SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Preseason favorite St. Thomas emerged from its non-conference slate with a league-high 11 victories as the Tommies look to make good on the prognosticators that selected them to win the program's first Summit League crown this season. 

Can the Tommies carry that momentum over to Summit play that begins this week? They'll have to wait until Sunday to get their slate started against a high-scoring Denver squad that put up more than 84 points per game in non-conference play.

The Pioneers will commence the overall league slate with a New Year's Eve home tilt against a Kansas City squad that is still looking for its first road win of the season at 3 p.m. CT. 

North Dakota State, who was pegged fourth in the preseason poll, navigated its way to double-digit victories as well, securing 10 behind the return of junior point guard Damari Wheeler-Thomas. The Bison also get things started on final day of the calendar year as they host another high-scoring outfit in South Dakota. The Bison and Coyotes both averaged 80-plus in non-conference action.  
 
Two more games dot the New Year's Day schedule as Oral Roberts travels to North Dakota, while defending regular season and tournament champion Omaha begins its title defenses at South Dakota State.

The Jackrabbits then wrap up their opening week of play Saturday on the road against the Fighting Hawks, while ORU and NDSU will square off in a nationally-televised afternoon game on CBS Sports Network. That matchup between the Bison and Golden Eagles will be the first of seven men's tilts on CBS Sports Network throughout league play.

Saturday's trio of games concludes with the Roos taking on the defending champs on Omaha's home court.

All Summit League contests will stream live on the Summit League Network.

AROUND THE LEAGUE
• Preseason favorite St. Thomas brings a five-game winning streak into Summit play after posting a 105-59 victory over North Central (Minn.). The Tommies’ 11 wins were the most by a Summit squad during non-conference play.
• Sophomore Nolan Minessale scored 22 points in 22 minutes of action, posting his league-best 13th 20-plus point scoring game of the season. His 22.3 tops all Summit players and ranks sixth among DI players.
• Redshirt freshman Nick Janowski leads all Summit rookies in scoring at 14.4 ppg and reached double figures in 14 of 15 non-conference games.
• The Tommies will put their national-best, 25-game home winning streak on the line Jan. 4 when Denver visits.
• North Dakota State picked up 10 wins in non-conference play despite dropping back-to-back games at the WestStar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational.
• Junior Damari Wheeler-Thomas led a trio of Bison in scoring during non-conference action, returning to the court after missing all of the 2024-25 season. Wheeler-Thomas is scoring at a 14.9 ppg clip, while NDSU newcomers Markhi Strickland (14.2 ppg) and Trevian Carson (12.6 ppg) have added a nice scoring punch for head coach Dave Richman.
• Carson garnered the Bison’s first Kwik Star weekly honor after scoring 23 points in a road loss at UTEP last week. He is averaging 19.8 ppg over his last four contests.
• South Dakota’s Isaac Bruns moved to within four of the 1,000-career point milestone following a 23-point performance in an 85-61  win over Mount Marty Sunday. Bruns’ 20-plus point effort was his eighth of the season and seventh in USD’s last eight games.
• The Coyotes were one of three Summit teams to navigate their non-conference slate at better than .500, finishing 8-7.
• South Dakota State was one of three Summit teams to close out non-conference play at 7-8, falling to No. 1 Arizona 99-73 in its final tune-up Monday.
• Junior Kalen Garry led the Jacks with 20 points against the Wildcats and is averaging 17.8 ppg over his last five after scoring at just a 7.7 ppg clip in SDSU’s first 10 contests.
• Jaden Jackson tops a quartet of Jacks averaging double figures with a 13.1 ppg clip, while Damon Wilkinson was one of the Summit’s top-scoring reserves in non-conference play, ranking second on the Jacks with a 12.2 ppg clip.
• Miami (Fla.) transfer Paul Djobet became eligible for Omaha’s overtime win at Lamar, scoring 22 points in his Maverick debut. He added seven points in a road loss at Oregon.
• OMA’s Lance Waddles (17.1 ppg) and Tony Osburn (14.8 ppg) make up one of the highest-scoring backcourts in the Summit. Waddles ranks third nationally in 3-pointers made with 52 entering Summit play and is shooting a league-best 46 percent from beyond the arc.
• North Dakota is one of the top teams in the country in forcing turnovers (16.3/g) and junior Eli King, who has 39 steals, is a big reason why. The two-time All-Summit League Defensive Team honoree has the Fighting Hawks averging 10-plus steals per game.
• UND’s Greyson Uelmen is the only freshman leading a Summit League team in scoring as the redshirt is chipping in 12.3 ppg for the Fighting Hawks. He is shooting 48.5 percent from the floor and had 11 double-figure scoring games during non-conference play.
• Youngstown State transfer Ty Harper has been one of the Summit’s top scorers during his first season at Oral Roberts, averaging 16.9 ppg in 15 non-conference tilts for the Golden Eagles. Harper’s average is fifth overall among SL players, while fellow newcomer Ofri Naveh, a West Virginia transfer, ranks 11th with a 12.7 ppg clip.
• ORU head coach Kory Barnett’s roster is full of newcomers as the lone holdover, Luke Gray, is scoring 6.5 ppg, while the remainder of the team’s 73.7 ppg average has been provided by 11 players that have debuted for ORU this season.
• Denver paced all Summit squads in scoring non-conference play, posting 84.1 ppg as the Pioneers reeled off a 7-8 record under first-year head coach Tim Bergstaser.
• Sophomore Carson Johnson paced the Pios and ranked third overall among Summit scorers with a 17.7 ppg clip, while NDSU transfer Jeremiah Burke (15.6 ppg) was sixth as DU was the only team with two players averaging 15-plus.
• Karmello Branch has emerged a sidekick to Kansas City’s leading scorer Jayson Petty (12.5 ppg) over 14 non-conference clashes. Branch has four straight double-figure scoring games, including two 20-plus point efforts, to push his season average to 12.2 ppg.
• CJ Evans (11.4 ppg) and Kasheem Grady II (10.4 ppg) give the Roos a quartet of double-figure scorers.  

