A shout out to our Bracketology Gurus here at the PiRate Ratings. The guys (and one gal) successfully/correctly selected all 68 teams this morning in our final Bracketology Report.
Way to go team! We knew you could do it.
March 12, 2017
Sunday March Madness Update
Rhode Island won an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by topping VCU in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament. The Rams now must be moved into first round bye status, so now a new team must be lowered into the First Four in Dayton.
Our Gurus will not have time to send us those teams, so we will go with the lowest team that received a bye prior to URI being moved up.
Thus, Vanderbilt moves down to the First Four as an 11-seed to face USC and Wake Forest moves to a 12-seed to Kansas State in the other First Four game.
Selection Sunday Ayem–March 12, 2017
Like Xmas Day For A Basketball Junkie
5:30 PM Eastern DAYLIGHT Time cannot come quickly enough. Today is the day fans of 68 teams get to open their March Madness presents. Most of the teams that will be dancing know they are in, be it with an automatic bid or a for sure at-large bid. The Bubble has shrunk to just a few teams, and our Bracketology Gurus believe they have the 68 teams this morning before any games are played today. Only the seeding may be altered by today’s games, but they agree in 100% unison that the teams we will list are the 68 teams that will continue to pursue their National Championship dreams.
THE FINAL BUBBLE
California
Illinois St.
Iowa
Kansas St.
Rhode Island
Syracuse
USC
Vanderbilt
Wake Forest
Xavier
Room at the Inn for six of these 10 teams, so which six make it, and which 4 are number one seeds in the NIT?
The six we have in are (alphabetically): Kansas State, Rhode Island, USC, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, and Xavier.
The four that will need tissues to wipe their tears are: California, Illinois State, Iowa, and Syracuse
The one that the Gurus believe should be in over one that should be out is Illinois State rather than USC. However, the Gurus are selecting based on how they predict the Selection Committee will select, and even through the rules state that teams are not chosen within a conference by conference basis, subconsciously the members will look and see that they cannot exclude both Cal and the Trojans. USC’s win over SMU is the reason the men of Troy get in over the men of Berkeley.
There are six games left to be played, and the seed lines could change based on who wins, but the Committee does not change their final seedings within the last two hours, so the final scores of some of the games will be official after the final seeding has been done. Thus, the AAC and Big Ten Championship Games will still be underway when the final seeds are completed. Only the name of the Sun Belt Conference Champion will have to be added late, and the Committee can already put the first letter of that champion on the board–a “T” (Texas State or Troy).
Here is today’s schedule.
| American Athletic Conference Championship | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | SMU | 29-4 | vs. | 2 | Cincinnati | 29-4 | 3:15 PM | ESPN |
| Atlantic 10 Conference Championship | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 4 | Rhode Island | 23-9 | vs. | 2 | VCU | 26-7 | 12:30 PM | CBS |
| Big Ten Conference Championship | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 8 | Michigan | 23-11 | vs. | 2 | Wisconsin | 25-8 | 3:00 PM | CBS |
| Ivy League Conference Championship | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | Princeton | 22-6 | vs. | 3 | Yale | 18-10 | 12:00 PM | ESPN2 |
| Southeastern Conference Championship | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | Kentucky | 28-5 | vs. | 3 | Arkansas | 25-8 | 1:00 PM | ESPN |
| Sun Belt Conference Championship | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 4 | Texas St. | 20-12 | vs. | 6 | Troy | 21-14 | 2:00 PM | ESPN2 |
| Selection Sunday | ||||||||
| 5:30 PM EDT on CBS | ||||||||
| NCAA Tournament | ||||||||
| First Four: March 14-15 | ||||||||
| Second Round: March 16-17 | ||||||||
| Third Round: March 18-19 | ||||||||
| Sweet 16: March 23-24 | ||||||||
| Elite Eight: March 25-26 | ||||||||
| Final Four: April 1 | ||||||||
| National Championship: April 3 | ||||||||
The Bracketology Gurus Field of 68
- Villanova, Gonzaga, Kansas, North Carolina
- Duke, Arizona, Kentucky, Oregon
- Baylor, Louisville, Florida St., UCLA
- West Virginia, Butler, Notre Dame, Cincinnati
- Florida, Iowa St., Virginia, Purdue
- Wisconsin, SMU, Minnesota, Michigan
- Creighton, Arkansas, Saint Mary’s, Wichita St.
- Maryland, Miami (Fla.), VCU, Virginia Tech
- Northwestern, Oklahoma St., Dayton, Seton Hall
- Michigan St., South Carolina, Marquette, Providence
- Middle Tennessee, Xavier, Vanderbilt, USC, Wake Forest
- UNC-Wilmington, Nevada, Vermont, Rhode Island, Kansas St.
- Bucknell, Princeton, Winthrop, East Tennessee St.
- Florida Gulf Coast, New Mexico St., Iona, Northern Kentucky
- Texas Southern, Kent State, Jacksonville St., North Dakota
- Texas St., UNC-Central, New Orleans, South Dakota St., UC-Davis, Mount St. Mary’s
Last Four Byes: Marquette, Providence, Vanderbilt, Xavier
Last Four In (Dayton Bound): USC vs. Wake Forest, Rhode Island vs. Kansas St.
First Four Out (#1 Seeds in NIT): California, Illinois St., Iowa, and Syracuse
Coming Next: We go dark for 48 hours. Tuesday morning, we will premier PiRate Bracketnomics for 2017 with a total primer on how we handle our bracket picking and outright winners of games for you that failed to heed our warnings and chose to wager your hard-earned dollars in Vegas or offshore. FWIW, we have heard from a half-dozen of you that you have found something in our Blue Ratings that have made you handsome profits this year. We hope that continues for you, but please do not rely on just our ratings to wager money with books in Vegas. We don’t want the guilt trip when you cannot pay your April Mortgage or car payment.
In addition to Bracketnomics, we will also give you all the raw data to use for yourself. We will have a spreadsheet of all 68 teams with their Four Factors, their PiRate Specific Ratings, and then follow that up with how the teams fit in our Final Four footprint. We have backtested the data we use as far back as each statistic allows us to do, and we will include that in our preview.
Tell all your friends to check us out. The Tuesday preview is our most visited entry of the year, even more than our Super Bowl and College Playoff National Championship football editions.
But remember our axiom: We are just a bunch of math nerds doing this for fun. Please wager responsibly, or like us just wager a lunch with your friend. Also, remember that you have a better chance of being abducted by aliens from space while being struck by lightning, as you hold the winning Power Ball and Mega Millions lottery tickets while getting a kiss from a supermodel (all at the same time) than you do of picking a perfect bracket.
Note: Special Congrats go to Renato Nunez on his impressive home run at Hohokam Park yesterday against the Rangers.
March 11, 2017
Conference Tournament Update–Saturday, March 11, 2017
Joining The Field
You might be thinking, “Wait, there were no conference championship games Friday, so how could there be an addition to the automatic bid list?”
It is a technicality issue. In the SWAC, Alcorn State is ineligible for postseason play, but they were eligible for the conference tournament. The Braves have made it to the Championship Game of the SWAC Tournament, but they cannot receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Their opponent tonight is Texas Southern, the regular season SWAC champion. The rules in the SWAC state that if the conference tournament champion is ineligible for the postseason, the regular season champion gets the automatic bid. Thus, Texas Southern is in the Dance no matter what happens tonight in the conference championship game.
We rarely issue opinions on matters like this, but this one seems obvious. The conference championship game is now meaningless, and leagues like the SWAC struggle to fill seats in tournament games if they do not put them on the home courts of the higher seeds. This league does not include all their members in the conference tournament, yet they included an ineligible team. It seems obvious that the SWAC should have kept Alcorn State out of the conference tournament and allowed Arkansas-Pine Bluff (one of two teams left out) to participate. That at least would make the Championship Game mean something.
Today’s Schedule
All times Eastern Standard
| America East Conference Tournament Championship — Vermont Hosts | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | Vermont | 28-5 | vs. | 3 | Albany | 21-12 | 11:00 AM | ESPN2 |
Vermont has a perfect America East record this year, now at 16-0, as they prepare to host Albany. The last time these two teams met, Albany took a seven-point first half lead in Burlington, before the Catamounts clawed back into the lead in the second half. The game was still close with less than four minutes remaining before a big closing run by VU produced a 12-point victory. David Nichols kept Albany in that game with his three-point shooting, and if the Great Danes are to pull off the upset, they will need to be hot from behind the arc. Vermont should win its 21st consecutive game and become a feisty lower-seed foe for a second round biggie.
| American Athletic Conference Tournament Semifinals–Hartford,CT | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | SMU | 28-4 | vs. | 4 | Central Florida | 21-10 | 3:00 PM | ESPN2 |
| 2 | Cincinnati | 28-4 | vs. | 6 | Connecticut | 16-16 | 5:00 PM | ESPN2 |
One might think that SMU and Cincinnati have this tournament semifinals all wrapped up and will face off tomorrow in a rubber game to decide the conference tournament title winner. Think again. Central Florida and Connecticut are worthy competitors, and both teams have the ability to pull off upsets.
Cincinnati destroyed UConn both times they played, but the Huskies have a knack for becoming a different team in conference tournament play. They looked like they were poised for a repeat performance after smashing a good Houston team and ending the Couagars’ hopes of an at-large bid.
Central Florida presents incredible matchup problems with 7-6 behemoth Tacko Fall able to alter gameplans all by himself. UCF has won six consecutive games, and Coach Johnny Dawkins knows how to use Fall to suck defenders in so that his prime long-range shooters, Matt Williams, B J Taylor, and Nick Banyard, can get open looks. UCF hit 14 three-pointers in their decimation of Memphis.
| Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Championship–Brooklyn | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 5 | Duke | 26-8 | vs. | 3 | Notre Dame | 25-8 | 9:00 PM | ESPN |
Neither team was picked by most of the ACC media experts to make it to the championship game of this tournament. Duke dropped Louisville and North Carolina to make it here, while Notre Dame took care of business against Virginia and Florida St. Both teams are safely in the NCAA Tournament, so the two are playing for pride and a chance to move up one seed line in the Dance. Duke won at Notre Dame in their only meeting this year, and this win occurred during Coach K’s absence with Jeff Capel guiding the team. The Blue Devils had a hot streak in that game, hitting over 50% from the field and an amazing 23 of 24 at the foul line.
| Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Semifinals–Pittsburgh (Duquense) | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 9 | Davidson | 17-14 | vs. | 4 | Rhode Island | 22-9 | 1:00 PM | CBSSN |
| 2 | VCU | 25-7 | vs. | 3 | Richmond | 20-11 | 3:30 PM | CBSSN |
Nervous fans of teams on the Bubble will be watching this league the next two days. With top-seed Dayton dismissed by Davidson, there are three teams left in this quartet that can burst some bubbles elsewhere. Rhode Island may have already played itself in to the NCAA Tournament, but Richmond and Davidson must win the automatic bid. This tournament should be must watch this afternoon if your team still needs some help.
| Big 12 Conference Tournament Championship–Kansas City | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 4 | Iowa St. | 22-10 | vs. | 2 | West Virginia | 26-7 | 6:00 PM | ESPN |
They hit just 26.7% of their shots, and their press was not very effective yesterday, but West Virginia found a way to beat Kansas State, doing so by dominating on the glass. Now, the Mountaineers go for the Big 12 Title against an Iowa State team that did not fare well against WVU in two previous tries.
