Men's Basketball, Men's Sports

Denver Set to Face Omaha in Summit League Semifinal Monday Night

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#7 Denver plays the #6 Omaha Mavericks Monday night in Sioux Falls, South Dakota for a chance to advance to the Summit League finals and a potential berth to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Omaha will be short on rest following a Sunday night win against North Dakota. Frankie Fidler led an Omaha comeback, scoring the last ten points of the game to come from behind and win 73-72. Denver will have an additional day of rest after upsetting UMKC Saturday night. Denver will have to put the clamps on all-world Frankie Fidler who burned the Hawks Sunday night with 34 points, 10 rebounds and the game-winning shot.

Denver split with Omaha this season, winning in Omaha 95-80 and losing 92-71 in Hamilton Gym. Fidler scored 32 in the first game and 31 in game two. It should be a match-up of scoring stars as Fidler faces DU’s Tommy Bruner.

The Campus Lounge is hosting a 7:30 pm MT watch party for the semifinal game.

3 thoughts on “Denver Set to Face Omaha in Summit League Semifinal Monday Night”

  1. If St Thomas wins the first game, doesn’t that mean then that Omaha and Denver would be playing for an NCAA tournament birth, as St Thomas is not NCAA tournament eligible due to their transition period?

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    1. Good question. St Thomas cannot make the NCAA Tournament until the 2026-27 season. In the case of the ASUN Conference in 2022, Bellarmine was like St Thomas and won their conference tournament title but the ASUN conference regular season winner went to the NCAA tournament. In the Summit League this season, that would be SDSU. The NCAA bylaws state: “If a conference champion is ineligible to compete, declines to compete or cannot compete for any reason, automatic qualification shall be withdrawn for that year and the remaining conference members shall be considered at large.” In this case, if Denver defeats Omaha and either St Thomas or SDSU, DU would win the conference tournament and advance to the NCAA’s. If St Thomas wins the tournament, they would not be allowed to go to the NCAA Tournament this season and SDSU, the regular season winner and #1 conference seed would likely go to the NCAA Tournament.

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