Summit

College Hoops Tuesday: Your Commentary

Raphielle Johnson — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:37:34 -0500

For all the bubble teams not playing on Tuesday night there's really just one game they need to pay full attention to: the Horizon League final between host Butler and second-seeded Wright State. Point blank: if the Raiders find a way to knock off Gordon Hayward and company at Hinkle Fieldhouse one more bid goes off the board (if you're of the thinking that Saint Mary's wasn't a lock themselves before Monday night). The Bulldogs, as you likely already know, went through Horizon League play unscathed and would benefit from a win in regards to NCAA Tournament seeding with a "preferred" seed being more than possible. The last time these two teams met was back on February 6th, a game Butler won 74-62.

If Brad Brownell's team is to win one thing they can do is get Matt Howard into foul trouble. The junior forward has had more than his fair share of foul troubles this season but if he's on the floor and allowed to go to work it's going to be a long night. In the first meeting Butler turned the ball over seventeen times but more than made up for it by shooting a blistering 67.5% from the field (23-29 from two-point range). And that was a game in which Howard played just sixteen minutes; Willie Veasley led the way with nineteen points while Hayward added seventeen. Also of note: the average plus/minus for the starters in that contest.

Butler's starting five boasted an average plus/minus of +13 while the Raiders were far below that at -11.4. Todd Brown and Vaughn Duggins are two of those five starters and they must have superlative performances if Wright State is to pull off the upset. The game was essentially a matter of Butler getting whatever shot they desired; if the Raiders are unable to make them work for their shots they'll be in for a long night at Hinkle. As for other games bubble teams will be on display in both the Atlantic 10 and the Big East.

Rhode Island, Charlotte and Dayton all host first-round games and if they should lose there's no need to entertain thoughts of a Selection Show viewing party. As for the Big East, USF kicks things off with last-place DePaul. The Blue Demons may have the edge in regards to being ready to play in this noon tip since they were in the same exact spot against Cincinnati last season (the Bearcats were on the bubble in that game, similar to USF). The crowd could very well resemble that of a "friends and family night", meaning that the team that manufactures its own energy from the start will be at a decided advantage. Seton Hall is also a bubble team and they take on Providence in the first game of the night session. Those two met last Saturday with the Pirates winning on the road, but given the up-and-down styles that both teams play Seton Hall could have their work cut out for them.

Three total tickets to the NCAA Tournament will be punched with title games in the Sun Belt and Summit also taking place. Oakland was the best team in the Summit but it's not like Ron Hunter's Jaguars were that far off. And the Sun Belt was one of the most unpredictable leagues in college basketball this season, meaning that anyone's guess is a good one in regards to the matchup between Troy and North Texas. Before all the other major conferences tip off their league tournaments this will be a good mixture of games.

TV GAMES

Noon ESPN2 USF vs DePaul (Big East Tournament)
2p ESPN2 Connecticut vs St. John's (Big East Tournament)
7p ESPN2 North Texas vs Troy (Sun Belt Final)
7p ESPNU Seton Hall vs Providence (Big East Tournament)
9p ESPN Wright St at Butler (Horizon Final)
9p ESPN2 IUPUI vs Oakland (Summit Final)
9p ESPNU Cincinnati vs Rutgers (Big East Tournament)

OTHER TOURNAMENTS

Atlantic 10 First Round (campus sites)
7p Duquesne at St. Bonaventure
7p Saint Joseph's at Rhode Island
7p Massachusetts at Charlotte
7p George Washington at Dayton
Big Sky Semifinals (Ogden, UT)
6:35p Montana vs Northern Colorado
9p Portland St vs Weber St
MEAC First Round (Winston-Salem, NC)
6:30p Florida A&M vs Bethune-Cookman
9p North Carolina A&T vs Howard

OTHER GAME
8p Pennsylvania at Princeton

ONE PREDICTION

Seton Hall over Providence: Look for this to be the wildest game of the day at the Garden, but the pick here is Seton Hall. Both teams have stretches of lackadaisical play/bad shot selection but the Pirates are the better of the two teams when it comes to turning their opponents over. Seton Hall wins by five.

