The Summit League men's basketball conference tournament title is on the line line when the No. 2 seed South Dakota State Jackrabbits take on the No. 4 Seed Western Illinois Leathernecks on Tuesday night. The automatic bid for the NCAA tournament is on the line, so the intensity will be extremely high in Sioux Falls. The two regular season matchups were won by South Dakota State, but this is an excellent chance for W. Illinois to get the last laugh in head-to-heads this season.
Back on Dec. 3, the Jackrabbits pulled out a nail-biter of a win and escaped 67-66 on the road, but the Leathernecks didn't really show up in the rematch on Feb. 23. In that game, South Dakota State got a comfortable 74-57 win behind 23 points, eight rebounds and 5-5 shooting beyond the arc from Jordan Dykstra. Tommie Tyler had 15 points and Obi Emegano added 14 more for the Leathernecks in the loss, but they will need to put together a better defensive effort -- they allowed the Jackrabbits to shoot 52 percent from the field in that Febuary loss -- if they want to make it March Madness.
Here is some information to help you find the game:
Summit League Championship Game
No. 2 South Dakota State Jackrabbits (26-7, 15-3 Summit) vs. No.4 Western Illinois Leathernecks (18-13, 9-9 Summit)
Game time: 8:00 PM CT, Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Location: Sioux Falls Arena, Sioux Falls, SD
TV: ESPN2, ESPN3
For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more from around the world of college hoops, visit SB Nation's NCAA basketball news hub. A Summit League 2012 Tournament bracket can be found here. (pdf)