SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- The only certainty entering the final week of Summit League men's basketball regular season play is a level of uncertainty not seen in a number of years. Zero of the nine seeds for the upcoming postseason tournament are set on the men's side with most teams holding a range of at minimum three-seed lines.

In each of the past two seasons, the regular season champion ran the table as South Dakota State (2021-22) and Oral Roberts (2022-23) both finished 18-0, respectively and went on to win the tournament title as well.

We knew quickly that this season would not follow that same trend. By week two, every League team had a loss and for the first time since the 2016-17 season (South Dakota; 12-4), the regular season champion will have at least four losses. And, not even that is guaranteed as the current League-leaders at 10-4, South Dakota State, play the two teams directly below them in the standings on the road to close things out.

The Jackrabbits can clinch the outright regular season title with a victory Thursday at North Dakota. That would simplify things but the Fighting Hawks, who sit one game behind SDSU, are gunning for their first regular season title in any team sport since transitioning to the Summit League prior to the 2018-19 season and could make things even more interesting with a win over the Jackrabbits.

Back in the fall, the Summit League volleyball regular season ended in a four-way tie and as absurd as that seemed, the men's basketball regular season could follow suit with a scenario that could see SDSU, UND, North Dakota State and Kansas City all finish at 10-6. 

Those latter two teams are arguably the hottest down the stretch as NDSU has won seven of its last 10 and the Roos have reeled off a season best four-game winning streak to enter the week in a tie for third with one another.

The Summit League Network will have all the action on Thursday and Saturday, plus a single game between Oral Roberts and Kansas City to wrap things up on Sunday afternoon. 

AROUND THE LEAGUE
Thursday, Feb. 29
Omaha at St. Thomas* (SLN) | 7 p.m. CT
SDSU at North Dakota* (MS/SLN) | 7 p.m. CT
NDSU at South Dakota* (SLN) | 7 p.m. CT
Kansas City at Denver* (ALT/SLN) | 7 p.m. MT

Saturday, Mar. 2
South Dakota at North Dakota* (MS2/SLN) | 1 p.m. CT
SDSU at NDSU* (WDAYX/SLN) | 1 p.m. CT
Denver at St. Thomas* (SLN) | 7 p.m. CT

Sunday, Mar. 3
Kansas City at Oral Roberts* (SLN) | 2 p.m. CT

2024 #SummitMBB Championship
Friday, Mar. 8
G1: No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed (MS/SLN) | 7 p.m. CT

Saturday, Mar. 9
G2: No. 1 seed vs. Winner G1 (MS/SLN) | 6 p.m. CT
G3: No. 2 seed vs. No. 7 seed (MS/SLN) | 8:30 p.m. CT 

Sunday, Mar. 10
G4: No. 4 seed vs. No. 5 seed (MS/SLN) | 6 p.m. CT
G5: No. 3 seed vs. No. 6 seed (MS/SLN) | 8:30 p.m. CT

Monday, Mar. 11
G6: Winner G2 vs. Winner G4 (MS/SLN) | 6 p.m. CT
G7: Winner G3 vs. Winner G5 (MS/SLN) | 8:30 p.m. CT

Tuesday, Mar. 12
G8: Winner G6 vs. Winner G7 (CBSSN) | 8:30 p.m. CT

Rankings: (AP/Coaches)
All times local to site  | * Summit League game

Key:  ALT (Altitude), MS (Midco Sports), CBSSN (CBS Sports Network), SLN (Summit League Network), WDAYX (WDAYX)

TEAM TRACKER
DENVER PIONEERS (15-14; 6-8 SL) | @DU_MensHoops
Next Up: Kansas City* (2/29; 7 p.m. MT); at St. Thomas* (3/2; 7 p.m. CT)
Previous Game: North Dakota State* (W, 77-71); at South Dakota State* (L, 97-70)     
The Pioneers dropped their only tilt last week, falling 97-70 at South Dakota State on Thursday ... Touko Tainamo paced DU in scoring with 22 points, while Bruner added 21 and Jaxon Brenchley chipped in with 17 ... Bruner was one of 40 players named to the Oscar Robertson Trophy and All-America Watch List ... The Columbia, S.C., native leads the country in scoring at 25.1 ppg entering the final week of the regular season and has scored 20-plus in 20 games this season and 30-plus in nine of those ... His 729 points are 14th highest single-season total in Summit League history ... Denver ranks 12th nationally in scoring at 83.9 ppg and it's the highest-scoring team the Pioneers have produced during their Division I history ... The Pios have scored 80-plus in 16 different contests this season ... DU will close out its home schedule Thursday when Kansas City pays a visit to the Mile High City, then head to St. Thomas for its regular-season finale.
 
