Summit League NCAA Tournament Betting
The South Dakota schools were the top two teams entering last year’s Summit League Tournament. They both won in the quarterfinals but lost in the semifinals, allowing Oral Roberts to win the league and make its first NCAA Tournament appearance since the Golden Eagles won three straight titles in 2008. This could be a two-bid league this season though as the South Dakota State Jackrabbits went 27-4 overall and 18-0 in conference play.
South Dakota State knocked off Bradley and Washington State in non-conference play, but a road loss to 8-20 Idaho sticks out like a sore thumb. Still, it’s not easy to go unbeaten against conference foes. This is one of the best offenses in the country, and the Jackrabbits led the nation in effective field goal percentage (60.1%) and three-point percentage (44.3%). Baylor Scheierman leads the team with 16.2 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 4.6 APG, and he is knocking down 46.8% of his three-pointers.
Dakota Marker rival North Dakota State would love to play spoiler though. The Bison were the second-best team in the Summit League this season. They lost to the Jackrabbits by four points in each of their meetings during the regular season, but their best win all year came against Oral Roberts. They don’t force a lot of turnovers and can struggle against teams with good point guards, but at least they knock down their free throws. Rocky Kreuser is the leading scorer with 15.8 PPG and is making 40% of his threes.
St. Thomas (MN) is ineligible to participate in this year’s tournament after making the jump from Division III, and North Dakota didn’t qualify as a result of going 2-16 in conference play.
Summit League Tournament Format
Eight of the ten teams in the Summit League qualify for the conference tournament. That makes the math easy with no play-in games, and a traditional knockout bracket.
The No. 1 seed and No. 2 seed have an advantage as they get to play their quarterfinal games on Saturday, March 5. That will give South Dakota State and North Dakota State a day of rest if they manage to knock off Omaha and Denver, while the other two quarterfinal games take place on Sunday, March 6.
The semifinals will be held on Monday, March 7, while the final will take place on Tuesday, March 8, at 8 p.m. ET. All seven games will take place at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and that gives SDSU another advantage.
Most Wins All-Time in Summit League Tournament
| WINS |
TEAM |
LAST |
| 8 |
Valparaiso |
2004 |
| 5 |
North Dakota State |
2020 |
| 5 |
South Dakota State |
2018 |
| 4 |
Oral Roberts |
2021 |
| 3 |
Oakland |
2011 |
| 2 |
Eastern Illinois |
1992 |
| 2 |
Southwest Missouri State |
1989 |
| 2 |
Wisconsin-Green Bay |
1994 |
Schools ranging from Illinois to Utah and everywhere in between have won the Summit League Tournament over the years, but they're all still chasing Valparaiso. Remember the Bryce Drew moment from the NCAA Tournament? That came with the Crusaders representing the Summit League in the Big Dance back in 1998. Valparaiso has eight league titles with all the school’s championships coming between 1995 and 2004. In all ten seasons, the Crusaders played for the Summit League title, a rather unprecedented run in college basketball.
The Crusaders are now in the Missouri Valley Conference, opening the door for other teams to win the Summit League. Dakota Marker rivals South Dakota State and North Dakota State have answered the call, and those two schools have won nine of the last ten conference titles. The Jackrabbits’ five titles came in a seven-year stretch between 2012 and 2018, while the Bison won consecutive titles in 2014-15 and 2019-20.
There are currently ten teams in the Summit League, but six teams have never been to the NCAA Tournament. Omaha, Denver, South Dakota, Western Illinois, Kansas City, and recently promoted St. Thomas (MN) have yet to put on their dancing shoes, but Omaha has come close with trips to the conference title game in 2017 and 2019. As a whole, the Summit League only has four wins in the NCAA Tournament with Oral Roberts claiming half those victories during its run to the Elite Eight in 1974.
Summit League Tournament Championship Games
| YEAR |
WINNER |
RUNNER-UP |
VENUE |
| 2021 |
Oral Roberts |
North Dakota State |
|
| 2020 |
North Dakota State |
North Dakota |
Denny Sanford Premier Center |
| 2019 |
North Dakota State |
Omaha |
Denny Sanford Premier Center |
| 2018 |
South Dakota State |
South Dakota |
Denny Sanford Premier Center |
| 2017 |
South Dakota State |
Omaha |
Denny Sanford Premier Center |
| 2016 |
South Dakota State |
North Dakota State |
Denny Sanford Premier Center |
| 2015 |
North Dakota State |
South Dakota State |
Denny Sanford Premier Center |
| 2014 |
North Dakota State |
IPFW |
Sioux Falls Arena |
| 2013 |
South Dakota State |
North Dakota State |
Sioux Falls Arena |
| 2012 |
South Dakota State |
Western Illinois |
Sioux Falls Arena |
| 2011 |
Oakland |
Oral Roberts |
Sioux Falls Arena |
| 2010 |
Oakland |
IUPUI |
Sioux Falls Arena |
| 2009 |
North Dakota State |
Oakland |
Sioux Falls Arena |
| 2008 |
Oral Roberts |
IUPUI |
Union Multipurpose Activity Center |
| 2007 |
Oral Roberts |
Oakland |
Union Multipurpose Activity Center |
| 2006 |
Oral Roberts |
Chicago State |
Union Multipurpose Activity Center |
| 2005 |
Oakland |
Oral Roberts |
Union Multipurpose Activity Center |
| 2004 |
Valparaiso |
IUPUI |
Kemper Arena |
| 2003 |
IUPUI |
Valparaiso |
Kemper Arena |
| 2002 |
Valparaiso |
IUPUI |
Allen County War Memorial Coliseum |
| 2001 |
Southern Utah |
Valparaiso |
Allen County War Memorial Coliseum |
| 2000 |
Valparaiso |
Southern Utah |
Allen County War Memorial Coliseum |
NCAA Basketball Conferences
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