Just over one third of the way through the conference slate, the standings look to be solidifying themselves. That being said, we know that anything can happen in the Summit. Here’s a look at where our voters have the teams after the first seven games.
1. South Dakota State (80 points)
Despite a shaky non-conference performance and a scare from Oral Roberts at home, the Jacks have run the table thus far in the league, their most recent performance resulting in a 59-point victory over in-state rival South Dakota. SDSU will head down to Omaha on Thursday before venturing out to Denver for a Saturday afternoon game against the Pios.
2. North Dakota State (63 points)
The Bison take our second slot in this week’s rankings. At 6-1 in the conference, their only loss comes to conference leader SDSU in Brookings in early January. NDSU will travel to Tulsa to play ORU Thursday before heading north to play the Roos in Kansas City. It will then face its revenge-hungry travel partner up North in Grand Forks on Jan. 28.
3. North Dakota (53 points)
Sitting just above .500 and in our third spot are the Fighting Hawks of North Dakota. Kacie Borowicz and her crew have found themselves in plenty of close games, edging out Western Illinois a month ago and falling just short of a road victory over in-state rival NDSU (76-81). UND travels to Kansas City and Oral Roberts this week.
4. South Dakota (51 points)
The team that lost the most after last year is still hanging tough. Aside from getting doubled-up at SDSU last weekend and a tough road loss in Macomb, the Coyotes are doing just fine and sitting in our voters’ fourth spot. Fearless leader Kayla Karius is staying positive. Her crew will look for two more wins on the road this week at Denver and Oral Roberts.
5. Oral Roberts (44 points)
Kelsi Musick’s team finds itself in our fifth spot. The Golden Eagles made a statement when they took SDSU down to the wire in Frost Arena. They had a tough loss at Kansas City and a 1-point loss at St. Thomas. Aside from that, they have managed to stay in the win column. They will seek two more wins this weekend when USD and SDSU come to town.
6. Omaha and Western Illinois (33 points)
We have a tie!
WIU:
Western Illinois is coming off two great games. Though a four-point loss, the Leathernecks put up 90 points in a game against Oral Roberts. They followed that with a 10-point victory over Kansas City. In each of those games, Anna Deets set career highs in scoring (yes- she set it on Thursday and then broke it on Saturday). WIU will play its lone game on Saturday against the Tommies at Schoeckner Arena in St. Paul.
Omaha:
Maybe it’s the Runza, or maybe there is something in the water. What we do know is that this Maverick team is unlike any other. For the first time in a long time, Omaha is tied for third in league play (North Dakota; South Dakota). It is also the highest it’s ever been in our power rankings. We don’t know what Carrie Banks puts in her pep talks, but we sure do like what we are seeing. Omaha hosts the South Dakota schools this weekend.
7. St. Thomas (28 points)
The league’s newest member is finding its footing. The Tommies are in our seventh spot at 2-6 in the league. They recently pulled out a 1-point victory over Oral Roberts and a 3-point victory over Kansas City. Their record doesn’t show it, but they’ve found themselves in some really close games this season. They will host their travel partner (WIU) on Saturday.
8. Kansas City (21 points)
Despite being in close games, the Roos are in our eighth spot and sit at 1-6 in the league. Their only conference win comes over Oral Roberts. Kansas City has a lot to prove, but there is still a lot of time to prove it. The Roos host the North Dakota schools this weekend.
9. Denver (20 points)
Last in our power rankings this week are the Pioneers of Denver. At 3-4, Denver is tied for sixth in the league, but they have not shown what they are truly capable of. We hope to see them move up in our next set of rankings.
How are rankings are calculated: Each voter submits their list of teams 1-10 as they currently see it. We then go through and rank the teams. Each first place vote is 10 points, second place is 9, and so on. The total number of points a team has then correlates to the position they are put in.
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