First, a poem:
To rise to the summit of the Summit League
For many years, you have to grieve
As Dakotas dominate, left and right
This year's no different, we ended the fight
Mastodons and Denver, good luck next year
May you approach the Badlands without any fear
Another rough one for the NMTC, as teams went 2-4 in conference tournament play last night. The No. 1 seed IPFW Mastodons went down in a heartbreaker, stripping the NMTC of one of its best teams. The list just keeps getting longer...
Summit
IPFW (also known as Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne) was up by 15 points at halftime. Then it fell apart. North Dakota State's Carlin Dupree hit a layup with 4 seconds remaining to give NDSU yet another trip to the Summit League Championship game. IPFW took a terrible three-point shot to end the game and its season.
Denver lost 54-53 to South Dakota State. Denver missed a free throw to tie the game at the end of regulation. Heartbreak in Mile High.
America East
No. 1 seed Stony Brook cruised past fellow NMTC member Hartford 80-64. Stony Brook will have a chance to escape the club in the America East Championship game against Vermont. Stony Brook was led by Carson Puriefoy, a member of the all-name team, who scored 22 points and picked up 10 rebounds. Vermont defeated NMTC member New Hampshire 63-56 to advance to the championship game. As someone who knows people who goes to all of these universities, my rooting interests are split. The championship game is set for Saturday, March 12 at 10 a.m. CT on ESPN2... GET UP FOR GAMEDAY.
MEAC
Savannah State defeated Delaware State 63-58. Savannah was down by 8 points at halftime but came back to win its eighth game in nine tries. Savannah State will face Bethune-Cookman on March 10.
Tuesday's Never Made The Tourney Club Action
Not much action today, just first round games from the SWAC, MEAC and Big Sky.
SWAC
No. 7 Mississippi Valley State vs. No. 10 Grambling State
MEAC
No. 8 Maryland Eastern Shore (50% KenPom) vs. No. 9 Morgan State
Big Sky
No. 5 North Dakota (82% KenPom) vs. No. 12 Southern Utah
Back Next Year
Kennesaw State
South Carolina Upstate
Bryant
Jacksonville State
SIU Edwardsville
Western Illinois
Grand Canyon (ineligible)
Northern Kentucky (ineligible)
Stetson (ineligible)
UMass Lowell (ineligible)
St. Francis (NY)
Sacred Heart
NJIT
Quinnipiac
Lipscomb
Longwood
Presbyterian
The Citadel
Elon
Tennessee Martin
High Point
Gardner-Webb
Northern Kentucky
Youngstown State
Army
William and Mary
South Dakota
Hartford
IPFW
New Hampshire