Poll: Who Will Win the Summit?

Shawn Siegel — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:43:26 -0400

College Basketball: Preseason Conference Ranking

CHN — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:43:04 -0400

After finishing 1st in the RPI the last two years, the ACC should fall back slightly thanks to the big-name departures at UNC & Wake Forest. This should allow one of the Big 12, Big Ten, or even SEC a shot at being #1. The Pac-10 is weak enough that a high-major like the A-10, MVC, or MWC could surpass it.

Chime in with your thoughts below if you agree or disagree with CHN's preseason conference ranking.

2009-10 Conference Ranking

*08-09 is last year's conference RPI. Commentary by Shawn Siegel, ranking by CHN.

	Conference	08-09*
1	Big Ten 9 of 11 teams go into season with ncaa hopes, and as many as 7 may reach that goal	2
2	Big 12 ku is the clear title contender. the bottom few teams are weak though and the middle-tier is hit or miss	3
3	ACC no dominant team like last year, but solid as always.	1
4	SEC rise of uk brings league back to prominence after down year..	6
5	Big East lose tons of big name players, and still held down by likes of depual, rutgers, etc	4
6	Pac-10 conceivable the pac-10 only receives 3 tourney bids.	5
7	Atlantic 10 should get at least 2 invites to the ncaa tournament	8
8	MVC with improvement expected from usual leaders creighton & siu, mvc should be solid all-around	9
9	MWC just about every top team loses a top player, but mwc should be one of the more entertaining leagues	7
10	Conference USA though memphis takes step back, rest of league is better than usual.	10
11	WAC after some down years, wac will once again be compeititve league	11
12	Horizon butler has top 10 hopes, but squads like csu and green bay lose key seniors.	12
13	Colonial while still 1 bid league, likes of odu, n'eastern, gmu, and vcu are all quality	14
14	Sun Belt more then just wku, the entire east division is solid	17
15	MAAC siena, niagara, and rider all have postseason hopes	13
16	WCC gonzaga and smc both worse then season ago	15
17	MAC #'s should be better than last year, but west division still a struggle	21
18	Big West led by up-and-coming long beach state. always finish around this #.	18
19	Summit darling ndsu loses a lot, so usual contenders like oru and oakland should be at forefront again	26
20	Big Sky with exception of sacramento st, this is a solid league top to bottom.	24
21	Southland underrated league always good for some non-conference upsets	19
22	Ivy cornell will be the best the ivy has offered in quite some years	29
23	Southern steph curry's departure opens up door for charleston	20
24	America East decimation of binghamton will hurt league #'s	16
25	Atlantic Sun the league's upper half is as solid as it's been for a few years	27
26	Patriot could use a rebound from former top gun bucknell.	22
27	OVC morehead st continues its improbable rise..	23
28	Big South outside of radford, not much to get excited about here..	25
29	NEC nec hasn't had much going for it in recent years	28
30	MEAC as usual, will battle swac for title of country's worst	30
31	SWAC solid jackson st gives swac hope of surpassing meac	31

College Basketball Preview - 144 Teams in 144 Days - Alphabetical Ranks/Previews

Conference Tournament Odds: Mid-Majors

Evan Dorey — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:47:53 -0400

Tournament Odds: Mid-Major Conferences

These are conference tournament log5 projections, using in-conference offensive and defensive efficiency. The basic log5 methodology comes from Bill James, and this is an area Ken Pomeroy has looked at in the past as well. I claim nothing new in the application, but obviously with slightly different methodologies, these numbers may differ from others you find.

- more odds coming soon!

America East - March 6-14

The first three rounds will be played in Albany’s home court, SECFU Arena, with the final happening on Saturday morning at the higher remaining seed.