In both games, the Cyclones wore out with fatigue from facing full-court pressure. WVU went on big runs both times to win by double digits. ISU might have more fatigue problems tonight, since this is their third game in three days. The Mountaineers seemed to look a little tired as well last night, but Coach Huggins provided the adrenaline needed to get over the hump.
| Big East Conference Tournament Championship–New York City | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | Villanova | 30-3 | vs. | 6 | Creighton | 25-8 | 5:30 PM | Fox |
Villanova already knows they will be a #1 seed as they attempt to defend their National Championship, but the Wildcats can secure the overall top-seed with a win over the Blue Jays this afternoon. Both teams were down a key player when they met most recently, but VU has its key player back now in power forward Darryl Reynolds. Reynolds has been pulling down the tough rebounds in his three games back, and the Wildcats once again have the look of a Final Four team.
| Big Sky Conference Tournament Championship–Reno, NV | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | North Dakota | 21-9 | vs. | 3 | Weber St. | 19-12 | 8:30 PM | ESPNU |
North Dakota swept the season series with Weber State, including the big win back in February that put the Fighting Hawks in control of the Big Sky race. UND won with their incredible guard tandem of Quinton Hooker and Geno Crandall, and WSU will have to come up with an incredible defensive gameplan to keep UND out of the Big Dance. The Hawks are hoping a convincing win can help them avoid a layover in Dayton.
| Big Ten Conference Tournament Semifinals–Washington, DC | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 8 | Michigan | 22-11 | vs. | 4 | Minnesota | 24-8 | 1:00 PM | CBS |
| 2 | Wisconsin | 24-8 | vs. | 6 | Northwestern | 23-10 | 3:30 PM | CBS |
The four teams remaining will not hurt anybody else’s Bubble chances, as they will all receive Dance invitations, but there is still drama remaining in this tournament. Michigan survived a travel nightmare just to get to this tournament. Northwestern has never been a factor in this tournament and has not won a Big Ten title of any kind. Meanwhile, it would make for a terrific championship game tomorrow if neighboring rivals Minnesota and Wisconsin played for the trophy. It also would give the Big Ten a chance to move a team into the 4-seed line.
| Big West Conference Tournament Championship–Anaheim | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | UC-Irvine | 21-13 | vs. | 2 | UC-Davis | 21-12 | 11:30 PM | ESPN2 |
The top two seeds split their two regular season meetings, but UC-Irvine thoroughly embarrassed UC-Davis when they met in Irvine last week with the regular season title on the line. The Anteaters opened the game with a 22-3 lead, and the Aggies never threatened the rest of the way. UCI connected on 14 treys in that game.
| Conference USA Tournament Championship–Birmingham, AL | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | Middle Tennessee | 29-4 | vs. | 6 | Marshall | 20-14 | 8:30 PM | CBSSN |
This game might be the most exciting one of the entire day, and the fact that Middle Tennessee might already have done enough to lock up an at-large bid will not take anything away from the excitement this game promises. Expect the shot clock to play very little factor in this game, as both teams like to push the tempo.
If you like to follow the Houston Rockets with James Harden, Lou Williams, and Eric Gordon playing like thoroughbred race horses, then Marshall is the team for you. There is a good reason why the Thundering Herd plays like the Rockets, as they are coached by Dan D’Antoni, Mike’s brother. The Thundering Herd run up and down the floor like UNLV from the 1970’s, but they have one huge Achilles’ Heel. They cannot rebound very well. Middle Tennessee is an average rebounding team, but the Blue Raiders swept Marshall in the regular season thanks to spreading the wealth around. In their most recent game against the Herd, MTSU placed six players in double figures, while a seventh had nine points in a 97-86 win. Get your popcorn and soda ready for this one, as it will give you two hours of pure viewing pleasure.
| Ivy League Tournament Semifinals–Philadelphia | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | Princeton | 21-6 | vs. | 4 | Penn | 13-14 | 1:30 PM | ESPNU |
| 2 | Harvard | 18-9 | vs. | 3 | Yale | 17-10 | 4:00 PM | ESPNU |
We aren’t going to hide our joy over this tournament finally becoming a reality. The Ivy League plays quality fundamental basketball. If you play or coach at a lower level and must use sound principles and intelligence for your team to win, this is the league for you to watch.
Princeton aced the field this year with a perfect 14-0 league mark, and if the Tigers knock off rival Penn tonight and then win tomorrow, they should be a 13-seed in the Tournament with a somewhat decent chance to knock off the right type of 4-seed (not West Virginia or Cincinnati). Having legendary rivals Harvard and Yale play in the second game just makes this inaugural affair perfect.
Harvard took Princeton to the wire in both games, but the Tigers handled the Bulldogs rather easily. Few fans are giving Penn much chance in this tournament, but they are getting to host this thing at the Palestra, which should give the Quakers about 5-6 points in home court advantage.
| Mid-American Conference Tournament Championship–Cleveland | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | Akron | 26-7 | vs. | 6 | Kent St. | 21-13 | 7:30 PM | ESPN2 |
A February swoon cost Akron any chance of qualifying as an at-large team should they not win the MAC automatic bid. Included in that fall was a three-point loss at home to Kent State, as the Golden Flashes put an end to the Zips’ 30-game home winning streak. Akron recovered to win at Kent State last week, so this should be an interesting rematch and close to a 50-50 tossup.
| Mideast Athletic Conference Tournament Championship–Norfolk, VA (Norfolk St.) | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | UNC-Central | 24-8 | vs. | 2 | Norfolk St. | 17-15 | 1:00 PM | ESPN2 |
UNC-Central has remained unnoticed among the nation’s basketball fans outside of the MEAC, but the Eagles have gone 15-2 in their last 17 games and fared rather well in its road games against the power conference teams. Should UNCC win and then be forced to head to Dayton, the Eagles would most likely emerge victorious and advance, but a win today coupled with an upset somewhere else could be all that it takes to keep Central out of Dayton. If Norfolk State pulls off the upset, they can send their laundry to Dayton on the next express out of Norfolk. It does help that the Spartans get to play this game on their home floor.
| Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship–Las Vegas (UNLV) | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | Nevada | 27-6 | vs. | 2 | Colorado St. | 28-6 | 6:00 PM | CBS |
These two teams squared off last Saturday in Reno with the top seed in this tournament on the line. Nevada won by 13, controlling the tempo and going on a big 20-3 run in the middle of the game. Nevada is a team without a glaring weakness, albeit not on the same page with Kentucky and Oregon. The Wolf Pack have a lineup similar to SMU in that all five starters can play in the wing positions and can post up inside. It reminds us a lot of Louisville during Denny Crum’s time when he had big-time stars like Junior Bridgman, Darrel Griffith, Jim Price, and Ron Thomas.
Colorado State plays a muscle power game and tries to grind opponents down. The Rams rely on senior guard Gian Clavell to score points, and when his shots are off, CSU can struggle to score. In the Rams’ favor tonight is the fact that they just played Nevada a week ago and know what they are going to face, as there has not been time to tweak the gameplans all that much.
| Pac-12 Conference Tournament Championship–Las Vegas | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | Oregon | 29-4 | vs. | 2 | Arizona | 29-4 | 11:00 PM | ESPN |
Our Red-White-Blue Ratings that we will not publish today actually indicate that this game is a true tossup. In fact, two of the ratings show the spread at 0! The top two seeds met just once in the regular season, and Oregon used a 36-9 run in the first half to put the game away quickly. The Ducks have the top home court advantage in America, so the 27-point margin of victory can be tossed out the window, and you can give the Wildcats a little more incentive to seek revenge tonight. However, we think the Ducks have the better roster, and that gives Oregon the slight edge.
| Southeastern Conference Tournament Semifinals–Nashville | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | Kentucky | 27-5 | vs. | 5 | Alabama | 19-13 | 1:00 PM | ESPN |
| 7 | Vanderbilt | 19-14 | vs. | 3 | Arkansas | 24-8 | 3:20 PM | ESPN |
Vanderbilt played its way into the NCAA Tournament with its third win over Florida. The Commodores should be able to avoid a First Four game in Dayton as well.
Alabama has the potential to give Kentucky all it can handle. Had the Tide hit their free throws in their one contest against the Wildcats, they could have won their regular season game in Tuscaloosa. This is Nashville, and the last time we checked, Nashville was about halfway between these two schools’ campuses, but it will look more like Rupp Arena this afternoon as the Music City is crawling with Royal Blue clothed tourists up and down Broadway and in Hatty B’s Hot Chicken.
Arkansas and Vanderbilt played two close games this year, with the visiting team winning both times. Since the Commodores won at Bud Walton, Arkansas has been a different team. The Razorbacks have won seven of eight games, including a road victory over South Carolina.
| Southland Conference Tournament Championship–Katy, TX (Greater Houston area) | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | New Orleans | 19-11 | vs. | 2 | Texas A&M-CC | 20-10 | 9:30 PM | ESPN2 |
Disclaimer: We cannot preview this game in an impartial manner. We will not withhold the secret that we are rooting like crazy for Coach Willis Wilson to guide TAMCCU to the Big Dance. A finer man in the coaching business does not exist, and Wilson has not been given the accolades that should have been afforded to him. The Rice alum coached at his alma mater for 18 years, taking the Owls to the near edge of NCAA qualification only to come up a tad short, having to make do with the NIT. Trying to win at Rice is extremely tough, as the high-academic standards and having to be the number two team in the city of Houston did not help the Owls recruit players to Main Street, where on a sunny day, more folks turn out to the zoo across the street than come to the Rice basketball games.
Wilson has built up the TAMCCU program to the point where the Islanders have made consecutive trips to the CIT, as Stephen F. Austin dominated the league under former coach Brad Underwood. Tonight, the Islanders have their best shot at making the Dance, where they have been just once before, back in 2007.
