Week 3 Summit League match ups

[NDSUstudent]

Thursday
IPFW 46 vs ORU 73
WIU 55 vs SDSU 64
Oakland 60 vs Centenary 80
IUPUI 52 vs NDSU 55

Friday
IPFW 68 vs Centenary 64
WIU 64 vs NDSU 81
SUU 66 vs UMKC 50
Oakland 65 vs ORU 68
IUPUI 63 vs SDSU 83

The game of the week is without a doubt Oakland vs ORU, if Oakland could get a road win it would be worth 2 wins because you are taking one in the house of a upper tier team. For ORU this game would solidify their status as as an upper tier team, so far they only have wins over the worst two teams in the league.

Another thing to watch is what happens with SDSU at home vs WIU and IUPUI after getting absolutely destroyed at IPFW. Can Nagy right the ship or is he going to go down with it?

A final thing to watch is WIU, yeah the team leading the Summit that nobody is talking about. The Leathernecks are 3-0 and have won at IUPUI, for WIU the Dakota road trip will probably determine if that start is for real or not.

[NDSUstudent]

It is January 8th and Centenary will have their home opener tonight, after 15 straight road games.

http://www.gocentenary.com/ViewArtic...B_OEM_ID=17900

[Thunder_Struck]

IPFW @ Oral Roberts is on Midcon channel 316. Looks like 500 people in attendance.

[Hammersmith]

Cableone channel 307

Beautiful arena. Lots and lots of empty seats.

ORU 54, IPFW 36 with 8:15 remaining

[NDSUstudent]

ORU is in Oklahoma, shouldn't be surprising to see empty seats considering a certain football game that was played tonight.

As for today in the Summit League, every home team wins. Hard to believe some teams are so inconsistent, SDSU gets destroyed by IPFW, than beats the former undefeated Leathernecks, and ORU destroys IPFW. Then there is a Oakland who is inconsistent, and seems to have some defensive issues to say the least.

[NDSUstudent]

Power Rankings

1. NDSU- The Bison took care of business at home this week, Saul Phillip's team is starting to show its maturity. Beating NDSU won't be an easy task for any team this year, at home or on the road.

2. ORU- Are the Golden Eagles starting to click? It appears so after winning three straight games, and taking down one of the preseason favorites the Oakland Golden Grizzlies in the process. The twin terrors of Marcus Lewis and Kevin Ford have been a force to be reckoned with, but now they'll have to prove that they can wreck havoc in places outside of the Mabee Center.

3. Oakland- Just a week ago the Oakland Golden Grizzlies were at the top of the summit of the Summit League, oh how the road can be brutal in this league. At 3-3 Oakland has put itself in a tight spot in the regular season title race, and it doesn't look like neither NDSU nor ORU is going to give up much ground in letting Oakland get back in.

4. IPFW- Just like IPFW's mascot the Mastodons, consistency is extinct at this point in my league power rankings. IPFW is all over the place, one game they are throttling SDSU, the next game they are getting pummeled by Oral Roberts, and after that they salvage a road split by beating Centenary.

5. SDSU- If Valley Fair in Shakopee, Minn. is looking for a name for a new roller coaster..."2008-09 the SDSU Jackrabbit's basketball season" might be fitting. Struggle to start the season, beat Iowa State, lose by 44 at IPFW, sweep IUPUI and WIU at home. Hopefully Jackrabbit fans remain securely seated because who knows which way this wild ride of a season will take them next.

6. SUU- Well the Thunderbirds were perfect on the road this week, of course they did only play one game at UMKC this week.

7. IUPUI- Last week I said IUPUI just didn't have the feel of an upper tier team and this week they proved it. Not only did the Jaguars let a chance of getting a rare win at the Bison Sports arena get away, but they ended up getting run out of Frost Arena.

8. WIU- The Leathernecks might just be who we thought they were, and that is middle-to-lower of the pack team fighting for a spot in the Summit League tournament. 3-0 must have felt nice for former Gopher coach Jim Molinari, hopefully he printed off a copy of ESPN's bracketology, because WIU might not be making another appearance this season.

9. UMKC- To be honest being ranked 9th doesn't mean much, I could just have easily put the Kangaroos 4th. I still think this team is capable of beating anybody, so who knows where they will be next week.

10. Centenary- After thumping Oakland it appeared that Centenary might be making their way out of the Summit League cellar, but it just wasn't to be after the Gents failed to defend their home court against IPFW.

Shock of the week- It's has to be Centenary thumping Oakland, this should be a lesson learned in that winning on the road can never be taken for granted. Even the Gentleman of Centenary can be unfriendly hosts if you don't bring your best game.