#	Team	QF	SF	F	W
1	Binghamton	100.00%	85.45%	53.64%	26.52%
2	Vermont	100.00%	87.92%	62.85%	45.92%
3	Boston University	100.00%	86.45%	32.33%	18.97%
4	New Hampshire	100.00%	28.09%	7.94%	0.82%
5	Stony Brook	100.00%	71.91%	34.71%	6.86%
6	UMBC	100.00%	13.55%	1.39%	0.19%
7	Albany	100.00%	12.08%	3.43%	0.47%
8	Maine	75.37%	12.98%	3.54%	0.24%
9	Hartford	24.63%	1.57%	0.18%	0.00%

Hometown team Albany got the worst possible opening draw, as the favorite, #2 Vermont will be a tough task. Binghamton and BU should be the main challengers, with Stony Brook a team from outside the top 4 that could cause a big surprise.

Atlantic Sun - March 4-7

With only seven eligible teams, champions Jacksonville get an opening round bye, while the bottom 6 teams play for the other semifinal spots. All games are held at the Allen Center, home to #4 Lipscomb.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	Jacksonville	100.00%	54.37%	35.75%
2	East Tennessee St.	84.10%	52.47%	20.87%
3	Belmont	76.41%	37.58%	12.64%
4	Lipscomb	84.83%	43.25%	28.80%
5	Campbell	15.17%	2.38%	0.66%
6	Mercer	23.59%	5.87%	0.81%
7	Stetson	15.90%	4.07%	0.46%

Jacksonville’s first round bye doesn’t help them a whole lot, while Lipscomb’s home court advantage will give them a serious shot of breaking through to steal the bid.

(Ed: ETSU ended up winning, one of the few upset conference champions so far.)

Big Sky - March 7-11

The Big Sky Tournament features just 6 of the conference’s 9 teams, with the top two teams getting automatic semifinal byes. The first round games are played at campus sites, while Weber St. hosts the semis and final at the Dee Events Center.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	Weber St.	100.00%	87.17%	73.11%
2	Portland St.	100.00%	58.13%	13.29%
3	Montana	94.12%	41.37%	7.97%
4	Idaho St.	70.40%	9.54%	4.30%
5	Northern Colorado	29.60%	3.30%	1.31%
6	Montana St.	5.88%	0.50%	0.02%

Weber would have been favorites at a neutral site. At home, they should be able to win the two games they’ll need.

Big South - March 3-7

The semis and finals will be hosted at regular season champs Radford.

#	Team	F	W
1	Radford	86.18%	69.39%
2	Virginia Military Inst	47.51%	12.44%
3	Liberty	52.49%	14.59%
4	NC Asheville	13.82%	3.58%

Radford’s home advantage should see them through, but the Liberty-VMI winner will give the Highlanders a tough fight

(Ed: As expected, Radford locked up the title.)

Big West - March 11-14

Hosted in Anaheim, the Big West conference tournament uses a bizarre style, which I don’t faithfully reproduce here, as they have a two-team double-level bye, just like the WCC, but also re-seeded at each level. These odds reflect the tournament without reseeding, so they somewhat hurt the top teams, but still give a basic idea of the overall picture.

#	Team	QF	SF	F	W
1	CS Northridge	100.00%	100.00%	59.70%	32.34%
2	Long Beach St.	100.00%	100.00%	58.41%	30.28%
3	Pacific	100.00%	73.63%	35.02%	17.31%
4	UC Santa Barbara	100.00%	60.42%	26.20%	12.48%
5	UC Irvine	71.81%	32.63%	12.71%	5.48%
6	UC Riverside	58.88%	17.18%	4.67%	1.35%
7	Cal St. Fullerton	41.12%	9.19%	1.90%	0.42%
8	UC Davis	28.19%	6.95%	1.39%	0.32%

The top two seeds get a huge boost by avoiding the opening two rounds, and look the likeliest to advance to the NCAA tournament. The two teams with single byes also have decent chances.

MAC - March 10-14

The MAC Tournament, held in Cleveland, gives four first round byes, and is mostly notable for the fact that the two division champs get the top two seeds, which elevates a below-.500 Ball St. team out of the first round up to #2.

