South Dakota State is the team to beat in the Summit League
The 2024 Summit League Tournament Odds Favors South Dakota To Win It All
Defending Champion Oral Roberts Has to Play in the First Round
What a difference a year makes. A year after Oral Roberts followed up a perfect run through the Summit League by winning the conference tournament by an average of 18.3 points, the 2024 Summit League tournament odds have only South Dakota with longer odds to win the Summit League tournament than Oral Roberts.
South Dakota State won the Summit League regular-season title by two games over Kansas City and North Dakota and is the favorite to win the tournament for the second time in three years.
The Summit League tournament begins on Friday when South Dakota faces Oral Roberts for the final spot in the quarterfinals. When it comes to the college basketball scoreboard, all the games in the tournament will be played at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with the title game set for March 12.
When the season started, South Dakota State was the Summit League favorite at +125, followed by Oral Roberts at +250, North Dakota State (+500), and St. Thomas (+800).
Keep on reading for more on the Summit League tournament.
Jackrabbits Eyeing a March Madness Invite
The No. 1 seed has won the Summit League tournament three times in the last four seasons.
South Dakota Jackrabbits State used a five-game winning streak to close out the regular season to win the regular-season title and will be the top seed in the tournament.
The 2024 Summit League tournament odds have the Jackrabbits as the pre-tournament favorite at +170.
South Dakota State is led by junior Zeke Mayo, who is averaging 19.3 points per game after putting up 18.2 points per contest as a sophomore. He has scored at least 19 points in each of his last seven games and scored 35 points in an overtime loss to North Dakota State.
What About The Other Top Contenders?
Unlike a season ago when it would have been quite the stunner to see somebody other than Oral Roberts win the Summit League tournament, this is a more wide-open tournament with multiple NCAAB teams having the potential to take out the top-seeded Jackrabbits.
Saint Thomas comes in at +260 in the 2024 Summit League tournament odds despite finishing fourth in the standings during the regular season.
Missouri Kansas City has the longest active winning streak among Summit League teams, with six wins in a row. Kansas City is priced at +700 to win the tournament, followed by North Dakota at +900.
Kansas City Roos is the last team to beat South Dakota State, while North Dakota State, one of three teams at +1200 in the tournament odds, also owns a win over the top-seeded team in the Summit League tournament.
A Look At the Schedule
Things get started in the 2024 Summit League tournament with the NCAAB matchup between South Dakota and Oral Roberts on Friday. They finished tied for eighth in the league with 5-11 records in Summit League play. The winner draws South Dakota State in the quarterfinals.
South Dakota won both games versus Oral Roberts during the regular season with an 83-72 victory at home and a 77-76 win on the road.
The first two quarterfinals will be played on Saturday when the winner of the South Dakota-Oral Roberts game will be right back on the court to face South Dakota State followed by the Denver-Kansas City matchup.
The other two semifinal spots will be decided on Sunday with the North Dakota State-St. Thomas and Omaha-North Dakota quarterfinals.
The semifinals are set for Monday with the championship game set for 8:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The game will be televised by CBS Sports Network.
It is Survive And Advance Time
Oral Roberts had done enough to be in the conversation for an at-large bid if the Golden Eagles stumbled in the Summit League tournament. That is not the scenario that will play out this year.
South Dakota State and St. Thomas (MN) lead the way with NCAA NET rankings of No. 153 and 154, respectively, as they recently switched positions. South Dakota State has more Quad 3 wins, while St. Thomas has the edge in Quad 4 victories.
If another team wins the tournament, perhaps they can look forward to a No. 16 seed, considering that the next Summit League team in the NCAA NET rankings is No. 231 Kansas City, followed by North Dakota at No. 239.
When looking at the 2023 March Madness bracket, Oral Roberts was a No. 12 seed in the East Region and fell to Duke 74-51 in the first round as the six-point underdog.
When the March Madness schedule is released, don’t expect to see any Summit League teams being seeded as high as No. 12.
St. Thomas led the Summit League during the regular season with a 16-11 record against the spread. Kansas City wasn’t far behind at 16-12 against the college basketball odds.
For NCAAB betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
