- The Pioneers have consistently been ranked 4th or 5th in preseason rankings for the Summit League.
- The Pioneers are returning 79% of their scoring from last season, and that is the most returning scoring in the Summit League.
- Even though the Pioneers are returning a bulk of their roster, they lost starting forward CJ Bobbitt after he transferred to New Mexico State. The loss of Bobbitt will create a lack of depth in the front court for the Pioneers, and will be the question mark of their team…so center Daniel Amigo might be covered in bubble wrap on days off. The Pioneers did lead the Summit League in rebounding last season, but Bobbitt was their leading rebounder.
- At some point this season, their fans will complain about how they do not belong in the Summit League. However, they are going to complain about any conference they end up in.
- The toughest stretch of their schedule will be in January when they play four straight road games in January at South Dakota State, North Dakota State, Omaha, and Oral Roberts.
- Their fans gets really annoyed if another school claims to be their rival.
- Denver has a big time rivalry with Western Illinois.
- Their fan zone is in the middle of a transition to be nicknamed “The Jerk Store”
CJ Bobbitt
Summit League predictions: Jan 11-14
I was 6-2 last week, and 5-3 the week before. That’s 11-5. I’m good enough for a 3 seed in the conference tournament.
January 11th
Omaha (1-3) @ IUPUI (1-3) on ESPN3
The Jaguars are 5-0 at home so far this season, and last time at home they defeated Western Illinois by 18. Last year in Indianapolis, the Mavericks couldn’t do anything to stop the Jaguars offense, and let them shoot 56 percent in that loss. Expect the same this time, as the Mavericks have been bad on defense lately and IUPUI has shot at least in the high 40s in every home game.
Derrin Hansen made a point that a key to the game is that the Mavericks can rebound and not give IUPUI second chance opportunities. In the last 3 games, the Jaguars averaged a +6.7 rebound margin. The Mavericks in the last 4 games, averaged a -4 rebound margin.
North Dakota State (3-0) @ South Dakota (3-1) on ESPN3
This game is going to be all defense. While it is early in the conference season, these two teams have the best defensive field goal percentage in conference games. They also average the least amount of turnovers overall on the year among Summit League teams.
The Coyotes will be without one of their best post players, Tyler Flack, until February, but Norfolk native Tyler Hagedorn helped fill the void on Saturday with 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 blocks in a win over IUPUI.
The Coyotes will be able to defend the Bison guards and cause frustrations in the Bison offense enough to guide South Dakota to another home win. The Coyotes are 8-0 at home this season.
The Bison lost by 14 in Vermillion last season, and that wasn’t your older cousin’s South Dakota team. The Bison were also playing without their leading scorer at the time, Paul Miller.
Western Illinois (3-1) @ Denver (1-2)
Western Illinois was able to win in Denver last season, who was playing without Joe Rosga at the time and CJ Bobbitt was limited to just 8 minutes in that game. Expect Denver to be out for some revenge, and not to take Western Illinois lightly.
January 12th
South Dakota State (1-3) @ Oral Roberts (0-3) on ESPN3
Oral Roberts just almost prevented the Jackrabbits from making the NCAA Tournament last season, just almost. South Dakota State was able to escape the upset with every Jackrabbit playing poorly, except for Mike Daum. Daum averaged 20.3 points and 7 rebounds against the Golden Eagles and can still have a huge game in Tulsa again this season.
The Jackrabbits mixed things up with their lineups and were able to get things going toward the end of the game against Omaha. Oral Roberts has actually not been that bad for a 4-13 team. They won each of their last two non-conference games, only lost to Creighton by 1, and had a rough start to conference play with three straight road games. That home court is going to feel nice to Oral Roberts.
I went back and forth on who should win this game. This game should be close throughout the entire duration of the game, with the winner escaping by winning on free throws toward the end of the game. Both teams shoot above 70 percent at the free throw line.
January 14
Fort Wayne (3-1) @ South Dakota (3-1)
It’s almost a crime that this game wont have an ESPN3 broadcast.
Fort Wayne, one of the better three point shooting teams in the nation is going to go up against a team that allows teams to shoot more than 20 threes per game. South Dakota is good at actually getting a hand in the face of shooters, but Fort Wayne can really move the ball around for the open shot.
Coming off of a defensive battle against North Dakota State, and having one of the best players out, South Dakota may not be able to last against Fort Wayne who will have an entire week of rest. Fort Wayne leads the nation in three point field goal percentage, but South Dakota has the third best defensive three point field goal percentage in the conference. The Coyotes have had the best defensive three point field goal percentage over the last 4 games.
