The preseason goal was simple: Win the Summit League and advance to the NCAA Tournament.

With a record of 23-8, the Oakland University men’s basketball team is well positioned to accomplish its goal heading into the Summit League Tournament, which begins March 6 in Sioux Falls, S.D.

The Golden Grizzlies will have to win three games in four nights to capture the automatic March Madness bid that conference tournament winners receive. Oakland’s performance in the regular season will give it every advantage possible heading into the tournament, as the team’s 17-1 in-conference record earned it the No. 1 seed and a day off between the first and second rounds.

The opening matchup for OU takes place Saturday evening against eighth-seeded UMKC, a team the Grizzlies defeated twice in the regular season by double-digit margins. 

UMKC has lost its last seven games against OU dating back several seasons.

By all accounts, the regular season was a tremendous success for the Grizzlies, and while every member of the team will tell you that it’s the conference tournament that matters most, their accomplishments will remain on the record books for quite some time.

Oakland’s 23 victories this season have already tied the school-record that was set last year. The 17-1 Summit League record is also the best ever in conference history and allowed the program to win its first conference championship since the 1999-2000 season.

A rigorous non-conference schedule that included four teams currently ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll posed a daunting task to Oakland’s early season hopes. 

But all of those road games in front of huge crowds of hostile fans prepared the team for anything a conference opponent could throw at the team later in the season.

On Feb. 20, a win over North Dakota State was followed by celebration of the regular season championship, which included cutting down the basketball nets as 3,000 fans cheered them on at the O’Rena.

The Grizzlies enter the tournament on a roll having won 17 of their last 18 games, with just a single loss since Dec. 28. 

This run catapulted the team into the top 10 of the Mid-Major Poll and makes Oakland a heavy favorite to win the tournament next week.

OU reached the Summit League Championship game last year, but lost to North Dakota State on a tie breaking shot with three seconds remaining.

The biggest hurdle standing in Oakland’s way to the NCAA Tournament will be IUPUI, the only team to defeat the Grizzlies in conference play this season. IUPUI enters as the second seed and a third meeting of the season between the two teams appears likely to be the championship game.

Third seeded Oral Roberts is also a team to watch, as the Golden Eagles have won their share of tournaments in the past decade and played OU very close in two meetings this season, most recently in the Homecoming game back on Feb. 6.

All games of the tournament can be watched on www.espn360.com and the championship game will be televised on ESPN2 on Tuesday night.