TrueBlue82 Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 As the non-conference season closes, the Summit League contenders and pretenders are fairly well defined. Surprisingly, although most fans of the conference see the Summit as "down" this year, the league's current NET ranking is 16, which falls right in the middle of the 32 D1 conferences. This is the highest conference ranking in the past five years, which have ranged from a high of 21 to a low of 29 (ouch). Of course, this ranking will continue to fluctuate through the remainder of the season, primarily based on how well Summit opponents fare in their own conference races. Based upon the results so far, ORU is the clear favorite for the conference title, with defending champion SDSU lurking as the primary challenger. St. Thomas and Denver have both emerged as contenders with disappointing (so far) NDSU still a dark horse if the Bizon can get healthy. The other five schools would consider a .500 conference record as a positive result. Here's my prediction for Summit tournament seeding: 1. ORU 16-2 2. SDSU 14-4 3. St Thomas 13-5 4. Denver 13-5 5. NDSU 11-7 6. USD 9-9 7. KC 5-13 8. Western Ill 4-14 9. Omaha 3-15 10 UND 2-16 The W-L records may be +/- 2 across the board, but I would be surprised if the seeding is significantly off, barring significant injuries. Check back in March! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted December 18, 2022 Share Posted December 18, 2022 I can’t argue too much about your predictions, but I might put SDSU a few slots down and USD a few slots up… and if Nelson comes fully back for NDSU, I would put them a bit higher. They always seem to improve as the season progresses. We will get a better idea after next week’s games are completed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keenan Henderson Posted December 18, 2022 Share Posted December 18, 2022 Besides the ORU game, an opening night game to keep an eye on tomorrow is: NDSU at Western Illinois. WIU has been much better than expected and NDSU has struggled. WIU is the favorite by ESPN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted December 18, 2022 Share Posted December 18, 2022 THE DREAM: 16-2 conference record putting ORU at 25-5 for the regular season and getting votes in the AP Top 25; heading into Sioux Falls with the presumptive POY in Abmas and COY in Mills. REALITY CHECK: 0-2 start at home not out of the question if ORU does not defend, rebound and hit free throws. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave Posted December 18, 2022 Share Posted December 18, 2022 2 hours ago, Keenan Henderson said: Besides the ORU game, an opening night game to keep an eye on tomorrow is: NDSU at Western Illinois. WIU has been much better than expected and NDSU has struggled. WIU is the favorite by ESPN. NO doubt, WIU is starting the year off better than most. They've played a very friendly schedule so far, but you can't deny the seven wins. It's going to be interesting. Let's get it started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUalum Posted December 19, 2022 Share Posted December 19, 2022 i'll get my prediction in before conference play begins....ORU finishes 11-7 in league play 6 games with SDSU, NDSU, and USD --- ORU drops 4 ORU always seems to lose at Denver 4 games w/UND and St Thomas --- ORU loses one of those Random loss sprinkled in to WIU, KC, or Omaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oruvoice Posted December 19, 2022 Share Posted December 19, 2022 5 minutes ago, ORUalum said: i'll get my prediction in before conference play begins....ORU finishes 11-7 in league play 6 games with SDSU, NDSU, and USD --- ORU drops 4 ORU always seems to lose at Denver 4 games w/UND and St Thomas --- ORU loses one of those Random loss sprinkled in to WIU, KC, or Omaha 11-7 in conference this year would be a complete disaster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlue82 Posted December 19, 2022 Author Share Posted December 19, 2022 7 minutes ago, ORUalum said: ORU always seems to lose at Denver You are correct, Alum. Denver is a difficult place to play, and ORU is 3-7 all time there. And, the 9-3 Pioneers have a lot of confidence heading into the conference season. However, ORU has won the last three games in Denver, and the most recent game before that was a loss in overtime, so hopefully the tide is turning. No doubt, the New Year's Eve afternoon match-up will be one of the toughest challenges for the Eagles in Summit play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Cornelius Posted December 19, 2022 Share Posted December 19, 2022 14-4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keenan Henderson Posted December 19, 2022 Share Posted December 19, 2022 5 hours ago, TrueBlue82 said: You are correct, Alum. Denver is a difficult place to play, and ORU is 3-7 all time there. And, the 9-3 Pioneers have a lot of confidence heading into the conference season. However, ORU has won the last three games in Denver, and the most recent game before that was a loss in overtime, so hopefully the tide is turning. No doubt, the New Year's Eve afternoon match-up will be one of the toughest challenges for the Eagles in Summit play. Just got tickets to the Denver game and it should be a good one. 7th Row behind the ORU bench! Go Eagles 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlue82 Posted December 19, 2022 Author Share Posted December 19, 2022 28 minutes ago, Keenan Henderson said: Just got tickets to the Denver game and it should be a good one. 7th Row behind the ORU bench! Go Eagles Attaboy, KH! Way to represent! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted December 19, 2022 Share Posted December 19, 2022 I'm planning to make the KC trip (weather permitting) to see my daughter and son-in-law and take them to the game; that should be another tough one on the road. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTex Posted December 19, 2022 Share Posted December 19, 2022 I'll guess 15-3. One loss on the road in the Dakotas, one other road loss, and a random home game they should win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted December 20, 2022 Share Posted December 20, 2022 A bunch of blowouts tonight in the Summit Openers.....NDSU hammered at WIU......USD getting bombed at KC...think Denver is good? Not....losing big at Omaha.....ouch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eaglefan 21 Posted December 20, 2022 Share Posted December 20, 2022 That Omaha win is wild…. What a start to conference play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted December 20, 2022 Share Posted December 20, 2022 SDSU 14-4???....HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlue82 Posted December 20, 2022 Author Share Posted December 20, 2022 All home teams win tonight in the Summit, and the smallest margin of victory was 13! (ORU with the largest margin at 39). Very surprising start to the conference season. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted December 20, 2022 Share Posted December 20, 2022 Hard to win on the road in conference play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.