With Tyler Flack out, the Mastodons should have a decent enough advantage in the post with Brent Calhoun, Xzavier Taylor, and John Konchar to take control of the game. As good of a three point shooting team as the ‘Dons are, they aren’t too shabby at getting the ball down low. The ‘Dons are also 16th in D1 in 2 point field goal percentage.
IUPUI (1-3) @ Oral Roberts (0-2) on ESPN3
IUPUI has a good enough defense to keep the inconsistent players of Oral Roberts off their game.
Alberts Owens is not quick enough to defend Matt O’Leary who is capable of scoring anywhere on the court, and none of the guards for Oral Roberts are great enough defensive players to slow down Darell Combs who is averaging 22.7 points per game so far in conference play so far.
As good as playing at home again might be for Oral Roberts, they don’t have the depth to win 2 games in three days.
North Dakota State (3-0) @ Denver (1-2)
Denver on the road is a bad match up for the Bison, but this is not the same type of game that it was a year ago when both team’s offenses worked down the shot clock on every possession to get the best shot.
Western Illinois (3-1) @ Omaha (1-3)
It’s a good thing the Leathernecks are one of the worst teams in the conference at taking the ball away and creating possessions for themselves, since the Mavericks have averaged 15 turnovers (ouch) to 11 assists (ouch) a game since entering Summit League play.
Still, the Leathernecks have started out conference play hot, and the Mavericks have not. Derrin Hansen did mention that the Mavericks have been practicing better lately, and offensively they did look pretty good in the last two games. The hope is that the Mavericks are still bitter about their loss to the Leathernecks last season, which helped prevent them from getting a top two spot in the conference tournament, so hopefully they can come out playing at a high level and build up a lead.
Travel this week could be an issue for the Leathernecks who will be coming to Omaha after a road game at Denver.
It’s always the random guys that show up for Western Illinois to beat the Mavericks.
Last year, Mike Miklusak was averaged 5 points and 3 rebounds a game, but beat up the Mavericks 14 points and 11 rebounds in the Mavericks’ loss in Macomb.
Tate Stensgaard was basically playing with no one defending him when he scored 26 on 13-of-15 shooting and had 7 rebounds in Baxter Arena. He ended up averaging 8.6 points and 5.4 rebounds. Stensgaard The Mavericks had to come back from a 16 point lead to win that game.
In a loss to the Leathernecks 2 years ago, Jabari Sanidfer averaged 7.4 points on the season, but had 20 against the Mavericks. Jamie Batish had 15 off the bench for the Leathernecks and averaged 6.4 points that year.
- Also, a random note about Western Illinois. Since losing Jabari Sandifer to a season ending injury, who is one of the most inconsistent players the Summit League has ever seen (or at least since Mav fans have paid attention), the Leathernecks have gone 3-1 and are 4-1 overall without him this season.
What I’m saying here is while the Mavericks are planning for Garret Covington, who is averaging 21.3 points, and Mike Miklusak, who is averaging 16 points and 9 rebounds a game this season, they should really be worried most about this De’Angelo Bruster kid who averages 6 points a game. He might have 30 points in Baxter Arena.
Thanks for reading. I know low major weekly basketball predictions might not be super entertaining, but this time of year after college football has ended, it’s this or you have the Mel Kiper Season of just analyzing the 2025 NFL Draft.
Summit League predictions: Dec 28-31
I am sick on vacation, I am 2 hours behind in Oregon, and my in-laws are nuts. Hopefully, this will make some sense. It’s hard to pick between many of these teams because the non-conference schedule can have so many out liars, with some teams hardly playing any competition in November and December and Oral Roberts and Omaha having tougher schedules.
Oral Roberts strength of schedule RPI is currently ranked 10th in division one, and Omaha’s is ranked 88th.
December 28th
North Dakota State @ South Dakota State on ESPN3
Normally, I would probably just go with the home team in this match up. The Jackrabbits have been pretty lackluster on defense this season, and the Bison weave offense will frustrate the Jackrabbits the entire game. The Jackrabbits have appeared to get better and better as their team gets more time to gel together, but it seems to take a while for them to get into a rhythm each game. If the Bison have a decent enough lead late in the game, their style of play will limit the amount of possessions that South Dakota State has to get back into the game.
The Bison may or may not have anyone who can stop Mike Daum, but who does? Perhaps Dexter Werner and Deng Geu can give him different defensive looks for 40 minutes to bother him enough to get him just a little bit off of him game.
