The Basics
The Summit League Tournament is here. The No. 6 Omaha Mavericks will take on the No. 3 North Dakota Fighting Hawks this Sunday at 8:30 p.m. in the final quarterfinal match of the championship.

Gary Sharp will have the call on 1290 KOIL and links to live stats, audio, and video can be found at OMavs.com.

Quick Hits

• The Mavericks enter the tournament as the No. 6 seed, their best finish since the 2019-20 season when they were the No. 5. Omaha's 14-17 record and 7-9 conference mark are both also the program's best since the 2019-20 squad.
• Omaha ended the regular season with an 88-61 loss to St. Thomas. Four Mavericks scored in double figures in the game, marking the 11th  such game this year.
• Frankie Fidler was the lone Maverick to earn All-Summit honors this year, being named First Team All-Summit for the first time in his career. In addition to leading the Mavericks in nearly every offensive category, the Bellevue native finished sixth in the nation in free throws made with 233, was top 25 in points scored with 603, and top 50 in points per game with 19.5. In Summit League competition, Fidler was second in ppg (23.1) and points (370), sixth in rpg (7.0) and total rebounds (112), fourth in FT% (.879), and tied for sixth in spg (1.2) and total steals (22). 
• Marquel Sutton also turned in the best season of his career, setting new personal bests in ppg (12.4), points (383), FG% (.492), rpg (6.3), total rebounds (196), blocks (10), and steals (29), with his rebounding numbers both being top 10 in the league. He also recorded all four of his career double-doubles this year.
• In what will be his one and only season in Omaha, Nick Davis had a massive impact on the Mavericks success. In addition to finishing fourth in the league with the third highest singles-season block total by a Maverick in the D1 era with 36, the transfer from Southern Nazarene was also third on the team in scoring (9.0 ppg, 278 points) and rebounding (5.3 rpg, 163 rebounds).
• JJ White and Jaeden Marshall both had a strong second seasons in Omaha, with White scoring in double figures 13 times and getting at least five assists six times, and Marshall having 10 games in double figures en route to a career high 190 points.
• Off the bench, Grant Stubblefield was  incredibly valuable as well. In his debut season, he shot over 50% on field goals, 45% on three-pointers, and 80% on free throws.
• Grant Stubblefield, Marcel Bryant, Nick Davis, and Biko Johnson are Omaha's top newcomers coming into this season. 
• Stubblefield was named 6A Player of the Year and First Team All-State while at Blue Valley Northwest and Bryant was named the Austin Area Player of the Year at Cedar Ridge. Johnson is coming off his second season at Western Nebraska CC where he was named All-Conference and All-Nebraska, while Davis is fresh off winning GAC Defensive Player of the Year and a trip to the Sweet 16 of the Division II NCAA Tournament with Southern Nazarene. 
• Fidler was Omaha's lone All-Summit honoree last season, earning an Honorable Mention. He led Omaha in scoring (14.7 ppg), rebounding (5.8 rpg), steals (1.2 spg), and free throw percentage (.887), with his FT% in particular ranking in the NCAA's top-25 for most of the season.
• Head Coach Chris Crutchfield has a 33-49 career record. It marks his third season as a head coach and second with the Mavericks.

Scouting the North Dakota Fighting Hawks
The Fighting Hawks ended their season as the No. 3 seed after losing their last two games of the season to South Dakota and South Dakota State to finish 15-16 with an 8-8 conference record.

UND had four All-Summit honorees this year, headlined by B.J. Omott earning First Team honors after finishing sixth in ppg in conference games at 17.0, as well as fifth in bpg with 0.9. Overall, he averaged 16.8 ppg on the season and scored 521 points. Tyree Ihenacho picked up Second Team honors after placing third in apg in the conference with 4.0, ninth in bpg with 0.7, and seventh in spg with 1.4, as well as 12th in ppg at 14.6 and 17th in rpg at 5.1.

Making the All Newcomer team was Amar Kuljuhovic, who led the entire league in rebounds (164) and rpg (10.3), while Eli King made the All Defensive team by finishing second in steals (29) and spg (1.8).

Head Coach Paul Sather is now in his fifth year leading the Fighting Hawks. He brought UND to the Summit League Tournament Championship in his first season (2019-20) and logged a victory over the Huskers. During his nine-year tenure with Northern State, he made it all the way to the NCAA Division II Title game in the 2017-18 season.

All-Time Against North Dakota
Omaha ended the regular season with a 44-49 all-time record (12-4 in the Division I era) against UND after besting them 79-61 in their first meeting, but falling 99-78 in the second. Fidler totaled 42 points and 15 rebounds in the season series, followed by Sutton with 29 points and 18 boards. For the Fighting Hawks, Treysen Eaglestaff scored 43 points and Omott had 38, while Kuljuhovic pulled down 24 rebounds.