SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- There are just a few tune-ups remaining for Summit League men's basketball teams as non-conference clashes dwindle down the back stretch of December. Those tilts are important as several teams will put their progress to the test against Power-4 programs, while others will match up against other mid-majors in barometer-tests for their programs heading into conference play.
This past week, scoring was not an issue as several squads hit the century mark in convincing wins, while others scored 90-plus in a week that saw offenses shine across the league. The top five Summit scoring offenses are all averaging 78.0 ppg or better and eight of nine average 70.0-plus per contest. North Dakota State averaged 100.0 ppg in wins over Drake and Minnesota-Crookston.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
• North Dakota State pushed its winning streak to five straight thanks to back-to-back road wins. In fact, three of the Bison’s triumphs during that stretch have come on the road.
• JUCO transfer Trevian Carson is averaging 16.0 ppg during NDSU’s winning streak. The West Des Moines, Iowa native poured in a career-high 29 points in front of his home-state crowd.
• Markhi Strickland is shooting 64 percent from the field, going 80-for-125 in his first season with the Bison. His 80 makes are more than any other DI player shooting 60 percent or better from the floor.
• For the fourth time in six weeks, St. Thomas sophomore Nolan Minessale was named the Peak Performer. Minessale became the first Tommie at the DI level to post back-to-back 30-point games when he scored 30 against former DIII rival St. John’s (Minn.).
• Minesalle put up his 11th 20-plus point outing the next time out in an 80-59 road win at UNC Asheville. His 286 points (22.0 ppg) lead all DI players.
• Omaha pushed its winning streak to three straight with a 105-58 win over York (Neb.) College. Ja’Sean Glover registered the program’s first triple-double and first by a Summit League player since Trenton Massner had one in 2022-23 for Western Illinois.
• Glover scored 11 points, equaled his career-high with 13 rebounds and dished out a career-high 10 assists.
• Lance Waddles added a game-high 25 points and added a career-high seven 3-pointers, pushing his season total to 47, which is second among all DI players as of Dec. 17.
• South Dakota continues to pace all Summit League teams in scoring with a 84.3 ppg clip. The Coyotes moved back to the .500 mark with a 97-85 win over Prairie View A&M.
• Junior Isaac Bruns tallied a career-high 29 in the win over the Lions and takes a career-best stretch of five straight 20-plus point scoring games into a home game with Dakota State. Bruns is averaging 26.2 ppg over that stretch.
• Kansas City’s Jerome Palm has put together three straight double-figure rebounding games, which is the best stretch by a Summit League player this season. Palm had eight points and 10 rebounds in the Roos’ latest clash at Oklahoma.
• Palm had back-to-back double-doubles heading into the Sooners’ contest and his 15 boards against Weber State on Dec. 10 were the most by a Summit League player in a game this season.
• SDSU’s Kalen Garry has scored 15-plus in three straight for the Jackrabbits and made 12-of-18 from beyond the arc during that run. In his previous six games, Garry had made just 4-of-20 from distance.
• Garry’s double-digit scorings streak is his longest of the season and has pushed his scoring average to 9.8 ppg.
• UND dropped a 69-66 overtime decision to Western Illinois as those two teams split a pair of matchups this season with the road team winning.
• Eli King had 13 points and a career-high four blocks in the OT-loss to the Leathernecks. The two-time All-Summit League Defensive Team honoree, who leads all Summit players with 35 steals, had only five blocks combined in UND’s first 12 games.
• Denver scored a school-record 129 points in a victory over UC-Colorado Springs and is averaging 101.8 ppg over a four-game stretch where the Pioneers are 3-1.
• DU sophomore Shaun Wysocki is averaging 19.8 ppg off the bench over the last four games, hitting double figures in each contest, including a career-high 32-point effort in a win over Alaska Anchorage. Before this scoring surge, Wysocki had scored just 37 over DU’s first eight games (4.6 ppg).
• ORU dropped a 63-62 contest at Missouri State as the Bears hit a putback in the closing seconds to secure the win. Ty Harper led the Golden Eagles with 20, while Ofri Naveh, who had hit a go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute of play, had 18.
• Harper leads ORU in scoring at 16.8 ppg and has a team-high six 20-plus point games on the season. Naveh is second at 13.5 ppg and has 11 double-digit scoring games to his credit.
UPCOMING
Game | Stream/TV | Local Time
Wednesday, Dec. 17
Dakota State at South Dakota | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
Thursday, Dec. 18
Oral Roberts at TCU | ESPN+ | 7 p.m. CT
Kansas City at Oklahoma State | ESPN+ | 7 p.m. CT
Winthrop at North Dakota | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
Friday, Dec. 19
SDSU at Milwaukee | PTB | 4 p.m. CT
Saturday, Dec. 20
South Dakota at Kansas State | ESPN+ | 11 a.m. CT
Denver at Northern Colorado | 1 p.m. MT
Omaha at Lamar | ESPN+ | 6 p.m. CT
UC Riverside at St. Thomas | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
Sunday, Dec. 21
Austin Peay at Kansas City | SLN | 5 p.m.
NDSU vs. UC Irvine | SBAYT | 6 p.m. CT
(Sun Bowl Invitational; El Paso, Texas)
North Dakota at Nebraska | B10N | 7 p.m. CT
Monday, Dec. 22
UT Arlington at Oral Roberts | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
Denver at Tulsa | SLN | 2 p.m. CT
NDSU vs. Norfolk State/UTEP | SBAYT | 6 p.m. CT
(Sun Bowl Invitational; El Paso, Texas)
Key: ACCNX (ACC Network Xtra), BTN (Big Ten Network), CBSSN (CBS Sports Network), ESPN+ (ESPN Plus), FLO (FloSports), FOX9+ (Fox 9 Minneapolis), MS (MidcoSports), MWN (Mountain West Network), PC (Peacock), PTB (PassThaBall Live), SECN (SEC Network), SLN (Summit League Network), SBAYT (Sun Bowl Association YouTube
Polls: AP/Coaches
RESULTS
Wednesday, Dec. 10
Weber State 64, Kansas City 60
North Dakota 89, Crown College 43
Thursday, Dec. 11
St. Thomas 80, St. John’s (Minn.) 56
Denver 97, Alaska Anchorag 61
NDSU 80, CSU Bakersfield 69
Friday, Dec. 12
SDSU 94, Dakota Wesleyan 62
Saturday, Dec. 13
Western Illinois 69, North Dakota 66 (OT)
NDSU 99, Drake 94
South Dakota 97, Prairie View A&M 85
Cal State Fullerton 105, Denver 86
Oral Roberts 97, Ecclesia 52
Kansas City 102, Spurgeon 75
St. Thomas 80, UNC Asheville 59
Monday, Dec. 15
NDSU 101, Minnesota Crookston 67
Wyoming 87, SDSU 72
(Sioux Falls, S.D.)
Tuesday, Dec. 16
Missouri State 63, Oral Roberts 62
Omaha 105, York (Neb.) 58
Oklahoma 89, Kansas City 67
Denver 129, UCCS 93
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