#	Team	QF	SF	F	W
1	Bowling Green	100.00%	57.17%	18.32%	7.90%
2	Ball St.	100.00%	52.39%	13.83%	3.75%
3	Buffalo	100.00%	43.91%	30.38%	13.72%
4	Miami OH	100.00%	43.91%	29.09%	16.40%
5	Akron	94.36%	55.65%	41.06%	26.52%
6	Kent St.	90.15%	54.67%	42.38%	23.49%
7	Central Michigan	77.03%	41.65%	12.33%	3.74%
8	Western Michigan	39.43%	14.41%	3.09%	0.96%
9	Ohio	60.57%	28.42%	8.37%	3.38%
10	Eastern Michigan	22.97%	5.97%	0.68%	0.08%
11	Northern Illinois	9.85%	1.42%	0.40%	0.05%
12	Toledo	5.64%	0.45%	0.07%	0.01%

This conference is simply insane. The top two favorites don’t even get a bye, and Akron fans in particular must be steamed at the division winners rule. There look to be five teams that can potentially win the tournament, all from the East division, and no matter who gets it in the end, the MAC will retain its reputation for eating its own. Don’t be too surprised if you see the #5 or #6 seed make a long run in Cleveland.

MEAC- March 9-14

The MEAC Tournament features the 11 eligible teams meeting in Winston Salem, with the bottom six playing for spots in the quarterfinals.

#	Team	QF	SF	F	W
1	Morgan St.	100.00%	95.15%	83.06%	69.88%
2	South Carolina St.	100.00%	67.26%	36.98%	9.43%
3	Norfolk St.	100.00%	61.85%	33.51%	8.22%
4	NC A&T	100.00%	50.79%	8.05%	3.58%
5	Coppin St.	100.00%	49.21%	7.62%	3.33%
6	Bethune Cookman	90.11%	37.43%	17.18%	3.35%
7	Hampton	48.95%	15.79%	5.84%	0.90%
8	Florida A&M	41.68%	1.66%	0.37%	0.07%
9	Howard	58.32%	3.19%	0.91%	0.22%
10	Delaware St.	51.05%	16.95%	6.43%	1.02%
11	MD Eastern Shore	9.89%	0.72%	0.06%	0.00%

Morgan St. is a dominant favorite, but after that, its truly a free-for-all. Delaware St. is a fascinating potential long-shot, should it survive its first round game.

Northeast - March 5-11

The NEC Tournament has all game played at the higher seed with 8 of the 11 teams making the quarters.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	Robert Morris	94.76%	82.61%	64.72%
2	Mount St. Mary's	91.99%	66.85%	22.16%
3	Sacred Heart	91.38%	31.18%	9.09%
4	Long Island	72.84%	12.75%	3.11%
5	Quinnipiac	27.16%	3.76%	0.71%
6	Central Connecticut	8.62%	0.98%	0.06%
7	Wagner	8.01%	0.99%	0.07%
8	St. Francis NY	5.24%	0.88%	0.09%

Robert Morris has separated itself from the rest of the conference all season, and with it hosting every game it plays, it should be on course for the NCAA bid.

Ohio Valley - March 3-7

With the semifinals set, all games will be played in Nashville from now on in the tournament.

#	Team	F	W
1	Tennessee Martin	62.54%	31.86%
2	Austin Peay	28.48%	10.72%
3	Murray St.	71.52%	42.86%
4	Morehead St.	37.46%	14.56%

Murray and Martin are both favored to make the final, where a battle between the two would be a lot of fun.

(Ed: Like ETSU above, Morehead St managed to defy the odds.)

Patriot League - March 4-13

All games in the Patriot League tournament are at the higher seed’s arena.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	American	99.07%	97.22%	86.03%
2	Holy Cross	93.81%	80.21%	12.37%
3	Navy	85.31%	17.26%	1.28%
4	Army	66.79%	1.75%	0.16%
5	Lehigh	33.21%	0.83%	0.08%
6	Colgate	14.69%	1.39%	0.04%
7	Bucknell	6.19%	1.14%	0.03%
8	Lafayette	0.93%	0.19%	0.01%

American has had an excellent season, and should head back to the NCAA tournament, especially with all its games at home.

