The Summit League Tournament starts up on Saturday in Sioux Falls, SD. It is a true neutral site with South Dakota State at a little over an hour away. The top eight teams made the tournament with Oakland and Oral Roberts earning the top two seeds respectively. The Summit League's way of rewarding regular season success is by giving the top two seeds a day of rest should they advance past the first round. The winners of Day 2's games would turn right around and play in the semifinals the following night.
The easiest way to describe the Summit League is fast-paced and no defense. The best defensive team in the league, Oakland, ranks 199th nationally in efficiency. In conference play, every team that made the tournament averages over 72 ppg. The league is in essence a perfect storm for Overs – up-tempo, no defense, low profile. Of the eight teams that made the tournament, they combined for a 125-66 65% O/U mark on the season. In league play, the rate is even higher.
Top seed Oakland is the most recognizable team having played one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country. The Grizzlies competed against the likes of Illinois, Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue and West Virginia. Most notable was their win at Tennessee. Despite having inflated pointspreads in conference play, Oakland went a respectable 10-5-1 ATS by simply running teams out of the gym. Oakland has lost two conference games the last two years; both at IUPUI.
March 5 Quarterfinals
(1) Oakland vs. (8) Southern Utah
(2) Oral Roberts vs. (7) North Dakota State
March 6 Quarterfinals
(4) Indiana-Fort Wayne vs. (5) South Dakota State
(3) IUPUI vs. (6) Missouri-Kansas City
