SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- A wide-open Summit League men’s basketball season gets underway Monday as eight of the league’s nine programs take the floor to begin their 2025–26 campaigns.
Omaha, the reigning regular season and tournament champions, has to replace two starters from last year's NCAA Tournament squad and faces Murray State in the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls. The Mavericks will be joined by South Dakota State in the Field of 68 event as the Jackrabbits open the Bryan Petersen era against Mercyhurst.
The Tommies, who were picked first in the preseason poll, will face off with Saint. Mary's (Calif.) on the road. The Gaels are receiving votes in the preseason AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll.
Kansas City and South Dakota are the only two Summit teams to usher in the new campaign on their home courts as the Roos host Evangel and the Coyotes welcome Utah Tech to Vermillion.
North Dakota faces arguably the toughest test during the opening slate, traveling to take on No. 15/16 Alabama to begin its season on Monday, while NDSU is also going up against a West Coast Conference foe in Oregon State.
Denver begins the Tim Bergstraser era at Seattle, while Oral Roberts head coach Kory Barnett will have to wait a day to make his Golden Eagle debut. ORU opens play on Tuesday, hitting the road to face in-state rival Oklahoma State.
Game | Stream | Local Time
Monday, Nov. 3
North Dakota at Alabama || TBA
Murray State vs. Omaha | F68 | 12:30 p.m. CT
Evangel at Kansas City || 7 p.m. CT
Utah Tech at South Dakota | SLN | 7:30 p.m. CT
Merrimack vs. SDSU | F68 | 8 p.m. CT
NDSU at Oregon State || 6:30 p.m. PT
Denver at Seattle || 7 p.m. PT
St. Thomas at St. Mary’s (Calif.) | ESPN+ | 7 p.m. PT
Tuesday, Nov. 4
Oral Roberts at Oklahoma State | ESPN+ | 7 p.m. CT
Wednesday, Nov. 5
South Dakota at Creighton | PC | 7 p.m. CT
NDSU at UC Davis || 6 p.m. PT
Thursday, Nov. 6
Omaha at Abilene Christian | ESPN+ | 7 p.m. CT
UC Riverside at North Dakota | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
Dakota State at SDSU | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
Denver at Washington | BTN | 7 p.m. PT
Friday, Nov. 7
Kansas City at Southern Illinois || 7 p.m. CT
Saturday, Nov. 8
Army at St. Thomas | FOX9+/SLN | 7 p.m. CT
John Brown at Oral Roberts | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
Sunday, Nov. 9
Omaha at Colorado State || 4 p.m. MT
Ozark Christian at South Dakota | SLN | 1 p.m. CT
SDSU at Northern Iowa || 1 p.m. CT
CSUN at North Dakota | SLN | 1 p.m. CT
Denver at Montana State | ESPN+ | 1 p.m. MT
Key: ACCNX (ACC Network Xtra), BTN (Big Ten Network), ESPN+ (ESPN Plus), F68 (Field of 68 YouTube), FOX9+ (Fox 9 Minneapolis), PC (Peacock), SLN (Summit League Network)
AROUND THE LEAGUE
• For the first time in program history, Omaha has Summit League titles to defend after the Mavericks won both the regular season and tournament crowns in 2024-25.
• The Mavericks have to replace their top two scorers from that banner campaign but do return senior guard Tony Osburn to lead the charge. He averaged 12.2 ppg a season ago and poured in a season-high 30 in the semifinal win over South Dakota in the tournament.
• Omaha checked in at No. 2 in the preseason poll, finishing just behind St. Thomas, which topped the balloting for the first time in program history.
• The Tommies have improved each of their first four Division I seasons, churning out a Summit League-best 24 wins a season ago and finishing runner-up to the Mavericks in both the regular season standings and at the postseason tournament.
• UST will be eligible for the NCAA Division I Tournament this season after completing a four-year transition to the level.
• Sophomore Nolan Minessale was pegged as the Preseason Player of the Year after starting all 34 games for the Tommies and averaging 11.2 ppg. He also was the Summit’s top shot blocker, recording 22 in league play.
• Denver, Oral Roberts and South Dakota State all begin new eras under first-year head coaches in 2025-26.
• The Pioneers will be led by Tim Bergstraser, who arrives in the Mile High City following a dominant three-year stretch at Minnesota State Moorhead (DII) that featured at least 25 wins each season.
• Bergstraser brought his top scorer with him in Carson Johnson, the 2024-25 NSIC Tournament MVP and the first freshman in league history to claim the honor after averaging a team-best 19.8 ppg.
• Kory Barnett takes over at Oral Roberts in his first Division I head-coaching role after serving as an assistant at West Virginia last season. He previously spent 11 years on Steve Alford’s staffs at Nevada and UCLA.
• Oklahoma State transfer Connor Dow headlines 14 newcomers on Barnett’s roster, joining lone returner Luke Gray, who started 13 games and averaged 3.4 ppg and 2.6 rpg as a freshman.
• Bryan Petersen was promoted to head coach at SDSU after spending the previous six seasons with the program as an assistant, that included four regular season and two tournament titles for the Jackrabbits.
• SDSU is the only Summit squad returning two double-digit scorers from a season ago -- backcourt mates Joe Sayler (12.7 ppg) and Kalen Garry (11.7 ppg), who started 30 and 31 games, respectively for the third-place Jackrabbits (11-5).
• South Dakota’s Isaac Bruns is the league’s top returning scorer after averaging 16.3 ppg in league play and 14.6 ppg overall -- both 10th among Summit players a season ago.
• The 2024 Freshman of the Year, Jayson Petty, is the top returning scorer (11.0 ppg) for a Kansas City squad featuring 13 newcomers. Petty and Kasheem Grady, who averaged 5.1 ppg, are the only returners for the Roos.
• NDSU has to replace its top four scorers but gets a major boost with the return of Damari Wheeler-Thomas, who missed last season with an injury. He started all 32 games for the Bison in 2023-24, averaging 10.7 ppg.
• North Dakota’s Eli King is the lone returner among a quartet of Fighting Hawks that started all 33 games for head coach Paul Sather a season ago. King averaged 8.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg and 2.2 apg, while leading all Summit players with 41 steals in 2024-25.
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