Southland - March 12-15

Eight of the league’s 12 teams meet in Katy, TX to decide the Southland title.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	Stephen F. Austin	70.74%	46.69%	28.36%
2	Nicholls St.	80.97%	40.99%	19.77%
3	Sam Houston St.	76.46%	46.90%	25.31%
4	Texas A&M Corpus Christi	63.42%	28.37%	14.03%
5	Texas Arlington	36.58%	11.81%	4.32%
6	Texas San Antonio	23.54%	8.15%	2.23%
7	Texas St.	19.03%	3.96%	0.74%
8	Southeastern Louisiana	29.26%	13.13%	5.23%

Prepare for good four-way battle between the top seeds, with the #8 Southeastern Louisiana potentially poised to bust some brackets.

Summit League - March 7-10

The Summit League Tournament is a pretty simple 8-team affair, with all games in Sioux Falls, SD.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	North Dakota St.	92.48%	83.64%	52.90%
2	Oral Roberts	88.37%	61.87%	31.48%
3	Oakland	81.52%	32.35%	12.02%
4	IUPUI	54.58%	7.58%	1.39%
5	Southern Utah	45.42%	5.50%	0.87%
6	IUPU Fort Wayne	18.48%	2.75%	0.41%
7	South Dakota St.	11.63%	3.04%	0.48%
8	Centenary	7.52%	3.28%	0.46%

North Dakota St. will be a team to watch for an upset in the NCAA tournament, but only if they can get by tough challenges from the winner of an ORU-Oakland semifinal.

SWAC - March 11-14

Eight teams meet in Birmingham to determine the SWAC automatic bid.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	Alabama St.	94.70%	81.39%	63.36%
2	Jackson St.	84.03%	57.22%	20.15%
3	Prairie View A&M	72.56%	31.36%	8.01%
4	Arkansas Pine Bluff	70.73%	14.11%	6.07%
5	Southern	29.27%	3.05%	0.75%
6	MVSU	27.44%	6.57%	0.84%
7	Texas Southern	15.97%	4.84%	0.55%
8	Alabama A&M	5.30%	1.44%	0.27%

Alabama St. is a big favorite, with only the top four looking to have any kind of shot, and the top two in particular dominant favorites to meet in the title game.

Also: BCS Tournament Odds

Also: High-Major Tournament Odds

More: Championship Week Coverage

+2009 NCAA Tournament
	• All Tournament Coverage • NCAA Tournament Capsules • NIT Capsules • NCAA Tournament Schedule • Venue Info & Tickets • Bracketology

Summit League Tournament: Preview & Odds

Evan Dorey — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 20:58:19 -0500

This is one in a series of conference tournament previews, in which I run down all the teams involved, give a brief statistical review and present the log5 projections, using in-conference offensive and defensive efficiency. The basic log5 methodology comes from Bill James, and this is an area Ken Pomeroy has looked at in the past as well. I claim nothing new in the application, but obviously with slightly different methodologies, these numbers may differ from others you find. I don’t claim to be an expert on any particular conference, and I’m sure there are some mis-characterizations on some players I’ve seen sparingly at best, so please add your thoughts in the comments. Anyway, with no further ado, the preview follows below:

Summit League

The Summit League Tournament is a pretty simple 8-team affair, with all games in Sioux Falls, SD.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	North Dakota St.	92.48%	83.64%	52.90%
2	Oral Roberts	88.37%	61.87%	31.48%
3	Oakland	81.52%	32.35%	12.02%
4	IUPUI	54.58%	7.58%	1.39%
5	Southern Utah	45.42%	5.50%	0.87%
6	IUPU Fort Wayne	18.48%	2.75%	0.41%
7	South Dakota St.	11.63%	3.04%	0.48%
8	Centenary	7.52%	3.28%	0.46%

North Dakota St. will be a team to watch for an upset in the NCAA tournament, but only if they can get by tough challenges from the winner of an ORU-Oakland semifinal.

