Summit League preview: Oakland will run the gamut

It's the eve of the beginning of the college basketball season, and we've got a few more conference previews to give you before we're officially off and running with 2010-11. Our series continues with the Summit League. Here's a look at the projected standings, three must-see games and the conference's three most intriguing storylines entering the new season.

Oakland could have a misleading record come January

The Grizzlies, who are picked to win the Summit, have an incredibly difficult schedule. In fact, among low-majors, only North Florida may be facing a more loaded nonconference slate.

Oakland plays away from home against West Virginia and Ohio (who you may remember waxing Georgetown in the first round of the NCAAs last season) in its first two games of the season. Then — you ready for this? — the Grizzlies will face, consecutively, from Dec. 8 to the 23: at Illinois; at Michigan State; at Tennessee; at Michigan; vs. Rochester; at Ohio State. Also, between Dec. 5 and Jan. 5, the only home game for the Grizzlies is that Rochester tilt.

It's entirely possible Oakland could be 6-6 before conference play picks up with the Dec. 28 game at Centenary. We may not truly know how good this team is, despite the fact it went 17-1 in the league last season.

Keith Benson is the key

Benson, pictured above, is the reason why Oakland received all but five first-place votes by league coaches, SIDs and media last month. He was recognized as one of the premier mid-major players in the country last season, and if he ascends to a truly dominating role, the Grizzlies will remain a threat to return to the NCAA tournament, because Benson's a game-changer against any team in the league, game-changer in the sense that double teams may simply not qualify as a nuisance.

With Benson leading the way in 2009-10, the Grizzlies set a Summit League record with 17 wins. He probably would've stayed in the NBA Draft and been selected had he not come back due to a bad thumb.

Will IUPUI and/or Oral Roberts keep it close late in February?

IUPUI fell in the Summit League finals last year to Oakland; Oral Roberts was a 13-5 club in the conference and brings back three of the top 16 scorers in the league. It has four starters returning, while IUPUI has three back in the fold. There's plenty to love about both teams' ability to play tough, rebound well and own the paint. Because of that, the Benson challenge gets more intriguing.

Despite the conference's overall low profile, this could be an exciting wire-to-wire league. Unless Oakland blows the doors off everyone in the nonconference, manages to lose only once or twice in the league and falls in the title game, the Summit doesn't stand a chance to send two teams to the NCAAs. That urgency paired with three highly competent teams will catalyze drama in the conference.

Source: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/blog/the_dagger/post/Summit-League-preview-Oakland-will-run-the-gamu?urn=ncaab-283083

Basketball History College Football Schedule baseball Scores Basketball rules