseason and without a single one of the 36 first-place votes, was the dominant force in the Summit League all season. This team is about as balanced as they come – their top six producers all average between 9.2 and 14 points a game, and grab between 3.2 and 6.6 rebounds – and they’re the top team in defensive efficiency and rebounding percentage according to Bart Torvik. The Bison will try to return to the dance for the first time since 2019.
- St. Thomas (12-4, 23-8 overall)
The Tommies came into their first season eligible for the NCAA Tournament as league favorites, and while they fell short of the regular season crown, they just might still be the favorites to cut down the nets; they rank ahead of NDSU in adjusted offense and defense by both Bart Torvik and KenPom. Led by a sophomore tandem featuring preseason POY Nolan Minnesale (19.8 points per game, 4.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists) and Nick Janowski (16.8 points, 5.2 rebounds), the Tommies – a top-five team nationally in shooting percentage and eFG percentage – lost their four league games by a combined 10 points and just manhandled NDSU by 22 a week ago.
- North Dakota (10-6, 16-16 overall)
It’s been a better-than-expected season for the Fighting Hawks, who were picked to finish eighth in the preseason after finishing eighth last year. They lost electric scorer Treysen Eaglestaff to the portal but found production from two guards in redshirt freshman Greyson Uelmen (15.5 points) and senior Eli King (11.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.3 steals) among others. The conference’s second-best team at both avoiding turnovers offensively and best team at forcing them defensively wants to shake off losing three of four to close the year.
- South Dakota (8-8, 16-15 overall)
The Coyotes come out on top of a three-team tiebreaker via their 3-1 record over the other two teams in the tie. The services of senior center Cameron Fens (14.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.4 blocks), who emerged as a force this year, and transfer guard Jordan Crawford (14.4 points) were crucial to keeping this team competitive after losing eight players to injury in the season’s first two-and-a-half months, including preseason all-conference player and one of the nation’s top scorers Isaac Bruns (20.8 points, 5.1 rebounds) to a season-ending injury in January.
- Omaha (8-8, 15-16 overall)
The Mavericks battled adversity in their quest to replicate last year’s surprising runs to their first Summit League regular season and tournament titles. Carrying the burden of some roster turmoil and the tragic drowning of Deng Mayar in the preseason, Omaha fought through a tough non-conference schedule before stabilizing in league play with the help of leading scorer Paul Djobet (18.4 points, 6.3 rebounds), who became academically eligible at the end of December.
- Denver (8-8, 15-16 overall)
The Pios have shown flashes this year, beating Colorado State and Northern Colorado in the non-conference, and closing the year with five wins in seven games, including back-to-back road wins by seven over champions North Dakota State and by 19 over their first round opponent, North Dakota. It’s a tale of two sides of the ball for Denver, who has the highest offensive efficiency in the conference (75th nationally per Bart Torvik) but also the league’s worst defensive efficiency (13th-worst nationally.)
- South Dakota State (7-9, 14-17 overall)
The Jackrabbits find themselves in an unusual spot in Bryan Petersen’s first season as a D-I head coach, having not finished with a losing conference record since 2009 – their second year in the Summit League and fourth D-I year overall. Still, Bart Torvik and Kenpom suggest this is the third-best Summit League team by metrics, featuring a balanced scoring attack (top four scorers averaging in double figures) and, as always, will have the boost of a favorable crowd and a history of magic in Sioux Falls.
- Oral Roberts (4-12, 9-22 overall)
2023’s perfect sweep of the Summit League feels like a decade ago for the Golden Eagles, who at one point lost 13 straight conference games before ending the year on a mini 3-2 run. First year head coach Kory Barnett will try to turn that momentum into at least an opening round win over last-place Kansas City.
- Kansas City (1-15, 4-26 overall)
A hoped-for bounceback season didn’t come for the Roos and their veteran coach Marvin Menzies, who will be replaced by longtime Maryland coach Mark Turgeon at season’s end. The Roos’ brutal year ended with a 13-game losing streak of their own, but will nonetheless try to send Menzies out with one last win in Sioux Falls.