#1 – North Dakota St. Bison (23-6, 16-2) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.172

Last NCAA Tournament bid: None

North Dakota St. is one of the best stories of the season, poised to make its NCAA Tournament debut in its first year of post-season eligibility, after redshirting a whole class of players to ensure they could play in this important season. The Bison have lost just once in their last 14, and took the conference title by a full two games. They’re the only team in the league that is highly ranked in both offense and defense, second in each category. North Dakota St. shoots the ball well, and has one of the country’s best turnover rates. It also plays an effective defensive style, as opponents take most of their shots inside, where the Bison have been best defensively. They’ve also been excellent rebounders and rarely commit fouls.

Players to watch:

5-11 SR Ben Woodside, 23.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 6.4 APG, 53.5 eFG% - Woodside had one of the biggest scoring games of the season when he put up 60 in a triple overtime loss to Stephen F. Austin, but don’t think he’s a one game wonder; Woodside has been one of the best scorers in the country over the course of the season. He’s an excellent shooter, 44% from behind the arc and 84% on the free throw line, and has put up one of the nation’s best assist rates, while rarely turning it over. He can potentially score 30 points in any game he plays, and should the Bison win the tourney, is the kind of player who could cause havoc for a higher-seeded NCAA opponent.

6-6 SR Brett Winkelman, 18.8 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 1.6 SPG, 55.7 eFG% - While Woodside is a great scoring guard, Winkleman is just as good inside, though he doesn’t take quite as many shots. Still, he’s a great shooter who can hit threes, while shooting well over 50% overall, and is the team’s leading rebounder. Like Woodside, he rarely turns the ball over, and there’s very few ways for the Bison to go wrong with these two players.

#2 – Oral Roberts Golden Eagles (16-14, 14-4) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.142

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2008 (1^st Round)

Oral Roberts has been the conference’s name program, claiming the last three tournament titles and the last four league championships, and will have a serious chance to earn the auto-bid, and while they should be favored make the final, they lost both regular season games against the Bison. The Eagles have had the conference’s best defense, holding opponents under 44% from inside the arc, and being strong rebounders. They’ve had a lot more problems with their own attack, struggling to make shots, especially from three-point range.

Players to watch:

5-11 JR Robert Jarvis, 17.4 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 48.6 eFG% - Jarvis takes a lot of shots and while his percentage hasn’t been great inside the arc, he’s made up for it with pretty solid outside shooting. He’s not too effective overall, and doesn’t do much besides score, but his role is large enough that he leads the team in scoring.

6-8 SR Marcus Lewis, 13.2 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 58.9 eFG% - Lewis is a good inside compliment to Jarvis, one of the conference’s best rebounders and a high percentage shooter. His free throw shooting is regrettable, however, just 50% from the stripe.

#3 – Oakland Golden Grizzlies (20-11, 13-5) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.100

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2005 (1^st Round)

Oakland made the NCAA Tournament four years ago by winning the Mid-Continent tournament as a long-shot, and while its odds are better in this year’s event, it will still be an upset if it could claim the bid. The Grizzlies enter the tournament on a seven game winning streak, and have had the Summit’s best offense by a fairly wide margin. Their 58% on two-pointers is a spectacular number, and they are also solid three-point shooters who rarely turn the ball over. Of course, with such a good offense, they would be closer to the leading pair of teams if they weren’t one of the conference’s worst defensive teams. Oakland forces very few turnovers, and is really vulnerable to the three-point shot, allowing opponents to shoot a lot of them and make a high percentage of those they shoot.

Players to watch:

6-11 SO Keith Benson, 14.4 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 2.4 BPG, 62.6 eFG% - Benson is one of the country’s most efficient players, an excellent big man who does a lot of things well: he’s a high percentage player inside, gets to the line a lot, and hits 69% once there, is an excellent rebounder and shot-blocker, and has committed just 30 turnovers all year. The Grizzlies should try and get the ball to him more often, since it rarely results in something negative.

