As the first week of Championship Fortnight nears its conclusion, there have been few surprises so far. However, in one league, the top two seeds were eliminated by teams at the bottom of the conference. In the Metro Atlantic, top-seed Rider fell to 9-seed St. Peter’s, and 2-seed Canisius lost to 7-seed Quinnipiac. Of course, the MAAC is a one-bid league, so if your favorite team is holding on for dear life on the bubble, this did nothing to affect its bursting.
The Big Ten Conference Tournament took an interesting twist yesterday. Nebraska failed to show up against a Michigan squad cranking on all cylinders. The loss certainly bursts the Cornhuskers’ bubble. Just a little while later, Penn State replaced Nebraska among the hopeful teams trying to sneak into the dance through the side door. The Nittany Lions made it a triple sweep over Ohio State to move into today’s semifinals. If Penn St. drops Purdue today, then the Lions move squarely onto the bubble, and they would also be one win away from an automatic bid, which would obviously then burst another team’s bubble, such as Kansas St., Louisville, or Alabama.
The 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Field will see its first invitation handed out tonight in Evansville, Indiana, when #1-seed Murray State faces #2-seed Belmont in the Ohio Valley Conference Championship. These two teams have been the Yankees and Red Sox of the league, and either one would be a formidable underdog in the first round of the Big Dance. Murray State has multiple first round wins in its history, while Belmont has come very close a couple of times, including a one-point loss to Duke.
Here’s a look at yesterday’s conference tournament action.
Big South
| Radford 61 | Winthrop 52 |
| Liberty 69 | UNC-Asheville 64 |
| Championship–March 4 | |||
| Time | Home | Visitors | TV |
| 1:00 PM | #2 Radford | #5 Liberty | ESPN |
Big Ten
| Michigan St. 63 | Wisconsin 60 |
| Michigan 77 | Nebraska 58 |
| Penn St. 69 | Ohio St. 68 |
| Purdue 82 | Rutgers 75 |
| Semifinals–March 3 | |||
| Time | Higher Seed | Lower Seed | TV |
| 2:00 PM | #1 Michigan St. | #5 Michigan | CBS |
| 4:30 PM | #3 Purdue | #7 Penn St. | CBS |
| Championship–March 4 | |||
| Time | Higher Seed | Lower Seed | TV |
| 4:30 PM | CBS | ||
Horizon League
| Green Bay 93 | Detroit 81 |
| Cleveland St. 72 | Youngstown St. 71 |
| Quarterfinals–March 3 | |||
| 5:30 PM | #2 Wright St. | #7 Green Bay | ESPN3 |
| 8:00 PM | #1 Northern Kentucky | #8 Cleveland St. | ESPN3 |
| Quarterfinals–March 4 | |||
| Time | Higher Seed | Lower Seed | TV |
| 5:00 PM | #3 UIC | #6 Milwaukee | ESPN3 |
| 7:30 PM | #4 Oakland | #5 IUPUI | ESPN3 |
| Semifinals–March 5 | |||
| Time | Higher Seed | Lower Seed | TV |
| 7:00 PM | NKU/CSU/YSU | Oakland or IUPUI | ESPNU |
| 9:30 PM | Wright St./GB/Det | UIC or Milwaukee | ESPNU |
| Championship–March 6 | |||
| Time | Higher Seed | Lower Seed | TV |
| 7:00 PM | TBA | ||
Metro Atlantic
| St. Peter’s 66 | Rider 55 |
| Quinnipiac 72 | Canisius 69 |
| Quarterfinals–March 3 | |||
| Time | Higher Seed | Lower Seed | TV |
| 7:00 PM | #3 Niagara | #6 Fairfield | ESPN3 |
| 9:30 PM | #4 Iona | #5 Manhattan | ESPN3 |
| Semifinals–March 4 | |||