UPCOMING
Game | Stream/TV | Local Time
Wednesday, Dec. 31
Kansas City at Denver | SLN | 2 p.m. MT
South Dakota at NDSU | SLN | 4 p.m. CT

Thursday, Jan. 1
Oral Roberts at North Dakota | SLN | 1 p.m. CT
Omaha at SDSU | SLN | 4:15 p.m. CT

Saturday, Jan. 3
SDSU at North Dakota | SLN | 1 p.m. CT
Oral Roberts at NDSU | CBSSN | 3 p.m. CT
Kansas City at Omaha | SLN | 7 p.m. CT

Sunday, Jan. 4
Denver at St. Thomas | SLN | 12 p.m. CT

Wednesday, Jan. 7
South Dakota at St. Thomas | SLN | 8 p.m. CT

Thursday, Jan. 8
North Dakota at Omaha | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
NDSU at Kansas City | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
Denver at SDSU | SLN | 7 p.m. CT

Saturday, Jan. 10
NDSU at Omaha | SLN | 1 p.m. CT
Denver at South Dakota | SLN | 1 p.m. CT
North Dakota at Kansas City | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
St. Thomas at Oral Roberts | SLN | 7 p.m. CT

Key: CBSSN (CBS Sports Network); SLN (Summit League Network).

Polls: AP/Coaches

RESULTS
Wednesday, Dec. 17
South Dakota 80, Dakota State 71

Thursday, Dec. 18
TCU 72, Oral Roberts 53
Oklahoma State 91, Kansas City 79
North Dakota 90, Winthrop 88

Saturday, Dec. 20
Omaha 85, Lamar 82 (OT)
Kansas State 106, South Dakota 76
Denver 86, Northern Colorado 79
St. Thomas 92, UC Riverside 78

Sunday, Dec. 21
Nebraska 78, North Dakota 55
UC Irvine 74, NDSU 73
    (Sun Bowl Invitational; El Paso, Texas)
Austin Peay at Kansas City (CCD)

Monday, Dec. 22
UT Arlington 69, Oral Roberts 57
Tulsa 90, Denver 85
NDSU vs. Norfolk State/UTEP
    (Sun Bowl Invitational; El Paso, Texas)

Sunday, Dec. 28
Oregon 80, Omaha 57
South Dakota 85, Mount Marty 61
North Dakota 88, Dakota State 56
Kansas City 91, McPherson 78
St. Thomas 105, North Central (Minn.) 59

Monday, Dec. 29
(1/1) Arizona 99, SDSU 73

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