6-3 SR Erik Kangas, 18.9 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 1.9 APG, 57.1 eFG% - Kangas takes most of his shots from three, and hits 42% of them, and he puts up enough to be the team’s leading scorer.

#4 – IUPUI Jaguars (16-13, 9-8) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.021

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2003 (1^st Round)

With three teams dominating the conference, there’s a serious drop-off as we begin to delve into the teams at and around the .500 mark. IUPUI has been right on the conference average in both offense and defense, and so a 9-9 record seems a perfect fit. The Jaguars have been the conference’s worst team at defending the three-point shot, allowing opponents to make over 41% of attempts, but have made up for that by rarely fouling and forcing a lot of turnovers. They’ve also been good at scoring inside, but are the conference’s worst free throw shooters.

Players to watch:

6-7 JR Robert Glenn, 14.0 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.7 BPG, 61.7 eFG% - Glenn is one of the best forwards in the conference, an excellent percentage scorer inside who also asserts himself well on the boards and with shot-blocks.

6-7 JR Jon Avery, 9.1 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 67.7 eFG% - On most teams, Glenn would be the best field goal shooter, but Avery blows him away, at 68% from the floor. He doesn’t take as many shots as Glenn, but he’s a great second interior option.

#5 – Southern Utah Thunderbirds (10-19, 8-10) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.037

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2001 (1^st Round)

The Thunderbirds are the only team to beat the champions in North Dakota this season, and will get a chance to sweep them in the Dakotas if they win a tough opening round game with IUPUI. They’ve had an above-average defense despite letting opponents hit 54% on two-pointers, as they’ve done well on the defensive glass and caused a lot of trouble for opponents on the perimeter. They play a fairly slow, heavily inside-oriented offense, but are excellent shooters who are good behind the arc and absolutely brilliant from the free throw line, leading the nation by hitting more than 80% of their attempts.

Players to watch:

6-4 JR Davis Baker, 17.5 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 52.3 eFG% - Baker leads Southern Utah in scoring; he takes a lot of shots, and does a pretty good job of hitting them, making just enough to justify the high volume.

6-10 SR John Clifford, 9.8 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 62.6 eFG% - Clifford leads the Summit in rebounding, and while he’s not a really big scorer, he’s very effective inside when he does get chances.

#6 – IUPU Fort Wayne Mastodons (13-16, 8-10) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.041

Last NCAA Tournament bid: None

Fort Wayne had a solid finish to its second season in the Summit League, getting from a 3-8 conference record up to where it needed to make the tournament with a strong finish. It has been one of the country’s best teams at hitting three-pointers, over 40%, but most of its shots come from inside, where its percentage isn’t great and it struggles to get back its misses. The Mastodons have seen a similar pattern on the defensive end, stopping the outside shot well, but performing rather poorly inside.

Players to watch:

6-7 SR David Carson, 14.9 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 44.7 eFG% - Carson is Fort Wayne’s leading scorer, but hasn’t been a very efficient shooter. He does an good job at the free throw line, shooting just under 80%.

6-6 SO Deilvez Yearby, 8.9 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 49.3 eFG% - Yearby leads the team in rebounding, and is a good inside shooter who has found his scoring form of late, averaging 12 points a game over the month of February.

#7 – South Dakota St. Jackrabbits (12-19, 7-11) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.033

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2006 (2^nd Round)

The Jackrabbits haven’t made quite the splash of their northern counterparts, but they will make their Summit League tourney debut despite losing their last four games. South Dakota St. has actually had one of the conference’s better offenses, but its defense has been the worst of the tournament teams. It attempts a lot of threes, and makes a decent percentage, but does better from inside the arc. Defensively, though, the Jackrabbits are really vulnerable on two-pointers, and they force so few turnovers that opponents get a lot of chances at high-percentage shots.

Players to watch:

6-1 JR Garrett Callahan, 15.2 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 56.1 eFG% - The Jackrabbits’ leading scorer is the best three-point shooter on a team full of such shooters.