New Orleans also has a nice story that needs to be told. The basketball program shut down after the 2009-2010 season and stayed dark for two seasons before re-emerging as one of the final two teams to play as an independent (Cal State Bakersfield is the other). The Privateers have had a somewhat storied history with a bevy of excellent coaches working in the Crescent City (Ron Greene, Butch van Breda Kolff, Bennie Dees, Tim Floyd, and Buzz Williams). They have made it to four NCAA Tournaments, albeit none in the last 20 years, and they actually have won Dance win over BYU in 1987. There will be emotions running wild on both sides tonight, so check this game out if only for a little bit of your time.
| Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament Championship–Houston | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | Texas Southern | 22-11 | vs. | 2 | Alcorn St. * | 18-13 | 6:30 PM | ESPNU |
| * | Alcorn St. is ineligible for the postseason. Texas Southern earns automatic bid win or lose tonight. | |||||||
We have already spoken about this game and the fact that it does not matter if TSU wins or loses, since they already own the automatic bid. However, it will help the Tigers to win this game, because we believe they will definitely avoid Dayton with a win tonight, and they could be punished and sent to Dayton if they lose.
The game should be entertaining and nip and tuck, as TSU had difficulty beating Alcorn twice this year, once by a bucket, and once in overtime. Unfortunately, the one player that might have made a difference for the Tigers against a power conference team, muscular forward and former SWAC POY Derrick Griffin, decided to leave school to prepare for the pro draft–not the NBA, but the NFL, where he stands a good chance of being drafted as a mighty big receiver target.
| Sun Belt Conference Tournament Semifinals–New Orleans | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | UT-Arlington | 25-7 | vs. | 4 | Texas St. | 19-12 | 12:30 PM | ESPN3 |
| 2 | Georgia St. | 20-11 | vs. | 6 | Troy | 20-14 | 3:00 PM | ESPN3 |
There are some Bracketologists that believe UT-Arlington will have done enough to get an at-large bid if they beat Texas State this afternoon and lose tomorrow, but 12 of our 13 Bracketology Gurus beg to differ. The Mavericks are the team to beat in this tourney, but the other three teams don’t fear UTA. In fact, Texas State and Troy both know they can beat the top seed, as they did so convincingly during the regular season. Still, UTA is a team that defeated Saint Mary’s and had a double-digit lead at Arkansas before the Razorbacks nipped them in the final minute. If the Mavericks win the automatic bid, it would not surprise us at all if they move up to a 12-seed, the one seed that has become the seed of upsets.
| Western Athletic Conference Tournament Championship–Las Vegas | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | Cal St. Bakersfield | 22-8 | vs. | 2 | New Mexico St. | 27-5 | 11:00 PM | ESPNU |
When we think of Bakersfield, we think of the “Bakersfield Sound” that produced stars like Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, and Jean Shepard. Our founder also thinks of some great Bakersfield Dodgers baseball teams in the Class A California League that produced future Dodgers stars like Ron Cey, Steve Yeager, Doug Rau, Eric Karros, Pedro and Ramon Martinez, John Wetteland, and Mike Piazza.
Others might think of all the farmland in and around the area or the giant arch just off Highway 99. Basketball does not come to mind when one thinks of Bakersfield. Yet, the Roadrunners, under former Ole Miss coach Rod Barnes, are just one win away from making their second consecutive trip to the Big Dance.
It will be no cakewalk tonight for the top-seeded Roadrunners. Their opponent is a formidable foe, and New Mexico State might even be considered the favorite in this game. The teams match up favorably well, and this looks like a championship game where if they played a best of seven series, it would go seven games.
CSUB has one big disadvantage tonight. The Roadrunners were forced to play an extra half last night, when Utah Valley took them to 4 overtimes. The Roadrunners shot less than 30% from the field, gave up an astronomical 68 rebounds to Utah Valley, and they still won, because they forced the Wolverines into committing 28 turnovers and stole the ball 11 times.
PiRate Ratings Bracketology Gurus Update for Saturday AM
- Villanova, Kansas, North Carolina, Gonzaga
- Kentucky, Oregon, Duke, Arizona
- Baylor, Louisville, West Virginia, Florida St.
- UCLA, Notre Dame, Butler, Minnesota
- Florida, Cincinnati, Iowa St., SMU
- Virginia, Purdue, Wisconsin, Creighton
- Maryland, Saint Mary’s, Michigan, Wichita St.
- Virginia Tech, Miami, Northwestern, VCU
- Arkansas, South Carolina, Dayton, Oklahoma St.
- Middle Tennessee, Marquette, Michigan St., Seton Hall
- Providence, Vanderbilt, Xavier, Wake Forest, USC
- UT-Arlington, UNC-Wilmington, Nevada, Kansas St., Syracuse
- Vermont, Princeton, Akron, Bucknell
- East Tennessee St., Florida Gulf Coast, New Mexico St., Winthrop
- Iona, Texas Southern, Northern Kentucky, UC-Irvine
- South Dakota St., UNC-Central, Jacksonville St., Texas A&M CC, North Dakota, Mount St. Mary’s
Last Four Byes
Seton Hall
Providence
Vanderbilt
Xavier
Last Four In–Headed to Dayton
Wake Forest vs. USC
Kansas St. vs. Syracuse
First Four Out
Rhode Island–can jump into the field with a win Saturday
Illinois State
California
Alabama–we jumped the Tide up here, because they are the only team still playing with a chance to move up. All others in this spot have no chance to make the field and have no games left to play (Illinois, Iowa, Houston, TCU, Georgia, Indiana)
March 10, 2017
Conference Tournament Update–Friday, March 10, 2017
Bubble Update
Iowa, Illinois, and Utah clinched bids yesterday, but it’s to the junior prom rather than the senior prom. The trio are NIT-bound. USC lost a close one to rival UCLA last night, but we believe the Trojans are rather safe for now.
Some interesting upsets has made it a nerve-wracking day for a few teams that thought they were on the good side of the Bubble. Let’s take a look at those teams that received Bubble invitations Thursday.
A. TCU–The Horned Frogs pulled the big upset over Kansas, although the Jayhawks were missing a key player due to suspension. Kansas will remain a #1 seed, but they could move down to the fourth top-seed. Meanwhile, Jamie Dixon is looking like a genius, taking a program that has been down for a long time and bringing it to the precipice of NCAA Tournament membership. A Frog win today over Iowa State would give TCU 20 wins with a better than average schedule strength. It would be mighty impressive on a resume, and the Committee would probably move that piece of paper up into the “accepted pile.”
B. Kansas State–The surprises kept coming in Kansas City, as the Wildcats knocked off Baylor in the nightcap of the Big 12 Quarterfinals. At this point, K-State may have done enough to earn a bid, so this is probably the end of the line for Illinois State, and it could put a Friday Bubble loser in jeopardy.
C. Indiana demolished Iowa yesterday, and the Hoosiers looked more like the team they were suppose to be this year. If IU drops Wisconsin today, the Hoosier will have a chance to make the field. However, the Committee does not seem to favor the Big Ten this year, and it would be difficult to substantiate Indiana making the field if they do not advance to the Championship Game. Purdue may be fortunate to become a 4-seed, and with Maryland, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Northwestern, Michigan, and Michigan State all expected to make the field, an eighth Big Ten team would have to be very impressive in the next couple of days in order to make the field. The interesting plot line here is that IU can win this tournament if they continue to play like they did yesterday, and then it would almost be a given that the Big Ten sent eight teams. That would definitely burst a Bubble down the line.
D. Xavier had played itself down to the Bubble prior to Big East Tournament play, but the Musketeers moved back to the safe zone with their win over Butler Thursday. XU will get a bid even if Creighton tops them tonight.
Bubblelicious Games on Friday
If your favorite team is still in that gray area, and another upset or two makes the Committee order more ice cream, it could be a nervous 48 hours if your team loses today. Here are the teams that should consider today must win games, even if some Bracketologists consider these teams to be in the field. The key is that our 13 Bracketology Gurus are not unanimous in their beliefs that these teams are safe even with a loss today.
A. Vanderbilt: The Commodores made it three for three over Texas A&M, and they bombed away from the perimeter to bury the Aggies with a second half barrage of threes. Vandy must now do the same thing to the highly-ranked Florida Gators today to become a safe Bubble team. A loss would leave the Commodores at 18-15, and that would give VU two negatives. No 15-loss team has ever received and at-large bid, and almost all at-large teams have won four more games than they have lost. 19-15 improves Vandy’s chances by leaps and bounds over 18-15.
B. Houston: The Cougars still need more than one win to have any chance to make the Field. They must beat UConn today, and then they will need an upset of Cincinnati tomorrow to even move into serious consideration. Of course, that means Cinti must win their game against Tulsa.
C. Rhode Island is in the same boat with Houston. Not only must the Rams take out St. Bonaventure today to have a shot at the Dance, they also must upset Dayton tomorrow and thus need Dayton to beat Davidson to set up that game.
D. TCU will move into the Field with a win over Iowa State today. Of course, it will be a probationary invitation, because they could then be leapfrogged if a team like Indiana or Alabama should win an automatic bid.
E. Speaking of Indiana, the Hoosiers will become an official Bubbler today if they beat Wisconsin.
F. All four SEC games today have Bubble Implications. We already told you about Vanderbilt. Georgia has a chance to make some noise if the Bulldogs can find a way to upset Kentucky. UGA came close to sweeping the Wildcats in the regular season only to lose two heartbreakers. If UK wants to win this tournament, they will waltz through with three double-digit wins, but if the players are already thinking about the NBA Draft and don’t want to jeopardize their chances by giving their all and risking injury, then any team left in the field can beat the Wildcats.
G. Ole Miss has 20 wins, and a win today over Arkansas, followed by a possible win tomorrow over Florida (if UF beat Vandy), could move the Rebels into contention for a bid.
H. Alabama is the forgotton team in the SEC Tournament. The Crimson Tide have the potential to play with any league member when they take smart shots. Coach Avery Johnson knows how to prepare his team to compete, and it all comes down to FG% for the Tide. Until somebody beats the Crimson, they cannot be overlooked–even if they are. If the Tide beats South Carolina today and then gets a semifinal game with Kentucky tomorrow, a win over the Wildcats would have to make ‘Bama a serious contender.
I. The three Mid-Major Players: Middle Tennessee, Nevada, and Texas-Arlington are still alive in the at-large race, but the way the trio is playing, they will really have to lay an egg to lose in their conference tournaments. MTSU faces the one team that beat them in conference play today, and we expect the Blue Raiders to punish UTEP with a blowout win.