KANSAS CITY ROOS (14-15; 8-6 SL) | @KCRoosMBB
Next Up: at Denver* (2/29; 7 p.m. MT); at Oral Roberts* (3/3; 2 p.m. CT)
Previous Game: at South Dakota* (W, 82-78); Omaha* (W, 63-58) 
The Roos have vaulted into a tie for third place in the League standings thanks to a season best four-game winning streak ... Kansas City won both contests last week, taking an 82-78 decision at South Dakota before winning its home finale over Omaha 63-58 ... JUCO-transfer Jamar Brown is averaging 18.8 ppg during the winning streak and earned his first TicketSmarter Peak Performer of the Week honor after scoring 27 against the Coyotes and adding 22 in the win over the Mavericks ... Brown also had six steals at USD, which equals the most by a League player in a game this season ... Khristion Courseault, the lone senior on the Roos, had a season-high 22 in the win over the Coyotes and has reached double figures nine times off the bench in League play ... Allen David Mukeba added 14 points off the bench against Omaha to reach double figures for the first time in League play and sixth time this season ... The Roos hit the road for their final two regular season games, playing at Denver Thursday and Oral Roberts Sunday.
 
NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING HAWKS (17-12; 9-5 SL) | @UNDMBasketball
Next Up: South Dakota State* (2/29; 7 p.m. CT); South Dakota* (3/2; 1 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: at Oral Roberts* (W, 78-65);  at NDSU* (W, 73-68) 
The Fighting Hawks fell 73-68 on the road at North Dakota State in their lone action last week ... The loss dropped UND into sole possession of second place with a matchup against League-leading South Dakota State looming in Grand Forks Thursday ... Sophomore B.J. Omot led UND with 22 points against the Bison and now has 13 20-plus point games to his credit this season ... Omot ranks sixth among League scorers at 17.9 ppg in conference play ... JUCO-transfer Amar Kuljuhovic recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds at NDSU - his total ranks second among League players ... UND's previous best finish in the Summit League standings was a solo fifth during the program's first season in 2018-19 ... The Fighting Hawks were tied for eighth a season ago at 6-12 and 10th with a 2-16 record just two seasons ago ... After its clash with SDSU Thursday, the Fighting Hawks close out the regular season Saturday at home vs. South Dakota. 
  
NORTH DAKOTA STATE BISON (15-14; 8-6 SL) | @NDSUMBB 
Next Up: at South Dakota* (2/29; 7 p.m. CT); South Dakota State* (3/2; 1 p.m. CT)
Previous Game: St. Thomas* (W, 64-50); North Dakota* (W, 73-68)  
The Bison won a pair of home contests last week to move into a tie for third in the League standings and keep hope alive for a share of the regular season title ... NDSU overcame a slow start against St. Thomas to pull away late for a 64-50 victory, then outlasted in-state rival North Dakota for a 73-68 victory Saturday ... Junior Andrew Morgan averaged 22.0 ppg in those two victories and since returning to the starting lineup 10 games ago, the 6-foot-10 forward is averaging 16.3 ppg during a stretch where the Bison are 7-3 ... Morgan went a combined 17-for-22 from the field (77.3 percent) in the wins over the Tommies and Fighting Hawks and also went 3-for-4 from 3-point range (8-for-28 in previous 27 games) ... Morgan NDSU has won three of its last four, surrendering nearly 10 points less per game (63.8 ppg) than its season average (73.5 ppg) ... The Bison play at South Dakota Thursday before returning home to face the League-leading Jackrabbits Saturday.

OMAHA MAVERICKS (14-16; 7-8 SL) | @OmahaMBB 
Next Up: at St. Thomas* (2/29; 7 p.m. CT)
Previous Game: Oral Roberts* (W, 71-70); at Kansas City* (L, 63-58)
The Mavericks eked out a 71-70 win over Oral Roberts in their home finale before falling on the road at Kansas City to split their two games last week ... In the loss to the Roos, Marquel Sutton gave the Mavericks the lead for good with a layup at the 14:43 mark of the second half and led the way with a team-high 19 points ... At Kansas City, Fidler scored a game-high 29 points to push his season total to 593 and become Omaha's all-time Division I single season scoring king, surpassing Zach Jackson (578; 2018-19) ... Fidler also made 13 free throws against the Roos to push his season total to 203 in that category ... That total ranks fourth in among Division I players and he became just the 10th player in Summit League history to eclipse the 200-made free throw plateau in a single season ... Omaha will close out its regular season looking to get to the .500 mark at 8-8 with a road game Thursday at St. Thomas ... The Mavericks finished in a tie for eighth last season with a 6-12 mark in League play.

