The Summit League is composed of teams from the Upper Midwest. While many of the conferences I've listed so far have not had a lasting presence in the NCAA Tournament in recent years, the Summit League has a more recent tournament win. In 2014, #12 North Dakota State sprang an upset in the Round of 64 over #5 Oklahoma before losing to #4 San Diego State in the Round of 32.
It would be much more surprising if that were to occur this year. South Dakota won the conference by a game over North Dakota State and the Coyotes are on the border between a 15 and a 16 seed. It would be a tall order for the Summit League to pick up an upset, even though the conference features Fort Wayne, who defeated then #3 Indiana.
The top 8 teams made it into the tournament, which eliminated Oral Roberts. The tournament will take place at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota from Saturday, March 4th to Tuesday, March 7th.
Quarterfinals-Saturday, March 4th/Sunday March 5th
#8 Western Illinois vs. #1 South Dakota
#5 Denver vs. #4 South Dakota State
#7 IUPUI vs. #2 North Dakota State
#6 Fort Wayne vs. #3 Omaha
Semifinals-Monday, March 6th
#4 South Dakota State vs. #1 South Dakota
#6 Fort Wayne vs. #2 North Dakota State
Championship-Tuesday, March 7th
With the this conference race being tight the whole way, it's not hard to imagine a rash of upsets like this. Fort Wayne, the 6 seed, only finished a game behind the 3 seed Omaha for example. South Dakota State won two games over Fort Wayne by an average of nine points, which are respectable numbers. South Dakota State should be able to win this game and get a berth to the NCAA Tournament as a likely 16 seed.
Fort Wayne 67, South Dakota State 73
No comments:
Post a Comment