Oral Roberts @ Denver
This is actually kind of a good match up. Daniel Amigo head-to-head with AJ Owens could be fun. Jalen Bradley head-to-head with Joe Rosga should be fun. Emmanuel Nzekwesi head-to-head with CJ Bobbit can be good. Denver does have a bit more depth than Oral Roberts, and can run the Golden Eagles out of Denver.
Oral Roberts played the toughest non-conference schedule out of all the Summit League teams, so playing the Pioneers may seem like nothing to them. However, the Golden Eagles are not a great defensive team, and the Pioneers have shown to be a solid team offensively.
December 29th
Western Illinois @ Fort Wayne
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Omaha @ South Dakota on ESPN3
The Coyotes are 6-0 at home. Omaha has won in Vermillion two straight years, and swept South Dakota last season.
The Mavericks will be one of the deepest teams the Coyotes have faced at home, and while the Coyotes will be able to force Omaha to outside shots, that wont bother them too much now. If the three point shooters for Omaha can knock down shots, they should be having a good night. That Thurman-Hahn-Gibson-Tyus-Hollins lineup should create some points and start a good run of the Mavericks.
December 31st
Western Illinois @ IUPUI on ESPN3
It has to be pretty difficult to be the road team on a day like New Year’s Eve for college students. The game is noon, though, so maybe Western Illinois will just be excited to get out of Indianapolis as soon as possible to head back to Macomb.
South Dakota @ South Dakota State on ESPN3
The Jackrabbits opening up the Summit League with two straight home losses…have I gone mad?
This game is incredibly important to both teams, but the Coyotes have been thinking of this game far longer than the Jackrabbits. I mean, probably, right?
South Dakota has shown to be good enough at defense to keep themselves in games.
The Coyotes really don’t have anyone who can keep up with Mike Daum, and especially for 40 minutes. Daum may have 40 points in this game, but maybe only one other guy can crack double figures.
The Coyotes may just let Mike Daum try to beat them on his own, which is a strategy other teams have gone with and been successful with.
Oral Roberts @ Fort Wayne
What a rough start to the conference for Oral Roberts, travel wise. They start out at Denver, and then head to Fort Wayne to play the Mastodons after the Mastodons pretty much get an open practice against Western Illinois.
Omaha @ North Dakota State
The Bison could be seeking a little revenge after Omaha came in last season and ended North Dakota State’s home winning streak. The Bison are one of the better defensive teams in the Summit League this season, and their style of play is one that has bothered the Mavericks over the last couple of seasons.
Omaha did sweep the Bison last season, but if you recall: The Bison were playing without their leading scorer, Paul Miller, in Omaha and AJ Jacobson was in foul trouble for most of the game.
The Tre’Shawn Thurman versus AJ Jacobson has been fun to watch over the last couple of years, but the match up to see this year could be Zach Jackson versus Paul Miller.
I cant put together my thoughts when talking about Western Illinois
The Leathernecks beat Wisconsin to open up the season, and I am pretty sure it is the most forgettable big time win by a Summit League team of all time. It is almost immediately discredited with: well, Wisconsin wasn’t together at that point…or something along those lines. There were people that believed in Western Illinois after that, and hopefully those people that did use that belief to discuss how good the Summit League was as a whole for the season. They probably more so had an attitude of: Well Western Illinois sucks, so who cares.
Western Illinois finished the season as 9th in the Summit League, which meant they had to sit out the Summit League tournament. At least they got to really bulk up Creighton’s non-conference schedule. It was not pretty after the Wisconsin win for the Leathernecks. The team picked up some lopsided wins against the likes of some division 2 schools in addition to Illinois-Chicago and Eastern Illinois before going on an 11 game losing streak. Then they hurt my brain when they broke their losing streak at home against the Mavericks. The Leathernecks did expose a large weakness of that Mavs that Omaha was not a great defensive team in the post. Once a team can get the ball past the quick hands of Tra-Deon Hollins and Devin Patterson, Omaha may not have the bodies to deal with guys down low. Denver saw this and they just kept throwing the ball into Christian Mackey and CJ Bobbitt to just ruin the Mavericks. Ehhh.
Much of the season for the Leathernecks was about as hard to watch as when your brother brings home some train wreck of a girl to meet your parents; and you hold a large amount of embarrassment that you know your brother.