Nevada faces a somewhat tougher task facing Fresno State, and if the men from Reno win, they are no guarantee in the Championship against either Colorado State or San Diego State. In fact, the way the Aztecs played yesterday, they looked similar to all their past teams that advanced into the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. This is possibly the best tournament to watch tonight if you are a basketball junkie from another league.
UT-Arlington is the least likely of the three in this group to get an at-large bid if they fail to win their conference tournament, but they do own the one victory over Saint Mary’s other than the three Gonzaga pinned on the Gaels. There isn’t a lot to add to their schedule strength, so UTA really needs to win the Sun Belt title.
Friday’s Schedule
| Conference Tournament Schedule–All Times Eastern Standard | ||||||||
| American Athletic Conference | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | SMU | 27-4 | vs. | 9 | East Carolina | 15-17 | 12:00 PM | ESPN2 |
| 4 | Central Florida | 20-10 | vs. | 5 | Memphis | 19-12 | 2:00 PM | ESPN2 |
| 2 | Cincinnati | 27-4 | vs. | 7 | Tulsa | 15-16 | 7:00 PM | ESPNU |
| 3 | Houston | 21-9 | vs. | 6 | Connecticut | 15-16 | 9:00 PM | ESPNU |
| Atlantic Coast Conference | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | North Carolina | 27-6 | vs. | 5 | Duke | 25-8 | 7:00 PM | ESPN |
| 2 | Florida St. | 25-7 | vs. | 3 | Notre Dame | 24-8 | 9:00 PM | ESPN |
| Atlantic 10 Conference | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | Dayton | 24-6 | vs. | 9 | Davidson | 16-14 | 12:00 PM | NBCSN |
| 4 | Rhode Island | 21-9 | vs. | 5 | St. Bonaventure | 20-11 | 2:30 PM | NBCSN |
| 2 | VCU | 24-7 | vs. | 7 | George Mason | 20-12 | 6:00 PM | NBCSN |
| 3 | Richmond | 19-11 | vs. | 6 | George Washington | 19-13 | 8:30 PM | NBCSN |
| Big 12 Conference | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 8 | TCU | 19-14 | vs. | 4 | Iowa St. | 21-10 | 7:00 PM | ESPN2 |
| 2 | West Virginia | 25-7 | vs. | 6 | Kansas St. | 20-12 | 9:00 PM | ESPN2 |
| Big East Conference | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | Villanova | 29-3 | vs. | 5 | Seton Hall | 21-10 | 6:30 PM | FS1 |
| 7 | Xavier | 21-12 | vs. | 6 | Creighton | 24-8 | 9:00 PM | FS1 |
| Big Sky Conference | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | North Dakota | 20-9 | vs. | 4 | Idaho | 18-12 | 8:35 PM | Big Sky |
| 2 | Eastern Washington | 22-10 | vs. | 3 | Weber St. | 18-12 | 11:05 PM | Big Sky |
| Big Ten Conference | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | Purdue | 25-6 | vs. | 8 | Michigan | 21-11 | 12:00 PM | ESPN |
| 4 | Minnesota | 23-8 | vs. | 5 | Michigan St. | 19-13 | 2:20 PM | ESPN |
| 2 | Wisconsin | 23-8 | vs. | 10 | Indiana | 18-14 | 6:30 PM | BTN |
| 3 | Maryland | 24-7 | vs. | 6 | Northwestern | 22-10 | 8:50 PM | BTN |
| Big West Conference | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 2 | UC-Davis | 20-12 | vs. | 3 | Cal St. Fullerton | 17-13 | 9:30 PM | ESPN3 |
| 1 | UC-Irvine | 20-13 | vs. | 4 | Long Beach St. | 15-18 | 12:00 AM | ESPN3 |
| Conference USA | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | Middle Tennessee | 28-4 | vs. | 4 | UTEP | 15-16 | 12:30 PM | CBSSN |
| 2 | Louisiana Tech | 23-9 | vs. | 6 | Marshall | 19-14 | 3:00 PM | CBSSN |
| Mid-American Conference | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | Akron | 25-7 | vs. | 4 | Ball St. | 21-11 | 5:30 PM | CBSSN |
| 2 | Ohio U | 20-10 | vs. | 6 | Kent St. | 20-13 | 8:00 PM | CBSSN |
| Mideastern Athletic Conference | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | UNC-Central | 23-8 | vs. | 5 | Md.–Eastern Shore | 13-19 | 6:00 PM | ESPN3 |
| 2 | Norfolk St. | 16-15 | vs. | 11 | Howard | 10-23 | 8:00 PM | ESPN3 |
| Mountain West Conference | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | Nevada | 26-6 | vs. | 4 | Fresno St. | 20-11 | 10:00 PM | CBSSN |
| 2 | Colorado St. | 22-10 | vs. | 6 | San Diego St. | 20-13 | 12:30 AM | CBSSN |
| Pac-12 Conference | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | Oregon | 28-4 | vs. | 5 | California | 21-11 | 9:00 PM | P12 Net. |
| 2 | Arizona | 28-4 | vs. | 3 | UCLA | 29-3 | 11:30 PM | ESPN |
| Southeastern Conference | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | Kentucky | 26-5 | vs. | 8 | Georgia | 19-13 | 1:00 PM | SECN |
| 4 | South Carolina | 22-9 | vs. | 5 | Alabama | 18-13 | 3:20 PM | SECN |
| 2 | Florida | 24-7 | vs. | 7 | Vanderbilt | 18-14 | 7:00 PM | SECN |
| 3 | Arkansas | 23-8 | vs. | 6 | Ole Miss | 20-12 | 9:20 PM | SECN |
| Southland Conference | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | New Orleans | 18-11 | vs. | 5 | Sam Houston St. | 21-12 | 6:00 PM | ESPN3 |
| 2 | Texas A&M-CC | 19-10 | vs. | 3 | Stephen F. Austin | 18-13 | 8:30 PM | ESPN3 |
| Southwestern Athletic Conference | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | Texas Southern | 21-11 | vs. | 5 | Grambling | 16-16 | 3:30 PM | None |
| 2 | Alcorn St. * | 17-13 | vs. | 3 | Southern | 15-17 | 9:30 PM | None |
| *Alcorn St. is ineligible for postseason play due to low APR scores. | ||||||||
| If the Braves win the tourney, Texas Sou. wins the bid. | ||||||||
| Sun Belt Conference | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | UT-Arlington | 24-7 | vs. | 8 | Coastal Carolina | 16-16 | 1:30 PM | ESPN3 |
| 4 | Texas St. | 18-12 | vs. | 12 | Louisiana-Monroe | 9-23 | 3:00 PM | ESPN3 |
| 2 | Georgia St. | 19-11 | vs. | 7 | Louisiana-Lafayette | 21-11 | 6:00 PM | ESPN3 |
| 3 | Georgia Southern | 18-13 | vs. | 6 | Troy | 19-14 | 8:30 PM | ESPN3 |
| Western Athletic Conference | ||||||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | Cal St. Bakersfield | 21-8 | vs. | 4 | Utah Valley | 15-15 | 9:00 PM | ESPN3 |
| 2 | New Mexico St. | 26-5 | vs. | 3 | Missouri-KC | 17-15 | 11:30 PM | ESPN3 |
NOTE: We are getting several inquiries about our Red-White-Blue ratings and why we do not post them for every game. The computing of these ratings are quite laborious; it takes upwards of 7 to 8 minutes to do just one game, and even with five or six people retrieving the stats, it limits us to once per week and just the Power Conference games. We are not issuing any this weekend, as we are spending all our extra time getting this information for the teams that have clinched bids and finished regular season play.
We will issue picks for all NCAA Tournament games, commencing with the First Four at Dayton. We hope to have the First Four previews on this site by Monday Night Eastern Daylight Time.
March 9, 2017
Conference Tournament Update–Thursday, March 9, 2017
New Dance Teams
Only one conference champion was decided Wednesday night, as Bucknell took care of business in the Patriot League with a home win over Lehigh. The Bison have upset higher-seeded teams in the past, and they own a road win at Vanderbilt this year. They cannot be overlooked.
There are no automatic bids up for grabs today.
Thursday Morning Mimosas
Break out the bubbly, or the Bubble teams. Today, a host of Bubble teams will be in action. Let’s look at what happened last night and what games affect the Bubble today.
ACC
Clemson played a sloppy game and lost to Duke, and the Tigers are now NIT-Bound. Coach Brad Brownell could be skating on thin ice, as CU fans do not tolerate losing for long. The football national championship may provide just enough Soma for the fans to forgive the basketball program for one more year.
Wake Forest lost to Virginia Tech, but the Demon Deacons should be okay for an at-large bid. Wake plus Syracuse should join the eight quarterfinal teams to give the ACC 10 teams in the field, but there is no guarantee that either Wake Forest or Syracuse will get an at-large bid should other leagues start producing surprise winners.
Big 12
Kansas, Baylor, West Virginia, Iowa State, and Oklahoma State are safely in the field. Kansas State is on the Bubble and needs an additional win or more. The Wildcats are in action tonight against Baylor, and an upset over the Bears would go a long way in getting the guys from the Little Apple in the field. A loss would put K-State in serious jeopardy of missing the tournament
Big East
Xavier was almost safely in the field a month ago before injuries sent the Musketeers on a downward slide to the point where they began the Big East Tournament on the Bubble. Last night, Xavier had to come from behind to defeat bottom-feeder DePaul, and the win should probably earn the Musketeers a bid, but an upset win over Butler tonight would definitely be their elixir.
At 2:30 PM Eastern Time today, Marquette and Seton Hall face off in what could almost be called a fifth First Four game. The winner of this game will move to the highest shelf on the Bubble seed line, while the loser will have to sweat it out until Sunday afternoon hoping that teams like Nevada and Middle Tennessee win their tournaments.
Providence faces Creighton in the nightcap of today’s Big East action, and a Friar win most likely cinches their Dancing destination. A loss would knock them down a few notches to where they too would have to do a little sweating for three days.
Big Ten
We are probably being a bit cautious here, but we feel the need to based on the preliminary 4-deep seeds issues a month ago that failed to include a single team from this league. So, with the belief that the committee has discounted the success of the Big Ten this year, we are placing teams we would consider safe in other years as not-so-safe this year.
Michigan and Michigan State would be safe if we were the committee, but the Wolverines and Spartans may not be as safe as one might think. This should be an interesting day in D.C. with the first three games on the slate directly affecting the Bubble. At Noon Eastern, Michigan plays Illinois. Illinois could still get into the at-large mix with a big run this weekend, while Michigan can wrap up a safe spot with a win today.
