2024 Summit League Conference Tournament

The 2024 Summit League Conference Tournament should be interesting, given that the highest-rated team in the conference is not eligible to play in the NCAA Tournament. The St. Thomas Tommies will have to treat the conference tournament as the NCAA Tournament, as they are still in transition to Division I.

The Tommies may be the highest-rated team by sites like KenPom and Bart Torvik, but they are the No. 4 seed in this field, which could make for a really interesting situation for top seed South Dakota State, who gets the automatic bid if the Tommies win the tourney.

 

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All nine teams are in the field and the schedule is a little quirky, as the first round is on Friday and the Quarterfinals are on Saturday and Sunday, with No. 1 and No. 2 in action on Saturday, so the winners get a day of rest before playing again on Monday.

How to Watch the Summit League Conference Tournament

When: March 8-12

Where: Denny Sanford Center in Sioux Falls, SD

Format: Top seven seeds get byes to the Quarterfinals; Saturday winners get Sunday off

Watch: MidcoSN, Summit League Network; Championship Game on CBS Sports Network on Mar. 12 at 9:30 p.m. ET

College Basketball Odds | College Basketball Betting Splits | Greg Peterson’s Daily Lines | Steve Makinen’s Power Ratings

Summit League Conference Tournament Bracket

Summit League Conference Tournament Seeds, Teams and Odds

1. South Dakota State (+130)

2. UMKC (+750)

3. North Dakota (+800)

4. St. Thomas (+300)

5. North Dakota State (+1500)

6. Omaha (+1300)

7. Denver (+1400)

8. Oral Roberts (+3500)

9. South Dakota (+13000)

(odds from DraftKings Sportsbook accurate at time of publish)

Favorite To Win Summit League Conference Tournament

South Dakota State draws that potential semifinal matchup with St. Thomas, who is the second favorite in the field, but the Jackrabbits are still a clear favorite. North Dakota State has actually been in the title game five straight times, having finished as the runner-up in each of the last three, but they’re down this season, as the odds and seeding imply.

The Jackrabbits beat the Tommies twice, but both games were tight, winning 81-80 on the road and 77-72 at home in a game they trailed by nine early in the second half. SDSU is second in adjusted offensive efficiency and third in adjusted defensive efficiency, with the Tommies ahead of them in both departments.

The top adjusted defensive efficiency actually belongs to UMKC, but they rank seventh out of nine teams on the offensive side of the ledger.

Summit League Conference Tournament Darkhorse

You rarely see a No. 2 seed in a conference tournament with 7/1 odds to win, especially with a rest advantage like this tournament provides. That’s the case with UMKC, whose defensive prowess and a split with South Dakota State were enough to grab the No. 2 seed. The Roos won six straight to close out the regular season and two of their conference losses came in overtime to North Dakota State.

Speaking of NDSU, I do think their run of five straight title game appearances does come to an end. They’ve lost to a variety of teams in league play, but did save some of their better games for the road, so I guess anything is possible.

Players to Watch in Summit League Conference Tournament

Denver may not go far in this tournament, but national scoring leader Tommy Bruner (24.5 PPG, 4.4 APG) will do everything in his power to make sure they hang around for a while. Fellow Pioneer Touko Tainaimo (16.3 PPG, 7.9 RPG) will also have his say, but Denver is the worst defensive team in the conference by a sizable margin. They’re dead last in 2P% and 3P%, so they better be ready to outscore everybody.

Oral Roberts also seems likely to exit the stage early, but Isaac McBride (19.7 PPG) is second in scoring in the conference. Similarly, Nebraska Omaha is probably not a long-term player in this game, but Frankie Fidler (19.5 PPG) will try to push the Mavericks to a deep run.

South Dakota State is led by Zeke Mayo (19.3 PPG) and three other Jackrabbits averaging at least 11.5 points per game. There is a lot of balanced scoring in this conference between the lack of defense and all the jump shots.

Betting Pick to Win The Summit League Conference Tournament

Based on the odds, the championship game could be in the semifinals between South Dakota State and St. Thomas. The Tommies play at a really slow pace, which worries me a bit given that two of their lesser offensive performances in Summit play came against SDSU. They are certainly motivated, though, since this is it for them no matter what.

I do like the trend line for UMKC here at a big price and with some schedule advantages, so I think they’re a reasonable starting point at 7/1. If they can get to the final, they’ll be an underdog, but probably only by a couple of points if you wanted to play back at them. I also don’t hate the Tommies at 3/1 and UMKC at 7/1. You’ll have to sweat South Dakota State, but there’s a possibility you get both in the title game and freeroll it.

Pick: UMKC +700

Makinen Power Ratings for Summit League

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