The Leathernecks are going to be losing JC Fuller’s 12.7 points per game, which is probably a good thing as he thought he could have the green light to shoot like Steph Curry, but Curry actually makes the crazy shots he takes. Western Illinois only played Fuller for 8 minutes when they beat the Mavericks and instead gave most of the back court minutes to freshman De’Angelo Bruster, who might be the new fastest player in the Summit League. His speed created so many opportunities for other players in that game against the Mavericks, he may have actually won that game for the Leathernecks even though he scored 0 points. Bruster only scored 2 points per game, but the Leathernecks were 2-0 in games he played more than 20 minutes, so hell, they might as well at least make an attempt to give him more minutes in 2017…but Billy Wright seems like the least creative coach in the League; so who knows.
Garret Covington will be the Summit League’s top returning scorer, and that is fun, I guess. Covington has been known as being one of the league’s most threatening scorers over during the first three years of collegiate careers, but watch a Western Illinois game. No one else knows how to get open, the coaching staff doesn’t have a great list of plays to really get players open, and Covington never really scores when the game is on the line and he can push the Leathernecks over their opponent. Granted, they don’t have too many moments when the game is close for Covington can do that, but the point still remains…probably, I think, I may have gone in and out of points there.
The idea here is, who else on the team can actually score consistently? Jabari Sandifer would go 8-of-12 from the floor one game and then go 2-of-13 the next game, and most of shots were Aw Crap, When Did the Shot Clock Change to 30 Seconds shots. We like to ask these hypothetical questions of: Would Tre’Shawn Thurman put up the same numbers at a Creighton or a Nebraska? The simple answer is no because he would be on a different team with a different depth and a different offense than what he is currently on, but it does not mean he is a worse player.
Anyway, if you took Garret Covington and threw him on any other team in the Summit League would he still be known as one of the most prolific scorers in the league? Covington took 13 shots a game in 2016 and attempted almost 7 free throws a game to guide him to 18 points per game. You put him on South Dakota State, pretend you’re trading him for Reed Tellinghuisen… Covington isn’t such a dominant of a scorer that he would have taken shot attempts from their three seniors and Mike Daum…Covington would score less than 10 points a game with the Jackrabbits. Put him on Omaha’s roster, he’d score more than 10 points a game because of the offense, but he would have been the 3rd or 4th option on offense in most situations, and the Mavericks would have been freaking sweet…I think my general point here is that Covington should not have been a Summit League 2nd Team player. Didn’t Lawrence Alexander finish as North Dakota State’s winningest player with over 100 wins? It’s kind of a weird thing to say since basketball is a team sport, but Covington has only been a part of 27 wins in his three years at Western Illinois.
You know what, I hate talking about Western Illinois this long. They at best will finish with 5 conference wins next season. I am still salty at their men’s soccer team; they flopped so much against Omaha that I thought maybe Manu Ginobli, Vlade Divac, and Derek Fisher took up coaching college soccer.
My wife is out of town for a conference and I heavily debated of traveling (alone) to Tulsa to see the Mavericks take on Oral Roberts; or to Macomb to see UNO Softball play Western Illinois, but I unfortunately decided to be responsible and to save money. Damn it, I brought up Western Illinois again. UNO softball at Western Illinois is actually on the radio this weekend…sayyyyy whaaaaat? 88.3 FM is apparently a station?
I was worried about the softball team for UNO this season because of the depth of the pitching, but they are staying alive so far thanks to the bats. Not saying the pitching has been awful between Laura Roecker and Abbie Clanton, but there are not a ton of options if the two of them are having a bad game or were to get hurt. Nine players hitting above .250 right now…Nine! That’s how many times Ferris Bueller unofficially missed class his senior year. Three players are in the top 10 in the Summit League in batting average. Oh and this team just beat Iowa State in Ames! The Mavs are also 159 in RPI right now which is 2nd in the Summit behind North Dakota State.
With just one conference loss, the Mavs are currently 2nd in the conference standings behind 6-0 North Dakota State. The Mavericks will end the regular season at North Dakota State and also still play 3rd place team South Dakota at home next weekend, so there is still a lot on the line for the Mavs as the two top seeds get byes in the conference tournament in Fargo.
Oh and per twitter, Caroline Hogue has left the women’s basketball team. Someone may need to let Jon Green cry on their shoulder for a while.
The Pioneers will have to migrate on
The Denver Pioneers were a missed free throw away from playing North Dakota State in the Summit League Championship, and Joe Scott was also maybe that close to not being let go by the Pioneers.
