A quick check of the numbers shows just how dominant South Dakota and South Dakota State were during the Summit League basketball regular season.

The Coyote and Jackrabbit women's and men's teams were a combined 50-6 during the conference slate, with four of those six defeats coming to one another.

So it's no surprise that USD and SDSU occupy all four of the top two seeds heading into the 2018 Summit League Basketball Tournament, which starts Saturday (March 3) at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls.

The Coyote women (14-0) are the first Summit team to run the table in more than 20 years. The regular season champs ride an 18-game winning steak into their first round match-up with eighth seed Fort Wayne.

The Mastodons (1-13) were swept by USD during the regular season. The Coyotes won by 42 in Vermillion and by 19 in Fort Wayne.

Tipoff is noon Saturday.

The Jackrabbits (12-2) are the second seed. SDSU opens with North Dakota State, a team they swept during the regular season, winning by 20 in Brookings, 21 in Fargo.

Tipoff is 2:30 PM Saturday.

The other four seeds play Sunday (March 4). Number-four Denver (7-7) and number-five Oral Roberts (7-7) tipoff at noon. They split during the regular season with the Golden Eagles winning by 30 in Tulsa and the Pioneers winning by 16 in Denver.

Defending champ Western Illinois is the third seed. The Leathernecks (10-4) play seventh seed Omaha at 2:30 PM Sunday. The Mavericks (3-11) were swept by WIU during the regular season, losing by 39 at home and by 35 in Macomb.

On the men's side, South Dakota State is the outright regular season champ for the first time. The Jackrabbits (13-1), the defending tournament champs, are the top seed and will open with number-eight Western Illinois.

SDSU swept the Leathernecks (3-11) during the regular season, winning by 28 in Macomb and by 20 in Brookings.

Tipoff is 6:00 PM Saturday.

South Dakota (11-3) is the number two seed. The Coyotes will play number-seven Omaha in the opening round. USD swept the Mavericks (4-10) during the regular season, winning by 14 in Omaha and by 15 in Vermillion.

Tipoff is 8:30 PM Saturday.

Sunday starts with a match-up of number-four Fort Wayne and number-five North Dakota State at 6:00 PM. The Mastodons (7-7) swept the Bison (5-9) during the season, winning by four in Fort Wayne and by 12 in Fargo.

Third seed Denver plays number-seven Oral Roberts in the 8:30 PM game Sunday. The Pioneers (8-6) swept the Golden Eagles (5-9), winning by nine in Tulsa and by one in Denver.

The winners in both brackets play in Monday's semifinals with the championship games Tuesday.

Each championship winner gets an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.


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