With the Summit League Tournament having moved to the second round, the top-seeded Oakland University Golden Grizzlies (24-8) have drawn a matchup with fifth-seeded IPFW (16-14). The first of two semi-finals games Monday night, OU-IPFW will tip off at 7 p.m. eastern time.

Season series: Oakland won 2-0 (84-76 on Dec. 5 and 86-83 on Feb. 27)

All-time series: Oakland leads 11-3 and has won five-straight games against IPFW

The two meetings between OU and IPFW this season were the bookends of the conference schedule. The first meeting should have little relevance to Monday’s game since it was played back in early December when the teams were still seeking an identity.

The second regular season matchup, however, came just 10 days ago on Feb. 27 at the O’Rena. The Grizzlies led by 10 points with just 1:30 to play in this game but allowed the Mastodons to make it a one-possession game when OU missed several key free throws in the final minute.

Junior center Keith Benson’s career-high 32-point performance highlighted the game, but he fouled out in the closing minutes and it was then that IPFW made the game close.

The Mastodons will likely be a tired team having battled South Dakota State for 40 minutes just 24 hours prior to Monday’s start. Second Team all-conference selection Deilvez Yearby did not have his best game against SDSU, and head coach Dane Fife said he was tired in the post-game press conference.

IPFW’s Nick Daniels hit on 4-of-5 3-pointers yesterday and sealed the game with important free throws down the stretch. Jeremy Mixon, who had one of the best games of his career against Oakland last weekend, scored 19 points in the opening round.

During the regular season, IPFW was second in the conference from behind the 3-point arc, shooting 37.6 percent. Ben Botts, a starter for the Mastodons, led the conference with a 45.2 shooting percentage from 3-point range.

The winner on Monday will await the outcome of No. 2 IUPUI vs. No. 3 Oral Roberts to learn its opponent in the finals.

The Summit League Championship game is Tuesday at 9 p.m. eastern time. It will be televised on ESPN2  and can be heard on WDFN 1130 am and 88.3 fm WXOU.?