The next game features Michigan State playing Penn State. The Spartans and Nittany Lions hooked up in January at the Palestra in Philadelphia, and Penn State played its best game of the season, beating Sparty by nine and leading for about 39 minutes. A repeat performance in the nation’s capital would cause Coach Tom Izzo to open the Maalox bottle.
The 6:30 PM Eastern game pits Iowa and Indiana. The Hawkeyes are much closer than the Hoosiers into becoming part of the Bubble mix, but both teams need multiple wins. A loss by Indiana could be the last time you see Coach Tom Crean coaching IU in a meaningful game.
Conference USA
Middle Tennessee is the current top mid-major team if you do not count Gonzaga and Wichita State as mid-majors. The Blue Raiders are better this year than they were last year when they upset Michigan State in the second round. However, an early exit upset loss today would probably make MTSU the top seed in the NIT. They face 9-seed UTSA in the quarterfinal round today at 12:30 PM Eastern. If MTSU loses in the CUSA Championship Game, the Blue Raiders would be 29-5 and a strong at-large candidate.
Mountain West
Nevada is right there with Middle Tennessee in the mid-major Bubble group. The Wolf Pack can ill afford to lose today to Utah State, and if the boys from Reno advance to the MWC Championship Game and lose to a good team (Boise State or Colorado State), Nevada would be in the conversation at Committee Central.
Pac-12
California and USC both looked like NIT teams yesterday, but the Bears and Trojans escaped with ugly wins over the bottom two teams in the league. Both may have a little work to do to convince the Committee of their worthiness. Cal could earn a lot of brownie points with a win over Utah today, while USC could virtually clinch a bid if they can beat UCLA tonight, giving the Trojans two out of three wins against the Bruins.
SEC
This is the toughest league to figure out, basically because the one true Bubble team is such an anomaly. Vanderbilt enters tonight’s game with Texas A&M with a 10-8 league mark and 17-14 record overall. The SEC is not a top 5 league this year, but it is still a power league. Four teams know they will get invitations, and Vanderbilt beat three of the four, including a sweep over Florida. The Commodores beat Iowa State out of the league, and their six non-conference losses came to teams that should all be in the Tournament (Marquette, Dayton, Bucknell, Middle Tennessee, Butler, and Minnesota.)
Vanderbilt swept both the Aggies and Gators, and they will have to make it three for three against both teams to advance to the semifinals, where at that point, the Commodores would be expected to be safe. However, there is the issue of 15 losses, which VU would have if they do not win the automatic bid. Seven of our 13 Gurus believe Vandy is on the good side of the Bubble starting today, while six say they are a #1 NIT Seed entering today. Coach Bryce Drew’s club definitely needs to beat A&M again tonight. A loss puts the Commodores probably a spot below Illinois State and Syracuse.
Georgia might still have an at-large hope if the Bulldogs can top Tennessee today and then pull off the big upset of Kentucky tomorrow.
Does Ole Miss still have a chance? We are quite bearish on the Rebels’ chances, but if Andy Kennedy’s team can get on a run and make it to Sunday, and then lose a close game to Kentucky, at 22-13, they might have a slim chance. We’ll believe it when we see it.
Tournaments Beginning Action Thursday
| American Athletic Conference Tournament–Hartford,CT | |||||||||
| First Round, Thursday, March 9 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 8 | Temple | 16-15 | vs. | 9 | East Carolina | 14-17 | 3:30 PM | ESPNU |
| 2 | 7 | Tulsa | 14-16 | vs. | 10 | Tulane | 6-24 | 6:00 PM | ESPNNews |
| 3 | 6 | Connecticut | 14-16 | vs. | 11 | South Florida | 7-22 | 8:00 PM | ESPNNews |
| Quarterfinal Round, Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 4 | 1 | SMU | 27-4 | vs. | Game 1 winner | 12:00 PM | ESPN2 | ||
| 5 | 4 | Central Florida | 20-10 | vs. | 5 | Memphis | 19-12 | 2:00 PM | ESPN2 |
| 6 | 2 | Cincinnati | 27-4 | vs. | Game 2 winner | 7:00 PM | ESPNU | ||
| 7 | 3 | Houston | 21-9 | vs. | Game 3 winner | 9:00 PM | ESPNU | ||
| Semifinal Round, Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 8 | Game 4 winner | vs. | Game 5 winner | 3:00 PM | ESPN2 | ||||
| 9 | Game 6 winner | vs. | Game 7 winner | 5:00 PM | ESPN2 | ||||
| Championship Game, Sunday, March 12 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 10 | Game 8 winner | vs. | Game 9 winner | 3:15 PM | ESPN | ||||
| Big West Conference Tournament–Anaheim | |||||||||
| Quarterfinal Round–Thursday, March 9 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 2 | UC-Davis | 19-12 | vs. | 7 | Cal Poly | 11-19 | 3:00 PM | FSW |
| 2 | 3 | Cal St. Fullerton | 16-13 | vs. | 6 | Cal St. Northridge | 11-18 | 5:30 PM | FSW |
| 3 | 1 | UC-Irvine | 19-13 | vs. | 8 | UC-Riverside | 7-20 | 9:00 PM | Prime |
| 4 | 4 | Long Beach St. | 14-18 | vs. | 5 | Hawaii | 14-15 | 11:30 PM | Prime |
| Semifinal Round–Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 5 | Game 1 winner | vs. | Game 2 winner | 9:30 PM | ESPN3 | ||||
| 6 | Game 3 winner | vs. | Game 4 winner | 12:00 AM | ESPN3 | ||||
| Championship Game–Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | Game 5 winner | vs. | Game 6 winner | 11:30 PM | ESPN2 | ||||
| Western Athletic Conference Tournament–Las Vegas | |||||||||
| Quarterfinal Round–Thursday, March 9 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 4 | Utah Valley | 14-15 | vs. | 5 | Seattle | 13-16 | 5:00 PM | WAC Digital |
| 2 | 2 | New Mexico St. | 25-5 | vs. | 7 | Chicago St. | 6-25 | 7:30 PM | WAC Digital |
| 3 | 3 | Missouri-KC | 16-15 | vs. | 6 | UT Rio Grande Valley | 10-21 | 10:00 PM | WAC Digital |
| Semifinal Round–Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 4 | 1 | Cal State Bakersfield | 21-8 | vs. | Game 1 winner | 9:00 PM | ESPN3 | ||
| 5 | Game 2 winner | vs. | Game 3 winner | 11:30 PM | ESPN3 | ||||
| Championship Game–Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 6 | Game 4 winner | vs. | Game 5 winner | 11:00 PM | ESPNU | ||||
Today’s Tournament Schedule
| Time (ET) | Network | Conference | Team | vs. | Team |
| 3:30 PM | ESPNU | American | Temple | vs. | East Carolina |
| 6:00 PM | ESPNNews | American | Tulsa | vs. | Tulane |
| 8:00 PM | ESPNNews | American | Connecticut | vs. | South Florida |
| 12:00 PM | ESPN | ACC | North Carolina | vs. | Miami (Fla.) |
| 2:00 PM | ESPN | ACC | Louisville | vs. | Duke |
| 7:00 PM | ESPN | ACC | Florida St. | vs. | Virginia Tech |
| 9:00 PM | ESPN | ACC | Notre Dame | vs. | Virginia |
| 12:00 PM | NBCSN | A-10 | LaSalle | vs. | Davidson |
| 2:30 PM | NBCSN | A-10 | St. Bonaventure | vs. | Massachusetts |
| 6:00 PM | NBCSN | A-10 | George Mason | vs. | Fordham |
| 8:30 PM | NBCSN | A-10 | George Washington | vs. | St. Louis |
| 12:30 PM | ESPN2 | Big 12 | Iowa St. | vs. | Oklahoma St. |
| 2:30 PM | ESPN2 | Big 12 | Kansas | vs. | TCU |
| 7:00 PM | ESPNU | Big 12 | West Virginia | vs. | Texas |
| 9:00 PM | ESPNU | Big 12 | Baylor | vs. | Kansas St. |
| 12:00 PM | FS1 | Big East | Villanova | vs. | St. John’s |
| 2:30 PM | FS1 | Big East | Marquette | vs. | Seton Hall |
| 7:00 PM | FS1 | Big East | Butler | vs. | Xavier |
| 9:30 PM | FS1 | Big East | Providence | vs. | Creighton |
| 3:05 PM | Watch Big Sky | Big Sky | North Dakota | vs. | Portland St. |
| 5:35 PM | Watch Big Sky | Big Sky | Idaho | vs. | Montana |
| 8:35 PM | Watch Big Sky | Big Sky | Eastern Washington | vs. | Sacramento St. |
| 11:05 PM | Watch Big Sky | Big Sky | Weber St. | vs. | Southern Utah |
| 12:00 PM | BTN | Big Ten | Michigan | vs. | Illinois |
| 2:20 PM | BTN | Big Ten | Michigan St. | vs. | Penn St. |
| 6:30 PM | ESPN2 | Big Ten | Iowa | vs. | Indiana |
| 8:50 PM | ESPN2 | Big Ten | Northwestern | vs. | Rutgers |
| 3:00 PM | FSW | Big West | UC-Davis | vs. | Cal Poly |
| 5:30 PM | FSW | Big West | Cal St. Fullerton | vs. | Cal St. Northridge |
| 9:00 PM | Prime | Big West | UC-Irvine | vs. | UC-Riverside |
| 11:30 PM | Prime | Big West | Long Beach St. | vs. | Hawaii |
| 12:30 PM | ASN | CUSA | Middle Tennessee | vs. | UTSA |
| 3:00 PM | ASN | CUSA | UTEP | vs. | Rice |
| 6:30 PM | ASN | CUSA | Louisiana Tech | vs. | UAB |
| 9:00 PM | ASN | CUSA | Old Dominion | vs. | Marshall |
| 12:00 PM | ESPN3 | MAC | Akron | vs. | Eastern Michigan |
| 2:30 PM | ESPN3 | MAC | Ball St. | vs. | Western Michigan |
| 6:30 PM | ESPN3 | MAC | Ohio U | vs. | Toledo |
| 9:00 PM | ESPN3 | MAC | Buffalo | vs. | Kent St. |
| 6:00 PM | ESPN3 | MEAC | Morgan St. | vs. | Howard |
| 8:00 PM | ESPN3 | MEAC | Hampton | vs. | Md.-Eastern Shore |
| 3:00 PM | CBSSN | MWC | Nevada | vs. | Utah St. |
| 5:30 PM | CBSSN | MWC | Fresno St. | vs. | New Mexico |
| 9:00 PM | CBSSN | MWC | Colorado St. | vs. | Air Force |
| 11:30 PM | CBSSN | MWC | Boise St. | vs. | San Diego St. |
| 3:00 PM | P12 Net. | Pac-12 | Oregon | vs. | Arizona St. |
| 5:30 PM | P12 Net. | Pac-12 | Utah | vs. | California |
| 9:00 PM | P12 Net. | Pac-12 | Arizona | vs. | Colorado |
| 11:30 PM | ESPN | Pac-12 | UCLA | vs. | USC |
| 1:00 PM | SECN | SEC | Georgia | vs. | Tennessee |
| 3:20 PM | SECN | SEC | Alabama | vs. | Mississippi St. |
| 7:00 PM | SECN | SEC | Vanderbilt | vs. | Texas A&M |
| 9:20 PM | SECN | SEC | Ole Miss | vs. | Missouri |
| 6:00 PM | ESPN3 | Southland | Houston Baptist | vs. | Sam Houston St. |
| 8:30 PM | ESPN3 | Southland | Stephen F. Austin | vs. | Lamar |
| 5:00 PM | WAC Digital | WAC | Utah Valley | vs. | Seattle |
| 7:30 PM | WAC Digital | WAC | New Mexico St. | vs. | Chicago St. |
| 10:00 PM | WAC Digital | WAC | Missouri-KC | vs. | UT Rio Grande Valley |
Teams With Automatic Bids
| Teams Earning Automatic Bids |
| Ohio Valley Conference: JACKSONVILLE ST. (20-14) |
| Big South Conference: WINTHROP (26-6) |
| Missouri Valley Conference: WICHITA ST. (30-4) |
| Atlantic Sun Conference: FLORIDA GULF COAST (26-7) |
| Colonial Athletic Association: UNC-WILMINGTON (29-5) |
| Southern Conference: EAST TENNESSEE ST. (27-7) |
| Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference: IONA (22-12) |
| Horizon League: NORTHERN KENTUCKY: (24-10) |
| Northeast Conference: MOUNT ST. MARY’S (19-15) |
| Summit League: SOUTH DAKOTA ST. (18-16) |
| West Coast Conference: GONZAGA (32-1) |
| Patriot League: BUCKNELL (26-8) |
March 8, 2017
Conference Tournament Update–Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Good Wednesday to all. Today, the PiRates are hunkered down in our own version of our war room, preparing for Selection Sunday and the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
We have received a heavy load of contacts from you ladies and gentlemen, and a lot of you want to know about our Red-White-Blue Ratings.
