Summit League Championship 2012, South Dakota State Vs. Western Illinois: Jackrabbits Heading To NCAA Tournament For First Time After OT Win

It took overtime, but the South Dakota State Jackrabbits punched their first ticket to the NCAA tournament on Tuesday night, defeating the Western Illinois Leathernecks 52-50 in the Summit League championship game.

Senior Griffan Callahan hit a three-pointer with a little less than a minute and a half remaining in overtime to put the Jackrabbits up by two. With South Dakota State's crowd going nuts, the Leathernecks turned the ball over on a shot clock violation on the ensuing possession and failed to get a good shot off as time expired after forcing a turnover with nine seconds remaining.

Nate Wolters, a native of St. Cloud, Minnesota, struggled throughout the game, only making five of his 22 shot attempts, but he still finished with a team-high 14 points and grabbed six rebounds. Callahan added 10 points, none bigger than the three ball in overtime to send the Jackrabbits dancing.

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Summit League Championship 2012, South Dakota State Vs. Western Illinois: Nate Wolters Struggled In First Half

The South Dakota State Jackrabbits are fighting for their NCAA Tournament lives on Monday night and, unfortunately for those that want to see South Dakota send its first team to the March Madness tournament, they're losing. The Western Illinois Leathernecks hold a four-point lead at halftime, 28-24, over South Dakota State in the 2012 Summit League championship game.

St. Cloud, Minn., standout Nate Wolters has struggled for the Jackrabbits early, making just three of his nine shot attempts on the way to eight first half points as the Leathernecks attempt to clamp him down with solid team defense. Big man Jordan Dykstra is picking up some of the slack, however, scoring six first half points -- though they aren't quite enough to offset his four turnovers.

Western Illinois was led in the first half by their backcourt of Tommie Tyler and Ceola Clark III. Tyler has a game-high nine points while Calrk has hit a pair of 3-pointers for his six points.

The winner of the Summit League championship game earns an automatic NCAA Tournament bid. It'll be the first time either school has made it to the Big Dance.

For more college basketball, be sure to visit SB Nation's NCAA basketball hub.

Bracketology 2012: South Dakota State Is In The Mix

SB Nation's latest bracketology post was released on Tuesday morning. If the South Dakota State Jackrabbits can win Tuesday night's Summit League championship, it seems they're looking at being seeded lucky number 13 in in the March Madness tournament.

Summit League Championship 2012, South Dakota State Vs. Western Illinois: Game Time, TV Schedule And More

The South Dakota State Jackrabbits will be attempting to make their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance when they take on Western Illinois in the Summit League championship Tuesday night for the conference's automatic berth into March Madness. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.

South Dakota State, which was No. 2 in the Summit with a 15-3 conference record, is routed Southern Utah on Monday night to advance to the championship. The Leathernecks, meanwhile, enter the championship game fresh off a 54-53 win over Oral Roberts.

Western Illinois was just 9-9 in the Summit this season but was still able to down ORU, the top seed in the tournament. Before that Western Illinois scored a 58-53 win over North Dakota State.

South Dakota State is 2-0 against Western Illinois this season. The teams first played back on Dec. 3, with SDSU claiming a 67-66 win. They played again on Feb. 23, too, with South Dakota State picking up a 17-point victory.

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Summit League Tournament 2012: South Dakota State Advances To Championship With 63-47 Win Over Southern Utah

The South Dakota State Jackrabbits are heading to the Summit League Championship game on Tuesday night against Western Illinois to play for a ticket to the Big Dance.

The Jackrabbits only led Southern Utah by a point at the half, 28-27, but started the second half of the game on a 12-2 run and never looked back from there, ultimately winning by 16 points, 63-47.

Nate Wolters, a junior from St. Cloud, Minnesota, who scored the Jackrabbits' first five points of the game, scored 20 of his game-high 31 points in the second half in which SDSU outscored Southern Utah 35-20. Wolters also had six assists and seven rebounds in the win.

South Dakota State, which is located just outside the Minnesota border, will have a chance to punch its ticket to the NCAA tournament on Tuesday night when they take on Western Illinois, who defeated Oral Roberts 54-53 on Monday night.

The Summit League championship game will tip at 8 p.m. and will be aired on ESPN2.

For more college basketball, be sure to visit SB Nation's NCAA basketball hub.

Summit League Tournament 2012, South Dakota State Vs. Southern Utah: Game Time, TV Schedule And More

The 2012 Summit League Tournament continues on Monday in Sioux Falls, S.D. The semifinals are set, with Oral Roberts going up against Western Illinois on one side of the bracket with No. 2 South Dakota State taking on the sixth-seeded Southern Utah Thunderbirds on the other end.

The South Dakota State Jackrabbits, located in Brookings near the Minnesota border, were able to defeat IUPUI to earn their semifinals berth while Southern Utah managed to upset third-seeded Oakland in a thriller on Sunday night. The Jackrabbits won both conference games against Southern Utah this year back and are therefore likely going to be the favorites against the Thunderbirds. As usual, the game will be at Sioux Falls Arena and be televised on the Midco Sports Network as well as one of the Fox College Sports channels.

