Oakland & the MAC headline Saturday's tournament action

Action everywhere gets hot & heavy on Saturday, March 5th, when eight more tournaments begin play, including two from the Summit League featuring the men & women of Oakland University. Both squads will head into Siouox Falls, SD with the men seeded #1 as the regular season champions and the women, who will start play Sunday, March 6th, seeded #4. Regardless of what happens in the SL tourney, at least the men seem prime to make it to the Big Dance. Meanwhile in Cleveland, OH, the women's MAC tourney will get underway with Central Michigan seeded #3. While CMU waits to play on March 9th, #5 Eastern Michigan will play a home game in the first round Saturday against Miami (OH) while #9 Western Michigan will go on the road to face Akron. To add on to the madness, the Detroit men and MSU & U-M women hope to play in the semifinals Saturday in their respective tournaments. Also, at least five teams will earn the right to play in this year's NCAA tournament.


SUMMIT LEAGUE MEN'S & WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT

MEN'S FIRST ROUND
#1 Oakland vs. #8 Southern Utah
#2 Oral Roberts vs. #7 North Dakota State
#3 IUPUI vs. #6 UMKC (Sun., March 6)
#4 IPFW vs. #5 South Dakota State (Sun., March 6)

WOMEN'S FIRST ROUND
#1 Oral Roberts vs. #8 Western Illinois
#2 IPFW vs. #7 UMKC
#3 South Dakota State vs. #6 North Dakota State (Sun., March 6)
#4 Oakland vs. #5 Southern Utah (Sun., March 6)

Both tournaments will have their semifinals played on Monday, followed by the championships on Tuesday, March 8th. The Summit League tournaments will all be held in Sioux Falls, SD.


MAC WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT - FIRST ROUND

#5 Eastern Michigan vs. #12 Miami (OH)
#6 Buffalo vs. #11 Ball State
#7 Northern Illinois vs. #10 Ohio
#8 Akron vs. #9 Western Michigan

On Wednesday, March 9th, #1 Toledo, #2 Bowling Green, #3 Central Michigan, & #4 Kent State will face the first round winners. From there, the semifinals will be played on March 11th with the championship set for March 12th. Each game in the first round will be hosted by the higher seed with the rest of the MAC tournament to take place at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH.


BIG SKY MEN'S TOURNAMENT - FIRST ROUND

#3 Weber State vs. #6 Eastern Washington
#4 Northern Arizona vs. #5 Montana State

For Tuesday, March 8th, #1 Northern Colorado & #2 Montana will face the first round winners in the semifinals with the championship to be played on Wednesday. Each game in the first round will be hosted by the higher seed. Because of their #1 seed, the semifinals & championship will take place on the campus of the University of Northen Colorado.


NORTHEAST (NEC) WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT - FIRST ROUND

#1 St. Francis (PA) vs. #8 Fairleigh Dickinson
#2 Monmouth vs. #7 Quinnipiac
#3 Sacred Heart vs. #6 Central Connecticut State
#4 Robert Morris vs. #5 Long Island

The semifinals will played on Tuesday, followed by the championship on March 13th. Each game in the tournament will be hosted by the higher seed.


PATRIOT LEAGUE WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT - FIRST ROUND

#1 Navy vs. #8 Colgate
#4 Bucknell vs. #5 Army
#2 Lehigh vs. #7 Lafayette
#3 American vs. #6 Holy Cross

The semifinals will played on March 9th, followed by the championship on March 12th. Each game in the tournament will be hosted by the higher seed.


SUN BELT MEN'S & WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT

MEN'S FIRST ROUND
Denver vs. Florida International
Western Kentucky vs. UL-Monroe
North Texas vs. Troy
South Alabama vs. Arkansas-Little Rock

On Sunday, Florida Atlantic, Arkansas State, UL-Lafayette, & Middle Tennessee will play in the quarterfinals against the first round winners.

WOMEN'S FIRST ROUND
UL-Monroe vs. Troy
Western Kentucky vs. North Texas
Arkansas State vs. Florida Atlantic
South Alabama vs. UL-Lafayette

On Sunday, Middle Tennessee, Arkansas-Little Rock, Denver, & Florida International will play in the quarterfinals against the first round winners.

Both tournaments will have their semifinals played on Monday, followed by the championships on Tuesday.

*SPECIAL NOTE* - The Middle Tennessee women's basketball team will dedicate their tournament play to fellow player Tina Stewart, who died tragically Wednesday night. Despite the heavy sorrow they feel, the players chose to compete in honor of their teammate.