| Time | Higher Seed | Lower Seed | TV |
| 7:00 PM | Iona or Manhattan | #9 St. Peter’s | ESPN3 |
| 9:30 PM | Niagara or Fairfield | #7 Quinnipiac | ESPN3 |
| Championship–March 5 | |||
| Time | Higher Seed | Lower Seed | TV |
| 7:00 PM | TBA | ||
Missouri Valley
| Loyola (Chi.) 54 | Northern Iowa 50 |
| Bradley 63 | Drake 61 |
| Southern Illinois 67 | Missouri St. 63 |
| Illinois St. 77 | Indiana St. 70 |
| Semifinals–March 3 | |||
| Time | Higher Seed | Lower Seed | TV |
| 2:30 PM | #1 Loyola (Chi.) | #5 Bradley | CBSSN |
| 5:00 PM | #2 Southern Illinois | #3 Illinois St. | CBSSN |
| Championship–March 4 | |||
| Time | Higher Seed | Lower Seed | TV |
| 1:00 PM | CBS | ||
Ohio Valley
| Murray St. 70 | Jacksonville St. 63 |
| Belmont 94 | Austin Peay 79 |
| Championship–March 3 | |||
| Time | Higher Seed | Lower Seed | TV |
| 7:00 PM | #1 Murray St. | #2 Belmont | ESPN2 |
Southern Conference
| Citadel 78 | VMI 70 |
| Chattanooga 89 | Samford 79 |
| Quarterfinals–March 3 | |||
| Time | Higher Seed | Lower Seed | TV |
| 12:00 PM | #1 UNC-Greensboro | #8 The Citadel | ESPN3 |
| 2:30 PM | #4 Mercer | #5 Wofford | ESPN3 |
| 6:00 PM | #2 East Tennessee St. | #10 Chattanooga | ESPN3 |
| 8:30 PM | #3 Furman | #6 Western Carolina | ESPN3 |
| Semifinals–March 4 | |||
| Time | Higher Seed | Lower Seed | TV |
| 4:00 PM | UNCG/Cit | Mercer or Wofford | ESPN3 |
| 6:30 PM | ETSU//Chatt | Furman or WCU | ESPN3 |
| Championship–March 5 | |||
| Time | Higher Seed | Lower Seed | TV |
| 9:00 PM | ESPN2 | ||
West Coast Conference
| Loyola Marymount 78 | Portland 72 |
| Pepperdine 85 | Santa Clara 69 |
| Quarterfinals–March 3 | |||
| Time | Higher Seed | Lower Seed | TV |
| 1:00 PM | #3 BYU | #6 San Diego | NBCSN |
| 3:00 PM | #4 San Francisco | #5 Pacific | NBCSN |
| 7:00 PM | #1 Gonzaga | #8 Loyola Marymount | ESPN2 |
| 9:00 PM | #2 Saint Mary’s | #10 Pepperdine | ESPN2 |
| Semifinals–March 4 | |||
| Time | Higher Seed | Lower Seed | TV |
| 6:00 PM | Gonzaga/LMU | USF or Pacific | ESPN |
| 8:00 PM | SMU/Pepperdine | BYU or USD | ESPN2 |
| Championship–March 6 | |||
| Time | Higher Seed | Lower Seed | TV |
| 6:00 PM | ESPN | ||
Conference Tournaments Resuming Today
Northeast Conference
| Semifinals–March 3 | |||
| Time | Home Team | Visitors | TV |
| 12:00 PM | #1 Wagner | #7 Robert Morris | ESPN3 |
| 2:00 PM | #4 Long Island | #6 Fairleigh-Dickinson | ESPN3 |
| Championship–March 6 | |||
| Time | Home Team | Visitors | TV |
| 7:00 PM | Higher Seed | Lower Seed | ESPN2 |
Conference Tournaments Beginning Today
| Colonial Athletic Association Tournament | |||
| North Charleston, SC | |||
| All Times EST | |||
| First Round–March 3 | |||
| Time | Higher Seed | Lower Seed | TV |
| 4:00 PM | #8 Drexel | #9 James Madison | CAA TV |
| 6:30 PM | #7 Delaware | #10 Elon | CAA TV |
| Quarterfinals–March 4 | |||
| Time | Higher Seed | Lower Seed | TV |
| 12:00 PM | #1 College of Charleston | Drexel or JMU | CAA TV |
| 2:30 PM | #4 William & Mary | #5 Towson | CAA TV |
| 6:00 PM | #2 Northeastern | Delaware or Elon | CAA TV |
| 8:30 PM | #3 Hofstra | #6 UNC-Wilmington | CAA TV |
| Semifinals–March 5 | |||
| Time | Higher Seed | Lower Seed | TV |
| 6:00 PM | CofC/Drex/JMU | W&M or Towson | CBSSN |
