Freshman forward Mike Daum scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds Tuesday night, leading South Dakota State to a 67-59 win over North Dakota State in Sioux Falls, S.D., to capture the Summit League championship and an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.
Deondre Parks added 14 points for the Jackrabbits (26-7), who advanced to the NCAA tournament for the third time in the past five years.
Carlin Dupree led North Dakota State (20-13) with 19 points, and Khy Kabellis added 17 for the Bison.
A key matchup was 6-9, 230-pound Daum of the Jackrabbits vs. the Bison's 6-6, 240-pound Dexter Werner. who scored only nine points.
North Dakota 85, Southern Utah 80: Quinton Hooker, a junior guard out of Park Center, scored 26 of his 30 points in the second half to help the No. 5-seeded Bison hold off No. 12 Southern Utah in the first round of the Big Sky tournament in Reno, Nev.
Wisconsin-Green Bay 78, Wright State 79: Jordan Fouse scored 16 points as the Phoenix wrapped up a spot in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1996 by beating the Raiders in the Horizon League title game in Detroit. Green Bay (23-12) and Wright State (22-13) were in the championship game after beating top two seeds, Valparaiso and Oakland.
Fairleigh Dickinson 87, Wagner 79: Darian Anderson scored 28 points and Earl Potts Jr. had 27 to lead the Knights (18-14) to an 87-79 victory over the Seahawks (23-9) in the championship game of the Northeast Conference tournament.
Gonzaga 85, St. Mary's 75: Eric McClellan scored 20 points and Kyle Wiltjer added 17 as Zags took the guesswork out of their 18th straight NCAA tournament appearance by beating the Gaels in the West Coast Conference championship game in Las Vegas. Despite sharing the WCC regular-season crown, Gonzaga (26-7) was not a lock to make the NCAA field.
NOTES
• Greg Gard had a news conference on his first full day as Wisconsin's full-time head coach. "This place is special. This place is unique," he said. "We're so excited about the future, which starts in a couple hours with practice, on to the Big Ten tournament and then the NCAA tournament." He has a five-year contract that starts at $1.75 million a year, with raises of $50,000 each year. The Badgers were 13-6 during Gard's interim stint after taking over for the retired Bo Ryan on Dec. 15.
• Southeastern Conference coaches picked Kentucky sophomore guard Tyler Ulis as the league's player of the year and defensive player of the year. They also voted Texas A&M's Billy Kennedy as coach of the year and LSU's Ben Simmons as the top freshman.
WOMEN
South Dakota State 61, South Dakota 55: Macy Miller had 18 points and 10 rebounds Tuesday to lead the Jackrabbits (26-6) over Coyotes to capture the Summit League championship in Sioux Falls, S.D., and an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. This will be South Dakota State's seventh trip to the March tournament in the past eight years. Guard Madison Guebert, a freshman who played for Eastview, added 14 points for the Jackrabbits, sinking three of her six three-point attempts at key moments in the game. Nicole Seekamp, the Summit League player of the year, led South Dakota (26-6) with 22 points.
Penn 62, Princeton 60: Anna Ross scored 18 points and Michelle Nwokedi added 17 to help the Quakers beat the Tigers in Princeton, N.J., for the Ivy League championship and an automatic NCAA tournament spot.
