North Dakota State is looking for a clean sweep by its major athletics programs so far this academic year, as the Bison are favored for a Summit League title just months after taking home their third straight FCS national championship on the gridiron.
Summit League Tournament 2014: North Dakota State heavy favorites for auto-bid
Star guard Taylor Braun hopes to end his college career in style.
USA TODAY Sports
The Bison are the only Summit League team ranked in the top 100 on KenPom.com (70th), and seem heavy favorites as the only team that gets a first-round bye. The top competition? Fort Wayne (ranked 159th), who grabbed the second seed in the tournament, South Dakota State (ranked 128th) and Denver (ranked 132nd).
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The Summit League has one of the smallest tournaments in the country, as just seven of the league’s eight teams are eligible for postseason play (Nebraska-Omaha is still transitioning to Division I).
North Dakota State led the nation in field goal percentage during the regular season and boasts one of the most efficient offenses across the country. Its biggest win came against Notre Dame, but it also lost a close game to a good Southern Mississippi team.
The Bison are led by 6'7 senior guard Taylor Braun, averaging 18.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game this season. Braun is shooting over 40 percent from beyond the arc for the third consecutive year, and is the favorite for the Summit League Player of the Year.
While their impressive regular season sets them up as heavy favorites for the tournament, the Bison likely have no hopes for an at-large berth if they cannot win it all. That’s the fun (and heartbreaking thing) about small conference tournaments; often, the stakes are just as high for every single team.
First round: March 8-9
Saturday, March 8
Game 1: No. 2 Fort Wayne Mastodons vs. No. 7 IUPUI Jaguars, 7 p.m. ET
Sunday, March 9
Game 2: No. 4 Denver Pioneers vs. No. 5 South Dakota Coyotes, 7 p.m. ET
Game 3: No. 3 South Dakota St Jackrabbits vs. No. 6 Western Illinois Leathernecks, 9:30 p.m. ET
Semifinals: Monday, March 10
Game 4: No. 1 North Dakota State Bison vs. Winner Game 2, 7 p.m. ET
Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 3, 9:30 p.m. ET
Finals: Tuesday, March 11 (ESPN3)
Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 9 p.m. ET
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