| 8:30 PM | NE/Del/Elon | Hofstra or UNCW | CBSSN |
| Championship–March 6 | |||
| Time | Higher Seed | Lower Seed | TV |
| 7:00 PM | CBSSN | ||
| Summit League Tournament | |||
| Sioux Falls, MS | |||
| All Times CST | |||
| Quarterfinals–March 3 | |||
| Time | Higher Seed | Lower Seed | TV |
| 6:00 PM | #1 South Dakota St. | #8 Western Illinois | ESPN3 |
| 8:30 PM | #2 South Dakota | #7 Omaha | ESPN3 |
| Quarterfinals–March 4 | |||
| Time | Higher Seed | Lower Seed | TV |
| 6:00 PM | #4 Fort Wayne | #5 North Dakota St. | ESPN3 |
| 8:30 PM | #3 Denver | #6 Oral Roberts | ESPN3 |
| Semifinals–March 5 | |||
| Time | Higher Seed | Lower Seed | TV |
| 6:00 PM | SDSU or WIU | Ft.Wayne or NDSU | ESPN3 |
| 8:30 PM | USD or Omaha | Denver or ORU | ESPN3 |
| Championship–March 6 | |||
| Time | Higher Seed | Lower Seed | TV |
| 8:00 PM | ESPN2 | ||
Today’s PiRate Ratings Spreads for Power Conferences and Conference Tournaments
| Home Team | Visitor | Spread |
| DePaul | Xavier | -6.6 |
| Texas | West Virginia | -1.1 |
| Florida | Kentucky | 3.2 |
| Georgia Tech | Wake Forest | 1.6 |
| Miami (Fla.) | Virginia Tech | 3.4 |
| Providence | St. John’s | 3.3 |
| LSU | Mississippi St. | 1.7 |
| Syracuse | Clemson | -0.2 |
| Florida St. | Boston College | 7.7 |
| Texas A&M | Alabama | 5.9 |
| Kansas St. | Baylor | 1.7 |
| Fordham | VCU | -3.7 |
| St. Joseph’s | LaSalle | 4.9 |
| Arizona St. | Stanford | 8.1 |
| Marquette | Creighton | -0.2 |
| Dayton | George Washington | 4.6 |
| Auburn | South Carolina | 7.6 |
| Virginia | Notre Dame | 12.2 |
| Oklahoma St. | Kansas | -4.0 |
| Texas Tech | TCU | 6.1 |
| Washington | Oregon | 0.5 |
| Villanova | Georgetown | 17.9 |
| Tennessee | Georgia | 9.9 |
| North Carolina St. | Louisville | 1.3 |
| Missouri | Arkansas | 2.7 |
| Arizona | California | 18.2 |
| Washington St. | Oregon St. | -2.3 |
| Middle Tennessee | Marshall | 11.3 |
| Utah | Colorado | 7.4 |
| George Mason | Richmond | 2.3 |
| Boise St. | Wyoming | 10.0 |
| Seton Hall | Butler | 2.1 |
| Massachusetts | Duquesne | 1.9 |
| St. Louis | St. Bonaventure | 0.2 |
| UT Rio Grande Valley | New Mexico St. | -11.2 |
| Duke | North Carolina | 6.5 |
| Ole Miss | Vanderbilt | 2.9 |
| San Diego St. | Nevada | -0.9 |
| USC | UCLA | 4.7 |
| UMBC | UMass-Lowell | 9.2 |
| Hartford | New Hampshire | 6.1 |
| Vermont | Maine | 23.4 |
| Albany | Stony Brook | 8.9 |
| Drexel | James Madison | -0.9 |
| Delaware | Elon | 0.1 |
| South Dakota St. | Western Illinois | 15.2 |
| South Dakota | Omaha | 15.1 |
| Michigan St. | Michigan | 4.1 |
| Purdue | Penn St. | 6.5 |
| Wright St. | Green Bay | 7.6 |
| Northern Kentucky | Cleveland St. | 14.8 |
| Niagara | Fairfield | 1.2 |
| Iona | Manhattan | 4.7 |
| Loyola (Chi.) | Bradley | 7.0 |
| Southern Illinois | Illinois St. | 0.7 |
| Wagner | Robert Morris | 8.8 |
| Long Island | Fairleigh-Dickinson | 3.9 |
| Murray St. | Belmont | 1.4 |
| UNC-Greensboro | The Citadel | 16.1 |
| Mercer | Wofford | 2.3 |
| East Tennessee St. | Chattanooga | 13.6 |
| Furman | Western Carolina | 13.4 |
| BYU | San Diego | 4.3 |
| San Francisco | Pacific | 1.6 |
| Gonzaga | Loyola Marymount | 20.7 |
| Saint Mary’s | Pepperdine | 18.9 |
The Pi-Rate Ratings 