2008 Woodie Awards
Summit Basketball Tourney says goodbye to Tulsa
Ryan Ferguson
Issue date: 3/17/08 Section: Sports
The fourth and final year for the Summit League Basketball Championships in Tulsa, Okla., followed suit with the previous three.
On the men's side, top-seeded Oral Roberts played in its fourth straight championship game last Tuesday against IUPUI. With the 71-64 victory, the Golden Eagles punched their third consecutive ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
Western Illinois was never ranked higher than fifth in the conference tournament while in Tulsa. As the No. 6 seed in this year's bracket, the Leathernecks saw their fourth straight first-round exit at the hands of Oakland, 80-66.
Western's four seniors, David Jackson, Chris Gonzalez, Louis Johnson and Jerryck Owens-Murrey, combined for only 14 of the 'Necks' 66 total points. Jackson, Western's all-time points leader in Division I, scored five points before fouling out of the game.
In the last three women's tournaments, upsets frequently occurred, and things were no different in the tournament's final season in Tulsa.
The second-seeded Westerwinds fell victim to seventh-seeded UMKC in the opening round, 62-55. The Kangaroos rode a 25-point effort by senior center Alysa Klein on their way to a first-round upset.
Like Oral Roberts' men's team, the women also cut down the nets in the John Q. Hammons Arena.
The fourth-seeded Golden Eagles upset the top two teams in the tournament (No. 1 Oakland and No. 2 IUPUI) on their way to March Madness. The championship was Oral Roberts' third in four years and second as a fourth seed.
The Summit League Basketball Championships move north in 2009, with the host site changing from Tulsa to Sioux Falls, S.D.
On the men's side, top-seeded Oral Roberts played in its fourth straight championship game last Tuesday against IUPUI. With the 71-64 victory, the Golden Eagles punched their third consecutive ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
Western Illinois was never ranked higher than fifth in the conference tournament while in Tulsa. As the No. 6 seed in this year's bracket, the Leathernecks saw their fourth straight first-round exit at the hands of Oakland, 80-66.
Western's four seniors, David Jackson, Chris Gonzalez, Louis Johnson and Jerryck Owens-Murrey, combined for only 14 of the 'Necks' 66 total points. Jackson, Western's all-time points leader in Division I, scored five points before fouling out of the game.
In the last three women's tournaments, upsets frequently occurred, and things were no different in the tournament's final season in Tulsa.
The second-seeded Westerwinds fell victim to seventh-seeded UMKC in the opening round, 62-55. The Kangaroos rode a 25-point effort by senior center Alysa Klein on their way to a first-round upset.
Like Oral Roberts' men's team, the women also cut down the nets in the John Q. Hammons Arena.
The fourth-seeded Golden Eagles upset the top two teams in the tournament (No. 1 Oakland and No. 2 IUPUI) on their way to March Madness. The championship was Oral Roberts' third in four years and second as a fourth seed.
The Summit League Basketball Championships move north in 2009, with the host site changing from Tulsa to Sioux Falls, S.D.
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