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The Mastodons Research Paper

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Teams are seeded and therefore labelled for this week’s Summit League Championships in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Mastodons “earned” the 6th seed in an 8-team tournament after defeating Western Illinois in overtime, 96-92. The casual fans would consider their chances slim if there are really five teams “better” than the Mastodons as the tourney gets underway Saturday night with top-seeded South Dakota playing Western Illinois. But a deeper look inside the teams and the statistics makes it appear that the label “6th” is the ultimate misnomer being applied to Fort Wayne. The Mastodons lead the league in almost all season-long statistical categories. Including scoring, field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage, total assists, and rebounding. The Mastodons have for players averaging in double-figures, and a fifth …show more content…

Not only did the Mastodons have second-half leads, they were within one possession in the closing seconds of five of their eight losses. The worst defeat of the 16 conference games was when Fort Wayne blew a 59-53 second-half lead at home to South Dakota before losing 93-82. No one else can claim that competitiveness…even South Dakota, with a 12-4 record, suffered a 10-point loss to Oral Roberts, and the Golden Eagles finished 9th out of the 9-team league and didn’t qualify for the tournament. According to schedules, results, and tie-breakers, Fort Wayne, despite tying for 4th place in the standings enters the tourney as the 6th seed. This is a “virtual” 3 vs 4 game. In fact, the Mastodons defeated Omaha in both head-to-head meetings this year, so the 3 vs 6 label is more than just a bit misleading. Based on the match-ups, the ‘Dons should really consider this a “3 vs 6 game” in which they are the third seed wearing dark uniforms. If you consider the Mastodons a three seed, does your opinion of their chances change

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