Summit League conference tournament preview

This is part 12 of a 32-part series.

Standings:
South Dakota St 13-1
South Dakota 11-3
Denver 8-6
Fort Wayne 7-7
North Dakota St 5-9
Oral Roberts 5-9
Omaha 4-10
Western Illinois 3-11

Format:
March 3-6.  Sioux Falls hosts again.

Matchups:
1) South Dakota St vs. 8) Western Illinois
4) Fort Wayne vs. 5) North Dakota St
2) South Dakota vs. 7) Omaha
3) Denver vs. 6) Oral Roberts

The stakes:
The league is CRPI 17.  South Dakota St is sporting a rather healthy 52 RPI, albeit lacking the signature win that would take their resume up a level.  Add it all up, and a 13 seed is possible, and if we get regular attrition in other conference tourneys, probable.  South Dakota is in good shape as well...everyone else would be sent careening towards Dayton.  This is a step down for the conference as a whole compared to previous years, when they usually had a team or two creep up to the edge of the 12 line.

The conference lacks depth; only IPFW outside of the top 2 are in good shape for a CBI/CIT.  South Dakota St and South Dakota have been the class of the league all year long; both are in good shape to at least avoid the 15 line.