- We do not know why the Prediction Tracker has not posted our ratings the last two weeks, because we sent them in. They use a system that takes them off our page, and maybe it is not working properly or it was something we did to make them invisible.
- We will attempt to publish ratings for all 67 NCAA Tournament games.
- We will publish all the Four Factor and PiRate Bracketnomics information for every team in the Field and update it for every round.
This marks the peak of conference tournament action, as more games will be played in the next two days than any other time during Conference Championship Fortnight.
Teams That Clinched Automatic Bids Tuesday
Making The Field 100% of the Time???
Here’s a trivia question you can use to fool your sports teams? Name the only school that has made the NCAA Tournament every year since it has been an eligible Division I team.
The answer is simple if you watched the Horizon League Tournament Championship Game last night. Northern Kentucky, in its first year of D1 eligibility won the automatic bid by holding on against 23-loss Milwaukee. The Norse closes the season on a rush, winning nine of their last 10 games, but it looks like they will be a heavily over-matched opponent as a 15-seed or at best a 14-seed.
Top of the Mountain Again
Our congratulations go out for a fifth time to Mount St. Mary’s, winner of the Northeast Conference Tournament Championship. This may be the best MSM team to make it to the NCAA Tournament. The Mountaineers have been fodder for some major #1 seeds through the years, losing to Kentucky by 46, North Carolina by 39, and to Michigan State by 23. The Mountaineers have been sent to Dayton twice before, beating Coppin State and losing to Albany. Short of some additional upsets where sub .500 teams receive automatic bids, Mount St. Mary’s is most likely looking at a third trip to Dayton.
Reaching the Summit
The South Dakota State Jackrabbits were not expected to compete for the Summit League title this year after former coach Scott Nagy left for the Wright State job, and prospects were not great when SDSU finished the regular season at just 8-8 in the league. New coach T.J. Otzelberger may be a star in the making, as he has a slew of national supporters from his days as an assistant at Washington and Iowa St. His Jackrabbits won the Summit League Championship last night, which means SDSU (18-16) is going to be a 16-seed with a possible visit to Dayton.
Bulldog Tough Again
Gonzaga looked like a Final Four team again last night after a week of malaise. The Bulldogs punished rival Saint Mary’s in the West Coast Conference Championship Game, looking more like a power team from the 1960’s and 1970’s from the Big Ten. And, star guard Nigel Williams-Goss looked more like Oscar Robertson last night, basically destroying the Gaels’ with his shooting, passing, and ball-hawking defense.
Other Conference Tournament Games
The Bubble burst for one team, while two others strengthened their resumes in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. Clemson stayed alive by dismissing North Carolina State with relative ease. Wake Forest withstood a valiant effort from an undermanned Boston College team, and Danny Manning’s Demon Deacons may have secured their at-large spot with the win. However, another win today over Virginia Tech should definitely get them in. Georgia Tech fell to Pittsburgh in an ugly game, which was made uglier by an open microphone that caught Panther Head Coach Kevin Stallings saying some very nasty things to one of his players, making it two years with two teams where an open mic caught the fiery Gene Keady disciple cursing one of his players.
Last Place Team Watch
99% of you reading this probably saw none of the Big Sky Tournament opening round games, but to the 1% that did, you were quite entertained Tuesday. Portland State and Sacramento State won their first games in high-octane fashion, but the nightcap between last place Southern Utah and 6-seed Montana State proved to be the game of the day. At the end of regulation, the game was tied at 78. Five minutes later after overtime, the score was knotted at 93-93. Five minutes later, it was 101-101. It took three extra sessions, but the last place team with a 5-26 record entering the night emerged victorious. Southern Utah won 109-105 to advance to the quarterfinals against 3-seed Weber State. The Thunderbirds were led by former Texas Tech Red Raider Randy Onwuasor, who broke the tournament record with 43 points. Onwuasor played 53 out of the 55 minutes, and he had a rather poor shooting night, hitting just 11-33 from the field, but he drew fouls like a cheap diner draws flies. The bulky guard connected on 20 foul shots, something that is rarely done when your last name isn’t Maravich or Chamberlain.
SWAC’s Best Advance
In recent years, the Southwestern Athletic Conference representative in the NCAA Tournament has been a 16-seed and frequently forced to play in the Opening Round (First Four) in Dayton. Texas Southern has a chance to move up to a 15-seed if they win the conference tournament in Houston. The Tigers began tournament play with an 87-72 win over 8-seed Alabama State. TSU has a surrogate team playing for their NCAA Tournament hopes. Alcorn State also advanced yesterday with a win over Mississippi Valley. If the 2-seed Braves win the SWAC Tournament title, it is just as if Texas Southern wins it. Alcorn State is on probation for low APR scores, and they are ineligible for postseason play. If ASU wins, then TSU gets the bid as the regular season champion.
Big Conference Action Today
The ACC started conference play yesterday and continues with Round 2 today. Six other multiple bid leagues commence action today–The Atlantic 10, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12, and SEC. Here is a look at each of these multiple bid league brackets.
| Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament–Brooklyn | |||||||||
| First Round, Tuesday, March 7 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 1 | 12 | Clemson | 16-14 | vs. | 13 | North Carolina St. | 15-16 | 75-61 | |
| 2 | 10 | Wake Forest | 18-12 | vs. | 15 | Boston College | 9-22 | 92-78 | |
| 3 | 11 | Georgia Tech | 17-14 | vs. | 14 | Pittsburgh | 15-16 | 59-61 | |
| Second Round, Wednesday, March 8 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 4 | 8 | Syracuse | 18-13 | vs. | 9 | Miami (Fla.) | 20-10 | 12:00 PM | ESPN |
| 5 | 5 | Duke | 23-8 | vs. | 12 | Clemson | 17-14 | 2:00 PM | ESPN |
| 6 | 7 | Virginia Tech | 21-9 | vs. | 10 | Wake Forest | 19-12 | 7:00 PM | ESPN2 |
| 7 | 6 | Virginia | 21-9 | vs. | 14 | Pittsburgh | 16-16 | 9:00 PM | ESPN2 |
| Quarterfinal Round, Thursday, March 9 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 8 | 1 | North Carolina | vs. | Game 4 winner | 12:00 PM | ESPN | |||
| 9 | 4 | Louisville | vs. | Game 5 winner | 2:00 PM | ESPN | |||
| 10 | 2 | Florida St. | vs. | Game 6 winner | 7:00 PM | ESPN | |||
| 11 | 3 | Notre Dame | vs. | Game 7 winner | 9:00 PM | ESPN | |||
| Semfinal Round, Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 12 | Game 8 winner | vs. | Game 9 winner | 7:00 PM | ESPN or 2 | ||||
| 13 | Game 10 winner | vs. | Game 11 winner | 9:00 PM | ESPN or 2 | ||||
| Championship Game, Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 14 | Game 12 winner | vs. | Game 13 winner | 9:00 PM | ESPN | ||||
| Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament–Pittsburgh (Duquense) | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Wednesday, March 8 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 12 | Massachusetts | 14-17 | vs. | 13 | St. Joseph’s | 11-19 | 6:00 PM | ASN |
| 2 | 11 | St. Louis | 11-20 | vs. | 14 | Duquesne | 10-21 | 8:30 PM | ASN |
| 2nd Round, Thursday, March 9 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 3 | 8 | LaSalle | 15-14 | vs. | 9 | Davidson | 15-14 | 12:00 PM | NBCSN |
| 4 | 5 | St. Bonaventure | 19-11 | vs. | Game 1 winner | 2:30 PM | NBCSN | ||
| 5 | 7 | George Mason | vs. | 10 | Fordham | 6:00 PM | NBCSN | ||
| 6 | 6 | George Washington | 18-13 | vs. | Game 2 winner | 8:30 PM | NBCSN | ||
| Quarterfinal Round, Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | 1 | Dayton | 24-6 | vs. | Game 3 winner | 12:00 PM | NBCSN | ||
| 8 | 4 | Rhode Island | 21-9 | vs. | Game 4 winner | 2:30 PM | NBCSN | ||
| 9 | 2 | VCU | 24-7 | vs. | Game 5 winner | 6:00 PM | NBCSN | ||
| 10 | 3 | Richmond | 19-11 | vs. | Game 6 winner | 8:30 PM | NBCSN | ||
| Semifinal Round, Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 11 | Game 7 winner | vs. | Game 8 winner | 1:00 PM | CBSSN | ||||
| 12 | Game 9 winner | vs. | Game 10 winner | 3:30 PM | CBSSN | ||||
| Championship Game, Sunday, March 12 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 13 | Game 11 winner | vs. | Game 12 winner | 12:30 PM | CBS | ||||
