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The North Dakota State men's basketball team will travel to IPFW and Oakland this week to try to improve their 6-3 conference record, which is currently good enough for a third place spot in the Summit League halfway through the league schedule. The Bison have had their ups and downs so far this year but have been playing well enough for a chance at a very high seed in the upcoming tournament.
The Golden Eagles of Oral Roberts were selected as the preseason favorite in the Summit League, and have proved why so far as they are currently sitting in first place with an undefeated 10-0 record. The Golden Eagles are led by Dominique Morrison's 20 points per game and Michael Craion's 11.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Oral Roberts will need to test their skills come early February, however, as they will have their perfect record challenged by road visits to the second and third placed teams in the conference.
Sitting in second place in the Summit League standings is South Dakota State with their 8-1 league record. South Dakota State is fresh off a big overtime win against the Bison and will look to ride that momentum toward the Summit League tournament. Nate Wolters of the Jackrabbits is currently second in the league in scoring with his 21 points per game, and will look to lead his team throughout the remainder of the Summit League schedule and into the tournament.
Oral Roberts, SDSU and NDSU have all pulled away in the conference early on, but sitting in the middle of the pack, ready to make their move are Western Illinois, Oakland and Southern Utah, all of who have a 5-5 conference record and will be looking to finish the season strong.
Western Illinois missed the Summit League tournament last year, but thanks to Terrel Parks, Obi Emagano and Ceola Clark, all of whom are averaging around 13 points per game, the Leathernecks look like they are ready to compete in Sioux Falls come March.
The Golden Grizzlies of Oakland have underachieved so far this season as they were predicted to finish second in the league in the preseason, and even made an early appearance in the mid-major top 25. Despite being home to the league's leading scorer in Reggie Hamilton, the Golden Grizzlies are sitting in the middle of the pack and will look toward their experience to get back on track for the end of the year.
Southern Utah has been a surprise so far this season as they were picked to fall to the bottom of the conference and missed the tournament last year as well, but have been playing well enough to put them in a three way tie for fourth place in the league. The rest of the schedule will not be any easier; however, as they still have a matchup against each of the top three teams in the conference.
Rounding out the bottom of the conference are IPFW and UMKC, each holding a record of 3-7, and South Dakota and IUPUI, each sitting at 2-8 in conference play. Only eight teams will make the Summit League tournament in March, so the remaining games will be critical for these four teams as they will all be fighting for those last two spots.
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