On February 28, 2009, the Bison men’s basketball team captured the Summit League regular-season championship, the school’s first at the Division I level, by defeating Oral Roberts 75–72 in Tulsa, OK. Two weeks later, NDSU earned its first men’s basketball NCAA berth by winning the Summit League Tournament played at Sioux Falls, SD. The Bison defeated Centenary 83–77 in the tourney quarterfinals, stopped Southern Utah 79–67 in the semifinals, and edged Oakland 66–64 in the championship game. The Bison traveled to Minneapolis for a first-round game with the defending national champions, the Kansas Jayhawks, and fell 84–74. NDSU’s tournament appearance marked the first time in almost 35 years that a Division I men’s program qualified for the tournament in its first season of eligibility.