Last year, North Dakota State finished 2nd in the Summit League, and missed out on a Tournament berth by just a six point loss in the Summit Championship Game against South Dakota State. They were ranked 152nd by KenPom, not bad at all by Summit League standards, and were a dangerous three point shooting team, though they failed to notch any wins against the KenPom Top 150. Though not dominant last year, it appears they’ve taken a step further down, ranked 204th by KenPom and coming of a season-opening loss to Arkansas, 76-58.
Part of their issue is an increasingly-common sight among lower league D1 schools, which is the loss of their top players.