SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Two squads share the top spot of the Summit League standings as we head for the back stretch of conference play that covers the final four weeks of the regular season. St. Thomas joined Omaha on that perch with a Sunday afternoon home win over North Dakota State as both sit at 8-1 in Summit action.

The Tommies will put their top-billing to the test quickly, however, as they face a South Dakota State squad on the road Thursday in First Bank & Trust Arena, a venue where the Jackrabbits are 10-0 this season. The Jackrabbits, currently in third alone at 6-3, will not want St. Thomas to add to its buffer. This is a rematch of a 73-72 thriller won by the Tommies when a last-second 3-point attempt by SDSU's Matt Mors went through the cylinder but left his hand after the buzzer sounded.

The Mavericks continue a three-game homestand as a North Dakota squad coming off a momentum-building home win over SDSU visit Thursday.

The Coyotes, who have made more than a week off since dealing Omaha its first league loss of the season, return to action Thursday in the Mile High City where they were on the wrong side of a double-overtime track meet a season ago. South Dakota moved to 4-4 with the win over the Mavericks and look to build on that head into the second half.

NDSU, who went 3-1 in league road games during the first half, arrives in Kansas City looking to snap a mini two-game skid, while the Roos have dropped seven straight with the last four of those coming by single digits.

AROUND THE LEAGUE
• St. Thomas pushed its winning streak to three with a pair of home wins last week, downing Oral Roberts 86-71 before doing the same to NDSU 79-62.
• The Tommies moved up to No. 20 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25, while South Dakota State (10) and Omaha (5) were both receiving votes.
• UST’s Nolan Minessale had the third 20-plus point game of his freshman season in the win over the Bison, leading the way with 23 points. The rookie is leading all Summit players with 12 blocks in league play (1.3/g).
• Omaha bounced back from its opening loss of league play last Wednesday at South Dakota, defeating Denver   78-69. The Mavericks share the top spot in the Summit standings with the Tommies, who are both 8-1 and have a two-game advantage on South Dakota State.
• Senior Marquel Sutton continued his strong play during Omaha’s 1-1 week, averaging 25.5 ppg and 9.5 rpg. Sutton is one of three players averaging 20-plus in Summit play.
• Sutton ranks third at 20.2 ppg, while Oral Roberts’ Issac McBride tops that list at 21.8 ppg and NDSU’s Jacksen Moni is second at 21.4 ppg.
• Moni averaged 18.0 ppg in NDSU’s two losses last week.
• The Jackrabbits earned a split in the Peace Garden State, knocking off NDSU 72-62 after trailing 15-4 early in the contest. SDSU then dropped an 80-75 decision at UND, snapping an 18-game winning streak against the Hawks.
• SDSU’s Oscar Cluff had 23 points and 15 rebounds in the win over the Bison, which was his fifth 20-15 game of the season. That ties him with Johni Broome of Auburn for the most in the country. No other DI player has more than two.
• SDSU hosts the Tommies on Thursday night in a 7 p.m. tip as the the Jackrabbits look to avenge their one-point loss to the Tommies from mid-January..
• UND’s Eli King scored a career-high 24 in the win over SDSU, which was the program’s first since the 2011-12 season. King went 10-for-16 from the field. Treysen Eaglestaff added 19 for the Fighting Hawks, who travel to league-leading Omaha Thursday.
• South Dakota had the weekend off after erasing a 15-point, second-half deficit in handing Omaha its first Summit loss of the season. Niagara transfer Dre Bullock scored a career-high 31 points in what was just his second start of the season for the Coyotes and first in league play.
• Sophomore Issac Bruns added a career-high 23 as well for the Coyotes. He has four of his five 20-plus outings over the past seven games and is averaging 18.4 ppg during that stretch.
• The Coyotes start the week with a Thursday trip to Denver. The last time these two teams played in the Mile High City, the Pioneers won a double-overtime thriller, outlasting the Coyotes 111-110 behind 49 points from Tommy Bruner. 
• USD senior Kaleb Stewart scored a career-high 44 points for USD. He did miss the Coyotes’ win over Omaha with an injury.
• The Pioneers earned a thrilling 69-68 victory over Kansas City when DeAndre Craig converted a three-point play with 1.2 seconds left to lift DU to its second straight victory in a wild finish.
• Craig finished with a game-high 16 points in the win over the Roos and was one shy of equaling his career-high with 21 in the Pios’ road loss at Omaha the next time out.
• The Roos have been on the wrong side of seven straight Summit clashes, including the last four losses that have been by a combined 11 points, including two by a single point.
• KC takes the first crack at snapping that skid at home Thursday against visiting NDSU. The Bison won the first meeting by seven on Jan. 16.
• Despite the skid, the Roos still boast the top-scoring defense in the league, yielding 66.6 ppg. All nine offenses average better than 72.0 ppg and six are averaging 80-plus in Summit action.
• ORU moved into a tie with Kansas City and Denver thanks to a 73-67 victory over the Roos Saturday. Issac McBride led the Golden Eagles with 16 in the victory over KC and added 21 earlier in the week in a loss at St. Thomas. That was McBride’s 10th 20-plus point game of the season.
• McBride also eclipsed the 1,800-point plateau for his ORU career against the Roos and became the 23rd Summit League player in history to achieve that feat. Seventeen Summit players have scored 2,000-plus.

UPCOMING
Date | Stream/TV | Local Time
Thursday, Feb. 6
St. Thomas at SDSU* | MS/SLN | 7 p.m.
North Dakota at Omaha* | SLN | 7 p.m.
NDSU at Kansas City* | SLN | 7 p.m.
South Dakota at Denver* | SLN | 7 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 8
NDSU at Omaha* | SLN | 1 p.m.
St. Thomas at Denver* | SLN | 2 p.m.
North Dakota at Kansas City* | SLN | 5 p.m.
South Dakota at Oral Roberts* | SLN | 7 p.m.

Rankings: (AP/Coaches) | * Summit League game

Key: ALT2 (Altitude TV); CBSSN (CBS College Sports Network); MS1/MS2 (Midco Sports); SLN (Summit League Network); WDAYX (WDAY Extra)

RESULTS
Wednesday, Jan. 29
South Dakota 91, Oral Roberts 87*
St. Thomas 86, Oral Roberts 71*

Thursday, Jan. 30
SDSU 72, NDSU 62* 
Denver 69, Kansas City 68*

Saturday, Feb. 1
North Dakota 80, SDSU 75* 
Oral Roberts 73, Kansas City 67* 
Omaha 78, Denver 69*

Sunday, Feb. 2
St. Thomas 79, NDSU 62*
*Summit League game

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