The Jackrabbits closed out their last ever games inside Frost Arena with victories over Denver and St. Thomas, reclaiming sole possession of the No. 1 seed heading into the final week of Summit League play.
The Yellow and Blue now control their own destiny, as they would clinch the regular season title with just one more win.
“We’re playing some good basketball, but we know we’re going to have our hands full,” head coach Eric Henderson said. “It’s a challenging final week, but it’s a challenge we’re excited for.”
Denver (15-14, 6-8 Summit)
A career high 21 points for Matt Mims helped the Jackrabbits cruise to a 27-point victory over the Pioneers on Thursday.
Avenging a prior loss to DU earlier this season, the Jacks started on a 14-0 scoring run through the first four minutes of the game.
The Pioneers would keep pace with the Jacks and keep the deficit to single digits going into halftime, but things would get chippy between the two teams after the first half buzzer sounded.
A technical foul called on an elbow to Mims from DU guard Tommy Bruner gave SDSU two free throws and the ball to start the second half.
The Jacks carried that momentum all throughout the second half, outscoring DU 47-29 in the final 20 minutes to take home the 97-70 victory.
South Dakota State’s Zeke Mayo added 20 on top of Mims’ 21, Charlie Easley poured in 15 points, and William Kyle III scored 12 with six rebounds.
St. Thomas (17-12, 7-7 Summit)
Three Jackrabbit seniors would not be denied a win in their final game inside Frost Arena on Saturday, holding off the Tommies for a 77-72 win.
After back-and-forth basketball throughout the first 20 minutes of play, the Jacks found themselves down by nine points early into the second half. But then, something happened that sparked an SDSU comeback that can only be described as poetic.
In a span of roughly a minute, the Jacks sparked a 10-0 run with the help of a couple Easley steals and three consecutive three-point plays from all three seniors, Mims, Easley, and Appel.
he Tommies hit two free throws on the next possession to retake a one-point lead with just under 13 minutes remaining, but that would be the last time they had the lead as the Jacks took home the five-point victory.
Four players scored in double figures in the win. Zeke Mayo led the way with 23, Easley added in 17, and Mims and Appel each poured in 11.
Not only was it the final game in Frost for Mims, Easley and Appel, but it was a final farewell for the whole men’s basketball team in Frost Arena, as renovations to Frost will also involve a new name starting this fall, First Bank & Trust Arena.
Over the last 52 years since it was built, the Jackrabbits went 573-139 in Frost Arena, marking a win percentage of just over 80%.
North Dakota (17-12, 10-4 Summit)
The Jacks will hit the road to North Dakota for the final week of conference play, starting with UND.
This matchup will arguably be the biggest of the season up to this point for the Jacks as the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Win and you clinch the No. 1 seed, lose and you find yourself possibly as low as the No. 3 seed going into the Summit League Tournament.
The Fighting Hawks are having an incredible conference season compared to last year where they finished 6-12.
Now UND finds themselves right up there with the best of them, just one game behind first place.
“What a turnaround they’ve had,” coach Henderson said about North Dakota. “Starting the year 0-3 in the league, and then winning nine of their last 11. It’s pretty special and they’re playing very good basketball.”
North Dakota is led by B.J Omot, the 6-foot-8 sophomore who averages over 17 points a game. Behind him is Tyree Ihenacho and Treysen Eaglestaff, both players average just over 14 points a contest.
Thursday’s tip-off in Grand Forks, ND is set for 7 p.m. on the Summit League Network through Midco Sports.
North Dakota State (15-14, 8-6 Summit)
The final game of conference play pins the Jackrabbits in Fargo to take on the Bison Saturday at 1 p.m.
Like UND, the Bison still have an opportunity for the No. 1 seed but have a few more obstacles that are not in their control. They would not only need to win both Thursday and Saturday against USD and SDSU, respectively, but would also need a UND loss to South Dakota on Saturday.
Playoff implications aside, this Bison team knows they have a real shot regardless of their seed in the SL tournament and would want nothing more than to earn a conference sweep of the Jacks.
Three players average double figures for the Bison this season. Boden Skunberg leads the way averaging 14.5 points and six rebounds per game, Andrew Morgan averages 13, and Damari Wheeler-Thomas averages another 11 points a contest.
Opening day for Summit League play begins on Friday, March 8, 2024, at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center and will go through Tuesday, March 12, 2024.
Men’s basketball Summit League rankings will come out after the end of regular season play.