6-6 JR Kai Williams, 9.9 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 45.4 eFG% - Williams is a very good rebounder who shouldn’t be too much of an offensive focus, especially given his sub-30% three-point shooting. When he’s hot, he can be quite dangerous, but consistency has been a problem.

#8 – Centenary Gentlemen (8-22, 6-12) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.049

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2000 (1^st Round)

The Gentlemen seemed to be on course for a solid season on the last day of January, as they sat just above .500 in the league. They would not win again until the end of February, racking up an eight-game losing streak, and just managing to sneak into the tournament. Centenary actually has one of the better defenses in the conference, leading the league in forcing turnovers and holding opponents under wraps from behind the arc. It just hasn’t been good enough offensively, having a lot problems with its shooting from all areas of the floor.

Players to watch:

6-1 SR Nick Stallings, 15.0 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 49.0 eFG% - Stallings leads the Gents in both scoring and rebounding, and is a excellent three-point shooter, at nearly 40%. He’s faced some foul trouble in recent games, fouling out of two of his last three.

5-10 JR Chase Adams, 14.2 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 4.6 APG, 2.7 SPG, 53.0 eFG% - Adams is a great ball-handling guard, putting up a very good assist rate, leading the league in steals and rarely turning the ball over. Like Stallings, he’s also had some recent foul trouble, fouling out of his last two.

My statistical all-Summit League team:

North Dakota St. SR G Ben Woodside, 23.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 6.4 APG, 53.5 eFG%

Oakland SR G Erik Kangas, 18.9 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 1.9 APG, 57.1 eFG%

Centenary JR G Chase Adams, 14.2 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 4.6 APG, 2.7 SPG, 53.0 eFG%

North Dakota St. SR F Brett Winkelman, 18.8 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 1.6 SPG, 55.7 eFG%

Oakland SO C Keith Benson, 14.4 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 2.4 BPG, 62.6 eFG%

Summit League Tournament: Seeds Announced

Press Release — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 02:24:52 -0500

The Summit League tournament seeds are as follows:

1. North Dakota State (16-2)
2. Oral Roberts (14-4)
3. Oakland (13-5)
4. IUPUI (9-9)
5. Southern Utah (8-10) - got tiebreak over IPFW because of 1-1 record vs. NDSU while IPFW went 0-2)
6. IPFW (8-10)
7. South Dakota State (7-11)
8. Centenary (6-12) - got tiebreak over WIU because of 1-1 record vs. Oakland while WIU went 0-2

Note: SUU/IPFW and CC/WIU tiebreakers were determined based on records against highest seeded team in descending order.

Daily Conference Poll: Who Will Win the Summit?

Shawn Siegel — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 23:51:42 -0500

Summit League Basketball Preview: 08-09

CHN — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:04:44 -0500

Conference Rank: 25th

10 year average: 26th

Summit Conference Page

All-Summit Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Robert Jarvis	Oral Roberts	Sr
G	Ben Woodside	North Dakota St	Sr
G	Johnathon Jones	Oakland	Jr
F	Derick Nelson	Oakland	Sr
F	Brett Winkelman	North Dakota St	Sr
CHN Award Winners		Returning Leaders
Mid-Major All-Americans Robert Jarvis Ben Woodside		Points: Ben Woodside 20.7 Rebounds: Ben Winkelman 8.3 Assists: Johnathon Jones (Oak) 6.0

Summit Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

118	North Dakota St	Summit	1	NCAA
136	Oakland	Summit	2
152	Oral Roberts**	Summit	3
207	IUPUI	Summit	4
224	Southern Utah	Summit	5
255	IPFW	Summit	6
271	UMKC	Summit	7
287	Centenary	Summit	8
314	South Dakota St	Summit	9
316	Western Illinois	Summit	10

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

** returning conference champion

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the Summit?

Other Summit Content

Head Coach Q&A's

Ron Hunter: IUPUI

Other

Rise & Fall: Summit