Whoever wins the Monday affair when the game tips off at 7:30 will face the winner of the other semifinal game between Oral Roberts and Western Illinois on Tuesday for the Summit League Championship and right to an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

For more college basketball, be sure to visit SB Nation's NCAA basketball hub.

Summit League Tournament 2012, Western Illinois Vs. North Dakota State: Bison Eliminated From Contention

The North Dakota State Bison won't be participating in March Madness this season after losing to the Western Illinois Leathernecks on Sunday night in the 2012 Summit League Tournament. NDSU looked good for most of the game, but a big foul that led to a four-point play sunk the Bison's chances.

Arlington, Minn., native Marshall Bjorklund had an offensive putback to give the Bison a 51-50 with less than a minute left to play, but Western Illinois guard Ceola Clark III hit a big 3-pointer while getting fouled to give the Leathernecks a 54-51 lead they'd never relinquish on the way to a 57-53 victory.

TrayVonn Wright had 14 points while Taylor Braun and Lawrence Alexander each scored 11 points for Minnesota's neighbors on the North Dakota border, but it wasn't enough to help them advance past the first round in the tournament. The Leathernecks were led by Obi Emegano with 19 points while center Terell Parks picked up a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

For all news and information regarding college hoops, please visit SB Nation's dedicated NCAA basketball hub.

2012 Summit League Tournament, North Dakota State Vs. Western Illinois: Game Time, TV Schedule And More

The 2012 Summit League Tournament continues on Sunday evening with the North Dakota State Bison facing off against the Western Illinois Leathernecks in the second day of the first round of the tournament. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be televised on Fox College Sports, Midco Sports Net, and can also be streamed online.

Both teams enter after finishing the Summit League regular season at 9-9, but they reached that mark differently down the stretch. The Leathernecks finished the season on a two-game winning streak, defeating the Bison as recently as two Fridays ago, 77-64, and then closing their regular season schedule with another easy win over Nebraska-Omaha last Wednesday.

The Bison enter this evening's game as you would not want to enter a postseason, losing two straight, including the loss to end their regular season schedule against the Leathernecks. NDSU, which is located in Fargo near the Minnesota border, has lost three of their last four and are only 11-12 after starting the season with six consecutive wins.

For all news and information regarding college hoops, please visit SB Nation's dedicated NCAA basketball hub.

Summit League Tournament Results: Nate Wolters Lead South Dakota State To First Round Win

The 2012 Summit League tournament began with a win for the South Dakota State Jackrabbits as expected. The Jackrabbits defeated the IUPU-Indianapolis Jaguars thanks to 22 points from Nate Wolters in the first round victory.

Wolters, a junior from St. Cloud, Minn., scored 22 points while grabbing seven rebounds and dishing six assists for South Dakota State to help the second seeded Jackrabbits to a first round win. Brayden Carlson added 12 points and four assists while Tony Fiegen added 11 rebounds, seven rebounds and four assists.

The Jaguars were led by 15 points from guard Ian Chiles, but unfortunately won't advance any further in the Summit League Tournament.

South Dakota State's next game will take place against the winner of Sunday night's contest between Oakland and Southern Utah. That game will take place on Monday night at 8:30 p.m.

For all news and information regarding college hoops, please visit SB Nation's dedicated NCAA basketball hub.

2012 Summit League Tournament, South Dakota State Vs. IUPUI: Game Time, TV Schedule And More

The 2012 Summit League Tournament kicks off on Saturday night with the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, one of college basketball's best kept secrets for most of the season, playing the IUPU-Indianapolis Jaguars in the first round of the tournament. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. and will be televised on Fox College Sports, Midco Sports Net and can also be streamed online.

The Jackrabbits will begin trying to live up to their lofty expectations as the No. 2 seed in the tournament by picking up their third victory over the Jaguars this season. IUPUI nearly upset SDSU in early December before the Jacks pulled out a 97-93 victory, but South Dakota State looked solid in their rematch last Saturday night on the way to an easy 75-64 victory.

South Dakota State will be led, like the team has been all season, by standout guard Nate Wolters. The guard from St. Cloud, Minn., averaged 21.2 points, 6.1 assists and 5.0 rebounds while turning the ball over just two times per game as the squad's offensive catalyst.

IUPUI was led during the regular season by 6-foot-6 wing Alex Young as the senior averaged 20.7 points and 5.9 rebounds to lead the Jaguars in both categories. Prior to last weekend's loss to the Jackrabbits, IUPUI had won six of their last seven games.

The Jackrabbits are expected to advance, but IUPUI has already played them tough once this season and should be plenty familiar as the rematch comes just one week after their last meeting.

For all news and information regarding college hoops, please visit SB Nation's dedicated NCAA basketball hub.

Summit League Tournament 2012: Bracket, Schedule And More

The 2012 Summit League basketball tournament begins on Saturday night. SB Nation Minnesota will be keeping track of two of our neighbors to the west as both the North Dakota State Bison and South Dakota State Jackrabbits will be competing for a shot at the NCAA Tournament.