ORAL ROBERTS GOLDEN EAGLES (11-17; 5-10 SL) | @ORUMBB 
Next Up: Kansas City* (3/3; 2 p.m. CT)
Previous Game: at Omaha* (L, 71-70); at South Dakota* (L, 77-76)
The Golden Eagles suffered a pair of one-point losses on the road last week as they saw their losing streak extended to six straight ... JUCO-transfer Jailen Bedford scored a game-high 24 points at Omaha and added 12 against the Coyotes as he is scoring at 14.3 ppg clip in his first season as a Golden Eagle ... Senior Issac McBride is one of 32 Division I players averaging 20-plus this season as his average sits at 20.1 ppg entering the regular-season finale Sunday vs. Kansas City ... McBride tops all Division I players in minutes played per game at 38:40 ... His teammate, Kareem Thompson, ranks second at 38:23 ... Thompson and McBride are also both shooting better than 38 percent from 3-point territory and have combined for 117 makes from beyond the arc ... At 5-10 going into the tilt with the Roos, the reigning regular season and tournament champions could be seeded seven through nine at the upcoming League Championship. 

ST. THOMAS TOMMIES (17-12; 7-7 SL) | @TommieMBBall
Next Up: Omaha* (2/29; 7 p.m. CT); Denver* (3/2; 7 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: at North Dakota State* (L, 64-50); at South Dakota State* (L, 77-72) 
The Tommies dropped a pair of road games last week, falling at North Dakota State and South Dakota State to fall back to .500 in League play at 7-7 ... UST was held to a season-low 50 points in the loss to the Bison, which was 14 points fewer than their previous low against a League foe ... Parker Bjorklund, the team's leading scorer at 13.4 ppg, was the lone Tommie to reach double figures with 11 ... Against the League-leading Jackrabbits, UST built a 39-32 lead at the break but were outscored by 12 in the second half ... Drake Dobbs and Carter Bjerke each contributed 16 points at SDSU ... For Bjerke, he went 4-for-5 from 3-point range to finish with a career-high point total ... UST finished in a tie for fourth a season ago and will look to finish above .500 for the first time with home games against Omaha Thursday and Denver Saturday left on the schedule.    
 
SOUTH DAKOTA COYOTES (11-18; 4-10 SL) | @SDCoyotesMBB 
Next Up: North Dakota State* (2/29; 7 p.m. CT); at North Dakota* (3/2; 1 p.m. CT)
Previous Game: Kansas City* (L, 82-78); Oral Roberts* (W, 77-76)  
After nearly rallying for a home win over Kansas City, the Coyotes were able to put an end to their three-game losing streak with a 77-76 victory over Oral Roberts ... USD trailed by as many as 17 to the Roos but had that deficit all the way down to two in the closing seconds before KC sealed it at the free throw line ... Kaleb Stewart led the Coyotes with 25 against the Roos and Lahat Thioune recorded his League-leading 11th double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds ... In the win over the Golden Eagles, Bostyn Holt led all scorers with 25 points and his driving layup with five seconds to play lifted the Coyotes to their fourth League win of the season ... Thioune added 19 points and nine boards ... Holt has scored 20-plus in four of the last five for the Coyotes, averaging 21.4 ppg during that stretch ... USD plays host to NDSU Thursday before traveling to Grand Forks Saturday to face UND ... The Coyotes are still in play for seeds seven through nine at the upcoming League Championship.

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE JACKRABBITS (15-12; 8-4 SL) | @GoJacksMBB 
Next Up:  at North Dakota* (2/29; 7 p.m. CT); at North Dakota State (3/2; 1 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: Denver* (W, 97-70); St. Thomas* (W, 77-72)
The Jackrabbits surged back into sole possession of first place in the League standings with back-to-back home wins over Denver and St. Thomas ... SDSU blitzed the Pioneers by 27 before rallying past the Tommies for a 77-72 victory ... Senior Matt Mims led the way against DU, scoring a career-high 21 points on 4-for-7 shooting from 3-point range ... The Jacks went 12-for-28 as a team with five players reaching double figures ... Junior Zeke Mayo had 20-plus in both victories, going for 20 against the Pios and game-high 23 vs. the Tommies ... Mayo has hit the 20-point plateau in a season best three-straight games and done so now 15 times overall this season ... William Kyle III ranks among the top 15 nationally in field goal percentage (12th; 62.9) and has upped that to 63.8 in League play (first overall) ... Kyle III had a career-best streak of 15 straight double-digit scoring games end against St. Thomas ... The Jackrabbits travel to North Dakota Thursday to face the team they lead in the standing by one game ... SDSU will then close out the regular season Saturday at North Dakota State - a team it currently has a two-game lead on ... A win Thursday in Grand Forks would secure the outright regular season title for the Jacks, who have won at least a share in five of the last six seasons.  

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