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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The top two seeds in the Summit League men’s tournament will meet Sunday night for the chance to cut down the nets as regular-season champion Omaha faces No. 2 seed St. Thomas.
The Mavericks rolled past South Dakota 100-75 in Saturday’s first semifinal. The Tommies knocked off North Dakota 85-69 in to close out the night.
Summit League Page — KELOLAND.com
WHAT’S AT STAKE
Omaha and St. Thomas are each looking for their first Summit League Tournament championship. However, the conference’s bid to the NCAA Tournament is already locked up for the Mavericks because the Tommies are ineligible for the Big Dance due to still being in the transitionary period from Division III to Division I. The Tommies are in their fourth season in DI.
The Mavericks are in their 13th season in the Summit and matched their best regular season in league play with a 13-3 mark this year as they claimed their first regular-season title.
WHAT IT MEANS
“This was the goal that we set out to at the beginning of the season,” Omaha head coach Chris Crutchfield said. “They’ve played their butts off. It’ll be a proud moment.”
“There is a certain element of this is pretty incredible,” St. Thomas head coach John Tauer said. “At the start of the year, if you get to play the last possible day you can, that’s a pretty cool accomplishment.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Marquel Sutton (Omaha) — Sutton won the Summit League Player of the Year award this season. He was the only player in the league to rank in the top five in scoring (second at 19.1), rebounding (second at 7.7) and FG% (fourth at 48.6%). For the tournament, the senior forward is averaging 23.5 points and 9.5 rebounds.
Miles Barnstable (St. Thomas) — Barnstable leads five Tommies who are averaging at least 9.9 points a game with 14.8 points a night, which ranks ninth in the conference. He is averaging 15.5 points and 5.5 rebounds over UST’s first two tournament wins.
Tony Osburn (Omaha) — After being held to one point in the Mavs’ quarterfinal win, Osburn went off for 30 points in the semifinals. He was a blistering 8-for-9 from 3-point land.
Kendall Blue (St. Thomas) — Blue leads the Tommies in scoring this tournament with an average of 18 points per game. He netted a team-best 21 in the semifinals and scored 15 in the quarters.
SERIES HISTORY
This game marks the ninth meeting between the two teams as St. Thomas leads the series 6-2. They split in the regular season. The Mavs won 89-78 on Jan. 23, and the Tommies returned the favor with a 95-84 victory on Feb. 15.
The game is set for 8 p.m. at the Premier Center and will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network.
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