| Big 12 Conference Tournament–Kansas City | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Wednesday, March 8 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 8 | TCU | 17-14 | vs. | 9 | Oklahoma | 11-19 | 7:00 PM | ESPNU |
| 2 | 7 | Texas Tech | 18-13 | vs. | 10 | Texas | 10-21 | 9:00 PM | ESPNU |
| Quarterfinal Round, Thursday, March 9 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 3 | 4 | Iowa St. | 20-10 | vs. | 5 | Oklahoma St. | 20-11 | 12:30 PM | ESPN2 |
| 4 | 1 | Kansas | 28-3 | vs. | Game 1 winner | 2:30 PM | ESPN2 | ||
| 5 | 2 | West Virginia | 24-7 | vs. | Game 2 winner | 7:00 PM | ESPNU | ||
| 6 | 3 | Baylor | 25-6 | vs. | 6 | Kansas St. | 19-12 | 9:00 PM | ESPNU |
| Semifinal Round, Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | Game 4 winner | vs. | Game 3 winner | 7:00 PM | ESPN or 2 | ||||
| 8 | Game 5 winner | vs. | Game 6 winner | 9:00 PM | ESPN or 2 | ||||
| Championship Game, Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 9 | Game 7 winner | vs. | Game 8 winner | 6:00 PM | ESPN | ||||
| Big East Conference Tournament–New York City | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Wednesday, March 8 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 8 | St. John’s | 13-18 | vs. | 9 | Georgetown | 14-17 | 7:00 PM | FS1 |
| 2 | 7 | Xavier | 19-12 | vs. | 10 | DePaul | 9-21 | 9:30 PM | FS1 |
| Quarterfinal Round, Thursday, March 9 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 3 | 1 | Villanova | 28-3 | vs. | 12:00 PM | FS1 | |||
| 4 | 4 | Marquette | 19-11 | vs. | 5 | Seton Hall | 20-10 | 2:30 PM | FS1 |
| 5 | 2 | Butler | 23-7 | vs. | 7:00 PM | FS1 | |||
| 6 | 3 | Providence | 20-11 | vs. | 6 | Creighton | 23-8 | 9:30 PM | FS1 |
| Semifinal Round, Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | Game 1 winner | vs. | Game 2 winner | 6:30 PM | FS1 | ||||
| 8 | Game 3 winner | vs. | Game 4 winner | 9:00 PM | FS1 | ||||
| Championship Game, Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 9 | Game 7 winner | vs. | Game 8 winner | 5:30 PM | Fox | ||||
| Big Ten Conference Tournament–Washington, DC | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Wednesday, March 8 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 12 | Nebraska | 12-18 | vs. | 13 | Penn St. | 14-17 | 4:30 PM | ESPN |
| 2 | 11 | Ohio St. | 17-14 | vs. | 14 | Rutgers | 14-17 | 7:00 PM | BTN |
| 2nd Round, Thursday, March 9 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 3 | 8 | Michigan | 20-11 | vs. | 9 | Illinois | 18-13 | 12:00 PM | BTN |
| 4 | 5 | Michigan St. | 18-13 | vs. | Game 1 winner | 2:20 PM | BTN | ||
| 5 | 7 | Iowa | 18-13 | vs. | 10 | Indiana | 17-14 | 6:30 PM | ESPN2 |
| 6 | 6 | Northwestern | 21-10 | vs. | Game 2 winner | 8:50 PM | ESPN2 | ||
| Quarterfinal Round, Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | 1 | Purdue | 25-6 | vs. | Game 3 winner | 12:00 PM | ESPN | ||
| 8 | 4 | Minnesota | 23-8 | vs. | Game 4 winner | 2:20 PM | ESPN | ||
| 9 | 2 | Wisconsin | 23-8 | vs. | Game 5 winner | 6:30 PM | BTN | ||
| 10 | 3 | Maryland | 24-7 | vs. | Game 6 winner | 8:50 PM | BTN | ||
| Semifinal Round, Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 11 | Game 7 winner | vs. | Game 8 winner | 1:00 PM | CBS | ||||
| 12 | Game 9 winner | vs. | Game 10 winner | 3:30 PM | CBS | ||||
| Championship Game, Sunday, March 12 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 13 | Game 11 winner | vs. | Game 12 winner | 3:00 PM | CBS | ||||
| Pac-12 Conference Tournament–Las Vegas | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Wednesday, March 8 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 8 | Arizona St. | 14-17 | vs. | 9 | Stanford | 14-16 | 3:00 PM | P12 Net. |
| 2 | 5 | California | 19-11 | vs. | 12 | Oregon St. | 5-26 | 5:30 PM | P12 Net. |
| 3 | 7 | Colorado | 18-13 | vs. | 10 | Washington St. | 13-17 | 9:00 PM | P12 Net. |
| 4 | 6 | USC | 23-8 | vs. | 11 | Washington | 9-21 | 11:30 PM | P12 Net. |
| Quarterfinal Round, Thursday, March 9 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 5 | 1 | Oregon | 27-4 | vs. | Game 1 winner | 3:00 PM | P12 Net. | ||
| 6 | 4 | Utah | 20-10 | vs. | Game 2 winner | 5:30 PM | P12 Net. | ||
| 7 | 2 | Arizona | 27-4 | vs. | Game 3 winner | 9:00 PM | P12 Net. | ||
| 8 | 3 | UCLA | 28-3 | vs. | Game 4 winner | 11:30 PM | ESPN | ||
| Semifinal Round, Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 9 | Game 5 winner | vs. | Game 6 winner | 9:00 PM | P12 Net. | ||||
| 10 | Game 7 winner | vs. | Game 8 winner | 11:30 PM | ESPN | ||||
| Championship Game, Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 11 | Game 9 winner | vs. | Game 10 winner | 11:00 PM | ESPN | ||||
| Southeastern Conference Tournament–Nashville | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Wednesday, March 8 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 12 | Mississippi St. | 15-15 | vs. | 13 | LSU | 10-20 | 7:00 PM | SECN |
| 2 | 11 | Auburn | 18-13 | vs. | 14 | MIssouri | 7-23 | 9:00 PM | SECN |
| 2nd Round, Thursday, March 9 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 3 | 8 | Georgia | 18-13 | vs. | 9 | Tennessee | 16-15 | 1:00 PM | SECN |
| 4 | 5 | Alabama | 17-13 | vs. | Game 1 winner | 3:20 PM | SECN | ||
| 5 | 7 | Vanderbilt | 17-14 | vs. | 10 | Texas A&M | 16-14 | 7:00 PM | SECN |
| 6 | 6 | Ole Miss | 19-12 | vs. | Game 2 winner | 9:20 PM | SECN | ||
| Quarterfinal Round, Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | 1 | Kentucky | 26-5 | vs. | Game 3 winner | 1:00 PM | SECN | ||
| 8 | 4 | South Carolina | 22-9 | vs. | Game 4 winner | 3:20 PM | SECN | ||
| 9 | 2 | Florida | 24-7 | vs. | Game 5 winner | 7:00 PM | SECN | ||
| 10 | 3 | Arkansas | 23-8 | vs. | Game 6 winner | 9:20 PM | SECN | ||
| Semifinal Round, Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 11 | Game 7 winner | vs. | Game 8 winner | 1:00 PM | ESPN | ||||
| 12 | Game 9 winner | vs. | Game 10 winner | 3:20 PM | ESPN | ||||
| Championship Game, Sunday, March 12 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 13 | Game 11 winner | vs. | Game 12 winner | 1:00 PM | ESPN | ||||
Today’s TV Schedule
You can have a lot of fun watching a slew of games today and tonight, even if just one bid goes out. That one automatic addition will come from the Patriot League, where the top seed Bucknell Bison host Lehigh. Time and TV follow.
| Championship Games | |||||
| Time (ET) | Network | Conference | Team | vs. | Team |
| 7:30 PM | CBSSN | Patriot | Bucknell | vs. | Lehigh |
| Ongoing Tournament Games | |||||
| Time (ET) | Network | Conference | Team | vs. | Team |
| 12:00 PM | ESPN | ACC | Syracuse | vs. | Miami (Fla.) |
| 2:00 PM | ESPN | ACC | Duke | vs. | Clemson |
| 7:00 PM | ESPN2 | ACC | Virginia Tech | vs. | Wake Forest |
| 9:00 PM | ESPN2 | ACC | Virginia | vs. | Pittsburgh |
| 6:00 PM | ASN | A-10 | Massachusetts | vs. | St. Joseph’s |
| 8:30 PM | ASN | A-10 | St. Louis | vs. | Duquesne |
| 7:00 PM | ESPNU | Big 12 | TCU | vs. | Oklahoma |
| 9:00 PM | ESPNU | Big 12 | Texas Tech | vs. | Texas |
| 7:00 PM | FS1 | Big East | St. John’s | vs. | Georgetown |
| 9:30 PM | FS1 | Big East | Xavier | vs. | DePaul |
| 4:30 PM | ESPN | Big Ten | Nebraska | vs. | Penn St. |
| 7:00 PM | BTN | Big Ten | Ohio St. | vs. | Rutgers |
| 12:30 PM | Campus Insiders | CUSA | Western Kentucky | vs. | UTSA |
| 3:00 PM | Campus Insiders | CUSA | Rice | vs. | Southern Miss. |
| 6:30 PM | Campus Insiders | CUSA | UAB | vs. | Charlotte |
| 9:00 PM | Campus Insiders | CUSA | Marshall | vs. | Florida Atlantic |
| 6:00 PM | ESPN3 | MEAC | UNC-Central | vs. | Delaware St. |
| 8:00 PM | ESPN3 | MEAC | Norfolk St. | vs. | South Carolina St. |
| 2:00 PM | MWN | MWC | Utah St. | vs. | San Jose St. |
| 4:30 PM | MWN | MWC | Wyoming | vs. | Air Force |
| 7:00 PM | MWN | MWC | San Diego St. | vs. | UNLV |
| 3:00 PM | P12 Net. | Pac-12 | Arizona St. | vs. | Stanford |
| 5:30 PM | P12 Net. | Pac-12 | California | vs. | Oregon St. |
| 9:00 PM | P12 Net. | Pac-12 | Colorado | vs. | Washington St. |
| 11:30 PM | P12 Net. | Pac-12 | USC | vs. | Washington |
| 7:00 PM | SECN | SEC | Mississippi St. | vs. | LSU |
| 9:00 PM | SECN | SEC | Auburn | vs. | MIssouri |
| 6:00 PM | ESPN3 | Southland | Sam Houston St. | vs. | Central Arkansas |
| 8:30 PM | ESPN3 | Southland | Lamar | vs. | Southeastern Louisiana |
| 1:30 PM | ESPN3 | Sun Belt | Coastal Carolina | vs. | South Alabama |
| 3:00 PM | ESPN3 | Sun Belt | Arkansas St. | vs. | Louisiana-Monroe |
| 6:00 PM | ESPN3 | Sun Belt | Louisiana-Lafayette | vs. | Arkansas-Little Rock |
| 8:30 PM | ESPN3 | Sun Belt | Troy | vs. | Appalachian St. |
March 7, 2017
Conference Tournament Update–Sunday, March 7, 2017
New Dance Partners
UNC-Wilmington won the Colonial Athletic Association once again, and the Seahawks seem to have recovered from their February swoon that saw them lose four times. UNCW will be a formidable seed, be it from the 11, 12, or 13 hole. Coach Kevin Keatts has established himself as a future star in the business, destined to end up at a power conference school.
