SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Nearing the halfway point of the Summit League slate for all teams, preseason favorite St. Thomas has situated itself near the top of the standings thanks to a 6-1 start that was boosted last week by wins over South Dakota State at home and on the road at South Dakota.

The Tommies will return home for their next two, which includes a key matchup against the most surprising squad in the league – North Dakota. The Fighting Hawks were picked eighth in the preseason poll but go into Thursday’s matchup just a half-game behind St. Thomas.

Both of those teams are chasing North Dakota State, who was picked fourth in the preseason poll and did not receive a first-place vote. The top is where the Bison stand, however, after cruising to the first 8-0 start in Summit action in program history.

With no mid-week game on the docket, the Bison will rest until Saturday when they pay a visit to South Dakota.

Several teams are participating in the Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers week that is scheduled for Jan. 26-Feb. 1, uniting coaches across the country to raise awareness and funds for the American Cancer Society.  Follow all the action with the week’s first seven games all slated for the Summit League Network.

The week wraps up for Summit League teams with a Sunday afternoon tilt between the Tommies and Kansas City slated for a 1 p.m. CT tip on CBS Sports Network.

AROUND THE LEAGUE
• There are 34 Division I teams that are currently unbeaten at home this season with two residing in the Summit League -- North Dakota State (10-0) and St. Thomas (10-0).
• The Tommies also own the nation’s longest homecourt winning streak, dating back to the 2023-24 season, having won 28 straight between Schoenecker Arena and the brand-new Lee & Penny Anderson Arena that opened this season.
• Five Summit League squads are averaging more than 80 points per games with St. Thomas leading that pack with a 84.7 ppg clip. Denver is second (83.9), UND is third (83.8), while NDSU (81.3) and South Dakota (80.3) are fourth and fifth, respectively.
• St. Thomas (6-1) plays host to UND (6-2) Thursday night in a matchup of high-scoring teams that are currently second and third, respectively in the standings.
• The Tommies are also hosting Kansas City Sunday in a nationally televised matchup on CBSSN at 1 p.m. CT.
• Following road wins at Denver and Oral Roberts, NDSU is off to an 8-0 start for the first time in program history.
• JUCO All-American Trevian Carson had 23 points to lead the Bison against the Pioneers, while Tay Smith, who was making just his third start of the season in place of Damari Wheeler-Thomas, matched his career-high 24 on 8-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc to pace them against the Golden Eagles.
• Smith’s eight triples were the most by a Summit League player in a game this season.
• NDSU wraps up a three-game road swing Saturday at South Dakota.
• The Fighting Hawks, who were picked eighth in the preseason coaches’ poll, improved to 6-2 at the halfway point thanks to back-to-back road wins at Oral Roberts and Denver. UND is 3-1 at home and on the road so far in conference play.
• Redshirt freshman Greyson Uelmen became the first UND rookie since Troy Huff in 2009-10 to score 30 points in a game when he reached that figure in the win over the Pioneers.
•Playing without Isaac Bruns last week, the Coyotes managed a split, picking up a gritty road win at Omaha behind a career-high 27 points from Jordan Crawford before falling at home to St. Thomas in a game they led at halftime.
• Crawford added 22 against the Tommies and has three straight 20-plus scoring games to his credit after reaching that plateau once in USD’s first 19 games. He is averaging 24.3 ppg during that stretch.
• DU sophomore Carson Johnson has moved into the top 20 nationally in total points. He is tied for 16th entering Wednesday with 423 points, joining classmate Nolan Minessale of St. Thomas (9th; 437) to give the Summit League two of the top three sophomore scorers in Division I -- Wake Forest’s Juke Harris ranks second between those two among sophomores with 429 points.
• Omaha’s Paul Djobet has put together four straight 20-plus point outings in Summit play, including 23 in a road win at Kansas City Saturday. He’s averaging 23.8 ppg during that stretch and ranks third overall in conference scoring through seven games (21.1 ppg).
• The Mavericks will look to get back to the .500 mark in league play at home Wednesday against South Dakota State.
• The Jackrabbits are at the .500 mark through six Summit contests going into their tilt at Omaha. Sophomore Joe Sayler averaged 23.0 ppg as the Jacks split two games last week, winning at home against Kansas City before falling at St. Thomas.
• Sayler has hit double figures in all six Summit games -- marking his longest stretch of the season. He has his average up to 13.4 ppg overall and ranks fourth among league scoreres with a 19.5 ppg in Summit action.
• The Roos will look to snap a five-game skid with Denver coming to town for a Wednesday night tilt. Kasheem Grady II has led KC in scoring in each of the last three games, pushing his season scoring average to double figures at 10.5 ppg. Grady is putting up 16.7 ppg off the bench over the last three games.
• Oral Roberts opens a three-game road swing Thursday at South Dakota still looking for its first Summit win of the season after dropping the first seven.
• Sophomore Luke Gray scored a career-high 15 vs. a Division I opponent in the loss to UND, while Ofri Naveh led ORU with 12 vs. NDSU. Gray has a pair of double-digit scoring games off the bench in ORU’s last four contests.  

UPCOMING
Game | Stream/TV | Local Time
Wednesday, Jan. 28
SDSU at Omaha | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
Denver at Kansas City | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
 
Thursday, Jan. 29
North Dakota at St. Thomas | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
Oral Roberts at South Dakota | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
 
Saturday, Jan. 31
Oral Roberts at SDSU | SLN | 2 p.m. CT
Omaha at Denver | SLN | 2 p.m. MT
NDSU at South Dakota | SLN/MS | 5 p.m. CT
 
Sunday, Feb. 1
Kansas City at St. Thomas | CBSSN | 1 p.m. CT

Wednesday, Feb. 4
South Dakota at Kansas City | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
St. Thomas at SDSU | CBSSN | 6 p.m. CT
 
Thursday, Feb. 5
Omaha at North Dakota | SLN/MS | 7 p.m. CT
Denver at NDSU | SLN/WDAYX | 7 p.m. CT
 
Saturday, Feb. 7
Denver at North Dakota | SLN/MS | 1 p.m. CT
Omaha at NDSU | SLN/WDAYX | 1 p.m. CT
South Dakota at SDSU | CBSSN | 5 p.m. CT
Oral Roberts at St. Thomas | SLN | 7 p.m. CT

Key: ALT2 (Altitude); CBSSN (CBS Sports Network); FOX9+ (FOX9 Plus Minneapolis); MS (Midco Sports); MS2 (Midco Sports 2); SLN (Summit League Network).

RESULTS
Wednesday, Jan. 21
South Dakota 68, Omaha 64*

Thursday, Jan. 22
North Dakota 79, Oral Roberts 62*
NDSU 82, Denver 77*
St. Thomas 74, SDSU 69*
 
Saturday, Jan. 24
North Dakota 93, Denver 86*
NDSU 86, Oral Roberts 58*
Omaha 77, Kansas City 60*
St. Thomas 90, South Dakota 78*

#SUMMITMBB