SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Summit League)– South Dakota State claimed its fourth straight regular season title and will be the No. 1 seed at the The Summit League Men’s Basketball Championship slated for March 6-9 at the Sanford Pentagon.
The Jackrabbits (15-6, 9-3 SL) got the help they needed Sunday in order to secure their seventh title in the last nine years when North Daktoa State knocked off South Dakota on the final day of the regular season.
SDSU will open the tournament against No. 8 seed Omaha at 5:45 p.m. CT. The Mavericks (5-19, 3-11 SL) clinched the final spot in the eight-team field thanks to a road sweep of Denver this past weekend. These two teams did not play in the regular season after their series was cancelled due to Covid-19 protocols.
The Coyotes (13-10, 11-4 SL) secured the No. 2 seed and will take on Western Illinois Saturday in the second quarterfinal at 8:45 p.m. CT. The seventh-seeded Leathernecks (7-14, 5-9 SL) are the under the direction of first-year coach Rob Jeter arrive in Sioux Falls having won five of their last seven games. South Dakota swept the regular-season series between these two teams on the road in Macomb.
North Dakota State (13-11, 11-5 SL) secured the No. 3 seed and will play in Sunday’s second quarterfinal at 8:45 p.m. The Bison will take on a Kansas City (11-12, 7-7 SL) squad that they split their regular-season series. The sixth-seeded Roos wrapped up league play with a .500 record in their first year back as a league member.
Oral Roberts earned the No. 4 seed thanks to a weekend sweep of Western Illinios. The Golden Eagles (12-10, 10-5 SL) will face North Dakota in Sunday’s first quarterfinal at 5:45 p.m. CT. The Fighting Hawks (9-16, 8-8 SL), who earned a tiebreaker with Kansas City to earn the No. 5 seed, split the regular-season series with ORU on the road in Tulsa. UND made a run to the tournament title game a year ago as the No. 6 seed.
Monday’s semifinals begin with the winner of the South Dakota State/Omaha matchup facing the winner of the Oral Roberts/North Dakota tilt at 5:45 p.m. CT and will be followed up by the winners of the South Dakota/Western Illinois game and the North Dakota State/Kansas City game at 8:45 p.m. CT. All four quarterfinals and both semifinals will be televised on MidcosSN and streamed on Midco Sports Plus and ESPN+.
Tuesday’s championship game is set for 8 p.m. CT and will be televised live on ESPN2 and available on WatchESPN.com or the ESPN app.
All men’s and women’s games at The Summit League Basketball Championships can be viewed live across multiple platforms ranging from cable television to handheld devices. The coverage by Midco Sports Network and ESPN platforms marks the 12th consecutive season that both the men’s and women’s tournaments are available in their entirety.