SIOUX FALLS — The 2023-24 Men's Summit League Conference will be playmaker-rich, with 12 players from eight teams averaging at least 14 points per game.
Here are five players to watch in the conference tournament, which runs from Friday through Tuesday.
Zeke Mayo, South Dakota
Top-seeded South Dakota State, seeking its second NCAA Tournament appearance in three seasons, will need a big effort from Zeke Mayo to get there.
Mayo, who was named the Summit League Player of the Year on Thursday, has been instrumental in the Jackrabbits' success this season, leading the team in points (19.3), assists (3.4) and rebounds (5.9) per game. It is ranked first. .
Additionally, Mayo has been a go-to player for the Jacks this season, hitting a game-winning floater with five seconds left in a game at St. Thomas, hitting big shots in several close SDSU wins, and hitting the game-winning hit. Ta. He put South Dakota ahead with a step-back 3-pointer.
Don't be surprised if we see more of Mayo's late game heroics inside the Premier Center this weekend. SDSU opens the tournament Saturday at 6 p.m. against the winner of No. 8 Oral Roberts and No. 9 South Dakota.
University of Denver Photos
This season's leading scorer in Division I basketball is looking to make his mark in the Summit League Tournament. Denver's Tommy Bruner is a 6-foot-1 fifth-year senior who averages 24.5 points per game.
He took about 18 shots per game with the Pioneers, shooting 43.9 percent at a clip and 36.6 percent from 3-point range, both career highs.
Bruner has been on the stat sheet multiple times this season. He scored 49 points in a thrilling double-overtime win over South Dakota State in January and 41 points in a win over North Dakota State in February.
Bruner and the No. 7 Pioneers will face No. 2 Kansas City in the quarterfinals Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
Miranda Sampson / Inertia
Time to learn a new statistics vocabulary salad. Points Above Points Per Game Adjusted for Usage, also known as PRRPG!, is a measurement used by Barttorvik.com to determine a player's offensive value to a team.
And lead the Summit League with PRRPG! Omaha junior Frankie Fiddler is averaging 4.7 points this season, nearly 21 percent higher than Bruner, who ranks second in the conference.
Fiddler, a 6-foot-7 forward from Nebraska, averages 19.5 points per game while shooting 44.9 percent from the field, 36.6 percent from 3-point range and 87.1 percent from the free throw line. There is. Bruner is on track to become Omaha's all-time leading scorer as a senior, scoring 20 or more points in 11 of 16 conference games.
The No. 6 Mavericks will play No. 3 North Dakota in the quarterfinals Sunday at 8:30 p.m.
Kansas City was the biggest surprise in the Summit League this season. Picked eighth in the conference in the preseason, the Ruth went 10-6 in the Summit League, including six straight wins to end the regular season, earning a No. 2 seed in the conference tournament.
Much of the success can be attributed to junior guard Jamar Brown, who made a seamless jump from Division II University of Phoenix (Ariz.) to the Division I level. Brown leads the Ruth in points (15.3) and rebounds (6.1) per game. In his past six games, he has scored 18 points per game and shot nearly 49 percent from the field.
Kansas City has never made a conference tournament championship game, let alone the NCAA Tournament, but now has a legitimate path and proven playmakers to help get there.
Susan Knutson / UND Athletics
Amar Krjujhović, North Dakota State
Although different from the elite scorers highlighted on this list, keep an eye out for North Dakota's Amar Krjujovic. He is definitely North Dakota's No. 3 X-factor entering the tournament despite averaging only 8.8 points per game.
The Fighting Hawks are at their best when their 6-foot-8 forward thrives. Krjujovic also averaged more than eight rebounds per game and had six double-doubles in conference play, with UND going 4-2 in those games.
For a team that has three players averaging double digits, Krjujovic's continued success could push the team to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017.
Jacob Nielson is a sports reporter for the Mitchell Republic. He joined Mitchell Republic in July 2023 after graduating from Utah State University in 2023 with a degree in journalism and a minor in history. He covers a variety of prep and college sports throughout South Dakota.