The Joe Scott firing was a little shocking, but it kind of makes sense. With Denver Lacrosse, Hockey, and Soccer all being very extremely competitive programs; it makes sense that the expectations for the private university would be higher on the men’s basketball team. It’s sort of like how I had incredibly low expectations for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice because it was directed by the guy who made 300 and written by the guy that wrote all three Blade films…I guess it’s the same… I know a few people that have migrated to Denver, and I’ve asked them if they ever go to Pioneer basketball games and usually the reason they don’t go is because the Pioneers were pretty boring to watch.
Rodney Billups, who you will always refer to as “Chauncey Billups’ brother” is offering a more up-tempo style of basketball in comparison to the Princeton offense that Joe Scott ran. One has to wonder how long it will take for this to turn out to be successful for the Pioneers.
Billups has a great young core of players who appear like they could work out well for an up-tempo style of play. By the way, it will be okay for Mav fans to accuse the Pioneers for being trendy in picking an up-tempo style. It’s fine. Freshman guard Joe Rosga finished the season averaging 12.7 points per game; freshman forward CJ Bobbitt finished with 8.4 points per game; and freshman guard Thomas Neff finished 6.0 points per game. All three freshmen shot above 43% from the field.
The Princeton offense is all about taking the best shot available, so their players usually shoot high percentages. The best shot isn’t always the most important thing in an up-tempo style of play, so soon the Pioneers as a whole may actually not lead the conference in field goal percentage for once.
The Pioneers are going to have a couple roster changes for Billups to move forward with this new brand of basketball. They are losing two guys, Nate Engesser and Marcus Byrd, who averaged double digit scoring, but we’ve routinely seen this to not be a problem for Denver. Both players were efficient scorers, and seemed to find themselves open quite a bit while playing in the Baxter Arena… I thought Byrd was one of the more underrated players in the Summit in 2016, he averaged 16.7 points over the last 8 games of the season. He was probably the biggest reason the Pioneers did not finish 8th in the conference.
Denver will also lose their point guard, Bryant Rucker. It is weird to call someone a point guard when they average 1.5 assists per game, but the Princeton offense is not an offense for point guards to rack up assists. No one seems to know what is going on with the sophomore center Daniel Amigo who only played in 13 games this season for Denver, but he showed some promise in his freshman season. It’s okay, the Pioneers have 6’6″ sophomore center Christian Mackey to haunt our dreams. I swear that kid was allowed 15 fouls in the first round of the Summit League tournament.
The Pioneers have two high school seniors that have signed letters of intent: a 6’0″ and 145lb point guard from Arvada, Colorado…and a 6’6″ wing player from the state of Texas. These players could change their minds and go elsewhere with Denver going a new route in coaching, but as of right now the Pioneers only have room for one more player to sign for next season.
Their roster is filled with wing players, so one would think they would love a junior college post player or point guard; or a 5th year transfer at either position. Denver is not really known for landing transfers, but maybe the new style will call for it.
Drake’s Kale Abrahamson is leaving the Bulldogs and will be eligible immediately. Abrahamson is originally from Des Moines, so it is not like he would be transferring back home. He started his college career at Northwestern, so he clearly likes academics…Denver just seems like the perfect place for the 6’8″ player that could help Chauncey’s brother jump start his culture change in year one. He shot a pretty low percentage from the field (39.1) in his one year at Drake, but Drake basketball seems like a cluster of poor choices right now. I say this like it’s a mean thing, but I am all about the Summit League going all in on trying to steal Drake away from the Missouri Valley. Just think about it…
It is hard for most coaches to see a high level of success in year one, especially when changing everything; but the Pioneers have the pieces to move forward. They are most likely not going to end up winning the regular season, but by could have things figured out as a team by the time they start the conference tournament, again. They will probably finish the regular season standings in 2016-2017 somewhere between 4th and 8th in the Summit League. Now if only they would actually play someone in their non-conference schedule.
My trivial Summit League Rankings – Feb 8
What a weird week. IUPUI and Omaha both lost to Denver, and most likely feel out of the race to hold first place in the Summit League.
1. South Dakota State
Last week: 1st
The Jackrabbits are really rolling right now with Jake Bittle back in the lineup, now winning 5 games in a row. The Jacks do have the next 3 of 4 on the road, with their home game against their instate rival South Dakota. Their crunch time lineup of Mike Daum-Reed Tellinghuisen-Jake Bittle-Deondre Parks-George Marshall could really go up against anyone in the country.
