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NCAA Basketball: 2023 Summit League Tournament preview, predictions

By Tommy McGowan

Nov 14, 2022; Houston, Texas, USA; Oral Roberts Golden Eagles guard Max Abmas (3) sets the play during the first half against the Houston Cougars at Fertitta Center. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 14, 2022; Houston, Texas, USA; Oral Roberts Golden Eagles guard Max Abmas (3) sets the play during the first half against the Houston Cougars at Fertitta Center. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports /
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NCAA Basketball
Max Abmas leads the Summit League in scoring Maxabmascbs /

The Summit League once again descends on Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for its annual conference tournament. All ten teams will be vying for the league’s auto bid, including five (Denver, Kansas City, Western Illinois, Omaha, South Dakota) that have never made an NCAA Tournament appearance and one (St. Thomas) that will be ineligible for the postseason until 2025-26, due to their transition to Division I basketball.

All eyes will be on Oral Roberts, who ran the table during the regular season, but will have to win three more games to secure their second trip to the NCAA Tournament in three years. The Golden Eagles haven’t dropped a game since traveling to “The Pit” and New Mexico in early January, but they will still face resistance in the league.

South Dakota State and North Dakota State finished second and third in the regular season standings and have proven March track records. In fact, Oral Roberts’ NCAA Tournament trip in 2021 was the only time neither SDSU nor NDSU earned the league’s bid since 2011.

St. Thomas and Western Illinois are the other two teams that finished above .500 overall on the regular season, with both finishing 9-9 in the conference. The Tommies are eager to show out in their first Division I conference tournament since their ascension from Division III, while Western Illinois is hoping to recover from a cold stretch that has seen them lose five of seven.