The Summit League Tournament 2012: Semifinals Bracket, Schedule And More

The semifinals for the 2012 Summit League Tournament are set after the games on Sunday, and for the first time in a while the Oakland Golden Grizzlies will not be participating thanks to a last second rally by the Southern Utah Thunderbirds.

With wins by the top two seeds as well, this sets up some interesting upset opportunities for Monday's semifinal games. As per usual, both games will be at Sioux Falls Arena in South Dakota.

No. 1 Oral Roberts Golden Eagles vs. No. 4 Western Illinois Leathernecks 6 PM ET

No. 2 South Dakota State Jackrabbits vs. No. 6 Southern Utah Thunderbirds 8:30 PM ET

The winners of those games will go on to play the Summit League Championship on Tuesday at Sioux Falls Arena.

Oakland will feel they missed out on a big opportunity, having been in the NCAA Tournament two years in a row thanks to winning the Summit League tourney. It's up to the final four teams to decide who will represent the Summit in this season's big dance.

The full bracket for the tournament can be found here.

For more on all the conference tournaments and NCAA hoops in general, head over to sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball.

The Summit League Tournament 2012: Oakland Eliminated By Southern Utah After Late Collapse

With less than three minutes to go in its first game in the 2012 Summit League tournament, Oakland appeared to be well on its way to advancing to the next round. The Golden Grizzlies were up 81-70, and a big comeback by Southern Utah in the final two and a half minutes seemed highly unlikely.

Sure enough, Southern Utah started chipping away at the lead, and with 1:09 to go on the clock, Damon Heuir hit a three-pointer to tie the game. After Travis Bader missed a three for Oakland, Southern Utah went down the court and scored with 12 seconds left. Oakland was unable to tie the game with a runner, but the Golden Grizzlies got another chance to do something after Southern Utah missed a pair of free throws.

Oakland tried to make its way down the court via timeouts, but in the process it left less than a second on the clock after the second one. As a result, the Golden Grizzlies couldn't even get the final shot off in time, giving Southern Utah the surprising 84-82 victory.

This loss means Oakland's NCAA tournament streak has been snapped. The Golden Grizzlies had been to the tournament each of the last two years, but with this loss making them 17-15 on the season, they will not be going to the Big Dance.

This loss also ended Oakland's two-year title run in The Summit League tournament.

For more on NCAA hoops and all of the conference tournaments, check out the SB Nation NCAA hub at sbnation.com/NCAA-basketball.

The Summit League Tournament 2012: Oakland, Southern Utah Vie For Spot In Semifinals

The Oakland Golden Grizzlies begin their defense of the Summit League Tournament title on Sunday night when they play the Southern Utah Thunderbirds in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Golden Grizzlies are actually two-time defending tournament champions. A run through the tournament would give them its fourth Summit League Tournament championship overall, breaking its current tie with Oral Roberts (which won the tournament three years in a row, 2006-2008).

Oakland went 17-14 (11-7 Summit) to capture the No. 3 seed in the tournament. They easily handled Southern Utah on the road, 72-63, but needed overtime at home for the 76-68 victory. Reggie Hamilton, relatively unknown to the wider public, leads the nation with 25.5 points per game. Travis Bader comes in second with 15.6 points.

Southern Utah (13-16, 8-10 Summit) ended the season on a four-game losing streak to take the No. 6 seed in the tournament. Jackson Stevenett is the team's leading scorer at 14.1 points. He also pulls down a team-high 5.7 rebounds per game.

The South Dakota St. Jackrabbits await the winner of this contest on Monday.

Game time/date: 8:30 p.m. CT, Sunday, March 4, 2012

Location: Sioux Falls Arena, Sioux Falls, SD

TV: SummitTV

For more on NCAA hoops and all of the conference tournaments, check out the SB Nation NCAA hub at sbnation.com/NCAA-basketball.

The Summit League Tournament 2012: Quarterfinals Begin On Saturday

If Oakland wants to make the NCAA tournament for a third straight year, it will need to win The Summit League's tournament for a third straight year. The Golden Grizzlies will begin their quest for another trip to the Big Dance on Sunday as the No. 3 seed in the 2012 Summit League tournament. Oakland is set to take on Southern Utah, the No. 6 seed in the tournament, at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Before Oakland hits the court on Sunday, there is a game earlier that day, as well as two on Saturday. Here is the full schedule for the quarterfinals of the tournament:

March 3 (quarterfinals)

Game 1: No. 1 Oral Roberts vs. No. 8 IPFW (6 p.m., Fox College Sports)
Game 2: No. 2 South Dakota State vs. No. 7 IUPUI (8:30 p.m., Fox College Sports)

March 4 (quarterfinals)

Game 3: No. 4 Western Illinois vs. No. 5 North Dakota State (6 p.m., Fox College Sports)
Game 4: No. 3 Oakland vs. No. 6 Southern Utah (8:30 p.m., Fox College Sports)

The winner of Game 1 and the winner of Game 3 will take on each other at 6 p.m. on Monday in the first semifinal. The other semifinal will be held at 8:30 p.m. that same night and feature the Game 2 and Game 4 winners.

The championship game is scheduled for next Tuesday at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.

You can check out the bracket for the 2012 Summit League Tournament here.

For more on NCAA hoops and all of the conference tournaments, check out the SB Nation NCAA hub at sbnation.com/NCAA-basketball.

The Summit League Tournament 2012: Bracket, Schedule And More

The Summit League tournament begins on March 3, with Oral Roberts holding the first seed and the two-time defending champion Oakland Golden Grizzlies seeded third.