Bjerke leads St. Thomas against South Dakota State

Published Feb. 3, 2026 4:43 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Saint Thomas Tommies (18-6, 7-2 Summit League) at South Dakota State Jackrabbits (11-12, 4-4 Summit League)

Brookings, South Dakota; Wednesday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: St. Thomas plays South Dakota State after Carter Bjerke scored 30 points in St. Thomas' 99-64 victory against the UMKC Roos.

The Jackrabbits have gone 8-1 in home games. South Dakota State ranks third in the Summit League with 14.9 assists per game led by Kalen Garry averaging 3.3.

The Tommies are 7-2 against Summit League opponents. St. Thomas is 1-2 in games decided by less than 4 points.

South Dakota State scores 76.9 points per game, 4.6 more points than the 72.3 St. Thomas gives up. St. Thomas has shot at a 50.5% rate from the field this season, 8.1 percentage points above the 42.4% shooting opponents of South Dakota State have averaged.

The Jackrabbits and Tommies square off Wednesday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Joe Sayler is scoring 13.5 points per game and averaging 3.4 rebounds for the Jackrabbits. Jaden Jackson is averaging 2.3 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

Nolan Minessale is shooting 51.0% and averaging 19.6 points for the Tommies. Nick Janowski is averaging 19.9 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Jackrabbits: 4-6, averaging 80.6 points, 34.3 rebounds, 16.1 assists, 6.1 steals and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting 48.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 78.9 points per game.

Tommies: 8-2, averaging 87.7 points, 33.3 rebounds, 18.8 assists, 7.4 steals and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 52.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 74.4 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.