Conference Tournaments Starting on March 7th

(Map of the Summit League schools - It makes no sense)

I'm posting these picks a day late...but I swear I had them done yesterday before the games started. Two Conference Tournaments started on Saturday with contests in the Summit League and Big Sky. With these two brackets, I'm officially half way through these emotionally exhausting predictions (15 of 30). But this is a labor of love. I'm not wearing down...I'm just getting started. As always, my predicted champions are in bold.

• Summit League - North Dakota State - The Summit League is the most non-sensical conference in college basketball. As shown in the map above, the Summit consists of 10 schools spread over 9 states. The conference or "league" changed it's name from the Mid-Continent Conference back in 2007. During this transition, North Dakota State finally made the jump to division one basketball. And that folks, is the biggest story involved with this year's Summit League Tournament. The North Dakota State Bison's transition to D-1 was provisional...and this season was their first one as a full fledged member. They went 23-6 this year...16-2 in Summit League play and sport a RPI number of 94. Oral Roberts took this tournament last year...winning the right to lost to Pitt in the first roBund, and provided this blog with many bad puns. This league also includes my dad's alma mater, Western Illinois, but they didn't even qualify for the tournament...only the top 8 teams did. Of those 8...North Dakota State is the #1 seed, the best team, and the best story. The people of Fargo should be very proud. Notable Seeds: #1 North Dakota State, #2 Oral Roberts, #3 Oakland, #4 IUPUI, #5 Southern Utah, #7 South Dakota State

• Big Sky Conference - Weber State - This conference tournament is mildly unique. Only 6 teams make the tourney (from a total of 9), and the top two seeds have a bye until the semi-finals. I'm a fan of rewarding regular season play. Portland State won this last year and earned their first NCAA Tournament appearance ever. They are the two seed this season and should be able to take the title if #1 Weber State falters. Except that's not going to happen. Located in Ogden Utah, the Weber State Wildcats rolled this conference, losing only once (to Montana State), and finishing with a 15-1 Big Sky record...21-8 overall. Their RPI number is 88 and they head into this tournament having won 11 in a row. Weber State last made the NCAA Tournament in 2007. They graciously stepped aside last year to let someone else have the glory. I'm predicting they'll be back in the Big Dance this year and have great first round upset potential depending on their match-up. Notable Seeds: #1 Weber State, #2 Portland State, #3 Montana, #4 Idaho State, #6 Montana State

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