I have a serious question. The Jacks are going to lose three double digit scorers, who should all at least make the Summit League 2nd team, and they will more than likely not be favored to win the conference next season…so should Scott Nagy finally move onto a job elsewhere if the opportunity rises?
2. IPFW
Last week: 2nd
Hey my theory of Max Landis’ legs getting tired as the season goes on looked to be true against North Dakota State on Saturday. Landis came back down to earth going 2-of-10 from the floor. Actually, the ‘Dons shot 28% from the field and only had 46 points against North Dakota State. Without Mo Evans, and not really a bunch of depth off the bench, could the ‘Dons even legitimately play 3 straight games in Sioux Falls in the Summit League tournament?
3. North Dakota State
Last week: 5th
The Bison are only a half game behind Omaha and IUPUI in the standings. They have won the last 3 of their 4, and the one loss was on the road to IUPUI from a last second shot to Jordan Pickett. With Carlin Dupree back, the Bison could really get going now, but they do have 4 of their last 6 games on the road.
4. Omaha
Last week: 3rd
Last week was rough. Western Illinois wanted that win in Macomb more than Omaha. I mean, they had lost the last 11, so of course the Leathernecks badly needed a win. The loss to Denver was like taking a bunch of No Xplode and then trying to watch a Jason Bourne film, but having your girlfriend constantly trying to switch the channel over to Pretty Little Liars all while she is arguing with you over who’s turn it is to do the laundry. Then you’re forced to go shopping with her, and not getting to watch Jason Bourne watch Clive Owen die. Wait, why were you taking No Xplode, you didn’t even work out, bro?
Omaha not having Randy Reed really hurt the Mavericks against Denver, and it even looked like Tim Smallwood was playing with a little bit of pain. The fans around really wanted to blame the referees for that loss. I actually probably would have blamed Omaha’s 3 missed dunks, a number of missed layups, lack of boxing out, and a few bonehead turnovers (although only having a total of 9 was good). Is it possible that Omaha was looking ahead to the next week against South Dakota State and North Dakota State?
Western Illinois really tried to push the ball inside against the Mavericks, and the Pioneers did the same thing without Jake White on the court. Clearly the Pioneers had a plan for a stretch of the game where the idea was to get the ball inside to Christian Mackey and let him do post moves for baskets…which is what IPFW did in overtime against Omaha with Brent Calhoun. This is the first time I put in a: Hey, the Mavericks should have put in Zach Pirog. His length could have really bothered Mackey, who is 6’6″.
Is JT Gibson still on the team? It didn’t look like he was on the road with the team in Western Illinois, and he wasn’t on the bench for the Denver game. I know he’s injured, but he should still be on the bench, right?
5. IUPUI
Last week: 4th
Their losses to Denver and South Dakota State showed that while the Jags are a sound defensive team, but they can struggle in just deciding who is going to take a shot. It’s not a method like Denver’s offense either, where they are trying to find the best shot. It’s just that finding an open look for them is as difficult as trying to get your girlfriend to pick a restaurant…after shopping…after you were forced to watch Pretty Little Liars…all while you’re pumped on No Xplode.
6. Denver
Last week: 6th
Before the start of the season, head coach Joe Scott admitted that it would be difficult for his young team to figure out the offense, but he had a group of mature freshman that once they figured it out, they could make a run and win some games. His team just beat the two scrappiest teams in the League: Omaha and IUPUI. Still, is this the one team that the 1 to 3 seeds would most likely rather see in Sioux Falls? This team has 3 of their last 5 on the road. If this team has Joe Rosga, CJ Bobbitt, and Thomas Neff for the next four years, they could be a really scary team to face over time.
7. South Dakota
Last week: 7th
Like Omaha, the Coyotes have North Dakota State and South Dakota State this week. Typically a weekly schedule that never fares well for teams, but the Coyotes looked good at home against Oral Roberts.
8. Oral Roberts
Last week: 8th
Wasn’t this team looking like rated 3rd in the preseason poll? They have no identity, players seem to not have any roles, and Sutton constantly looks as frustrated as your dad when he’s on the phone with Cox Cable trying to figure out why the internet doesn’t work. The Golden Eagles really look like the team in the Summit that has actually gotten worse as the season has gone on, and this team loses Obi Emegano after this year.
9. Western Illinois
Last week: 9th
Other than their loss on the road to IPFW and the home loss to North Dakota State, the Leathernecks have really been in every conference game this season. That should actually say a lot about how hard it is to play in the Summit this season. The Leathernecks could even still make the league tournament, yet they have three straight road games coming up.
Omaha Mavericks Blog 