Steve Forbes is quickly developing into a top-flight coach as well. The former assistant at Tennessee under Bruce Pearl guided his East Tennessee State Buccaneers to the Southern Conference title last night, and this ETSU team has a lot of the traits that the Volunteers possessed when Pearl and Forbes were in Knoxville. The Bucs will be a hard team for a 3 or 4-seed to get past in the second round.
Iona repeats as conference champions, as the Gaels fought off Siena in a close game to win the MAAC title on the loser’s home court. The Gaels will be a 14 or 15-seed, but they look like a one and done team this year.
Tickets Punched So Far
| Ohio Valley Conference: JACKSONVILLE ST. (20-14) |
| Big South Conference: WINTHROP (26-6) |
| Missouri Valley Conference: WICHITA ST. (30-4) |
| Atlantic Sun Conference: FLORIDA GULF COAST (26-7) |
| Colonial Athletic Association: UNC-WILMINGTON (29-5) |
| Southern Conference: EAST TENNESSEE ST. (27-7) |
| Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference: IONA (22-12) |
Surprise Surprise–Last Place Team One Win Away From Dancing
The Horizon League had a couple of worthy teams this year that could have won an opening game in the NCAA Tournament. Valparaiso looked like a Sweet 16 dark horse in early February, but the Crusaders lost a couple of games and then lost their version of Lebron and quickly exited the tournament in the opening game. Oakland appeared to have an easy road to the Horizon championship, but the Grizzlies fell to a feisty Youngstown State team in their first game.
What’s left for the title game tonight? Last-place and 23-loss Milwaukee has advanced to the championship game to face a Northern Kentucky team that picked the right time to play its best ball of the year. The Norse ended the regular season on a roll and have parlayed that into where they are now one win away from making their first ever NCAA Tournament berth at the Division 1 level. They were a dominant Division II team for more than a dozen years before moving up to the big time.
Today’s Tournament Schedule
Championship Games–NCAA Bid on the Line
| Time (ET) | Network | Conference | Team | vs. | Team |
| 7:00 PM | ESPN | Horizon | Northern Kentucky | vs. | Milwaukee |
| 7:00 PM | ESPN2 | Northeast | Mount St. Mary’s | vs. | St. Francis (PA) |
| 9:00 PM | ESPN2 | Summit | South Dakota St. | vs. | Omaha |
| 9:00 PM | ESPN | West Coast | Gonzaga | vs. | Saint Mary’s |
Other Tournament Games
| Time (ET) | Network | Conference | Team | vs. | Team |
| 12:00 PM | ESPN2 | ACC | Clemson | vs. | North Carolina St. |
| 2:00 PM | ESPN2 | ACC | Wake Forest | vs. | Boston College |
| 4:00 PM | ESPN3 | MEAC | Delaware St. | vs. | Bethune-Cookman |
| 5:35 PM | Watch Big Sky | Big Sky | Portland St. | vs. | Northern Arizona |
| 6:00 PM | ESPN3 | MEAC | South Carolina St. | vs. | Florida A&M |
| 7:00 PM | ESPNU | ACC | Georgia Tech | vs. | Pittsburgh |
| 7:00 PM | Radio Only | SWAC | Alcorn St. * | vs. | Mississippi Valley |
| 8:30 PM | Radio Only | SWAC | Texas Southern | vs. | Alabama St. |
| 8:30 PM | Radio Only | SWAC | Southern | vs. | Jackson St. |
| 8:35 PM | Watch Big Sky | Big Sky | Sacramento St. | vs. | Idaho St. |
| 9:00 PM | Radio Only | SWAC | Prairie View A&M | vs. | Grambling |
| 11:05 PM | Watch Big Sky | Big Sky | Montana St. | vs. | Southern Utah |
* Alcorn State is ineligible for postseason play, and if the Braves win the SWAC Tournament, regular season champion Texas Southern will get the automatic bid.
The Bubble
Keep an eye on the ACC Tournament opening round in Brooklyn. All three games involve teams on the Bubble–Clemson plays in the first game, Wake Forest plays in the second game, and Georgia Tech plays in the third game. All three must win today to stay on the Bubble, but a win will not get any of the three into the field. They all need multiple wins to earn at-large bids.
Game of the Night
Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s face off for a third time tonight, when the two Pacific powers meet in the West Coast Conference Tournament Championship Game yet again. Gonzaga has not looked like a Final Four team since losing to BYU in their regular season finale, while SMC looks like a team ready to make a long run in the NCAA Tournament with a stifling defense and improving offense. If SMC pulls the upset tonight, Gonzaga could fall to a 2-seed, allowing Kentucky or Oregon to move up to a 1-seed. SMC could move up to a 5 or even 4-seed with a win tongiht.
March 6, 2017
The Pirate Ratings Bracketology Gurus Report For March 6, 2017
NOTE: Today, we combine our Bracketology Gurus Report with our conference tournament updates.
Automatic Bids Awarded
| Ohio Valley Conference: JACKSONVILLE ST. (20-14) |
| Big South Conference: WINTHROP (26-6) |
| Missouri Valley Conference: WICHITA ST. (30-4) |
| Atlantic Sun Conference: FLORIDA GULF COAST (26-7) |
Today’s TV Schedule
Championship Games–Winner Gets Automatic Bid
| Time (ET) | Network | Conference | Team | vs. | Team |
| 7:00 PM | CBSSN | Colonial | UNC-Wilmington | vs. | College of Charleston |
| 7:00 PM | ESPN2 | SoCon | UNC-Greensboro | vs. | East Tennessee St. |
| 9:00 PM | ESPN2 | MAAC | Siena | vs. | Iona |
Other Conference Tournament Games Today
| Time (ET) | Network | Conference | Team | vs. | Team |
| 5:00 PM | ESPN3 | MEAC | MD-Eastern Shore | vs. | N.C. A&T |
| 7:00 PM | ESPN3 | Summit | South Dakota | vs. | South Dakota St. |
| 7:00 PM | ESPN3 | Amer. East | Vermont | vs. | New Hampshire |
| 7:00 PM | ESPNU | Horizon | Northern Kentucky | vs. | Youngstown St. |
| 7:00 PM | ESPN3 | MAC | Eastern Michigan | vs. | Northern Illinois |
| 7:00 PM | Kent St. Sports | MAC | Kent St. | vs. | Central Michigan |
| 7:00 PM | ESPN3 | MEAC | Coppin St. | vs. | Howard |
| 7:30 PM | ESPN3 | Amer. East | Stony Brook | vs. | Albany |
| 7:30 PM | ESPN3 | MAC | Western Michigan | vs. | Miami (O) |
| 8:00 PM | ESPN3 | MAC | Toledo | vs. | Bowling Green |
| 9:00 PM | ESPN | WCC | Gonzaga | vs. | Santa Clara |
| 9:30 PM | ESPN3 | Summit | IUPUI | vs. | Omaha |
| 9:30 PM | ESPNU | Horizon | Illinois-Chicago | vs. | Milwaukee |
| 11:30 PM | ESPN2 | WCC | Saint Mary’s | vs. | BYU |
The Bubble As of Monday, 3/6/2017 12 Noon ET
Getting Closer to Safe (Probably Still In With 1 & Done in Conference Tournament)
Michigan
Arkansas
Seton Hall
Michigan St.
In Good Shape but Need Another Win in Conference Tournament
VCU
Marquette
Providence
Xavier
In Today, But Might Need 2 Conference Tournament Wins to Stay In
USC
Vanderbilt
Wake Forest
Syracuse
In For Now, But Likely To Fall With Just One Upset In Power Conference Tournament
Illinois St.
Out For Now, But With A Chance To Play In With Big Conference Tournament Wins (in order)
Kansas St.
Rhode Island
Illinois
Iowa
California
Ole Miss
Houston
Georgia
Must Now Win Automatic Bid (or Definitely Make Conference Championship Game)
Georgia
Georgia Tech
Indiana
This Week’s Guru Seeds
| Seed | Team |
| 1 | Villanova |
| 1 | Kansas |
| 1 | North Carolina |
| 1 | Gonzaga |
| 2 | Kentucky |
| 2 | Oregon |
| 2 | Louisville |
| 2 | Baylor |
| 3 | UCLA |
| 3 | Arizona |
| 3 | Florida St. |
| 3 | Butler |
| 4 | Duke |
| 4 | Florida |
| 4 | Purdue |
| 4 | West Virginia |
| 5 | Virginia |
| 5 | Notre Dame |
| 5 | Minnesota |
| 5 | Cincinnati |
| 6 | SMU |
| 6 | Saint Mary’s |
| 6 | Iowa St. |
| 6 | Maryland |
| 7 | Creighton |
| 7 | Wisconsin |
| 7 | Oklahoma St. |
| 7 | South Carolina |
| 8 | Miami |
| 8 | Northwestern |
| 8 | Dayton |
| 8 | Virginia Tech |
| 9 | Michigan |
| 9 | Arkansas |
| 9 | Wichita St. |
| 9 | Seton Hall |
| 10 | Michigan St. |
| 10 | VCU |
| 10 | Marquette |
| 10 | Providence |
| 11 | Xavier |
| 11 | USC |
| 11 | Middle Tennessee |
| 11 | Vanderbilt |
| 11 | Wake Forest |
| 12 | Syracuse |
| 12 | Illinois St. |
| 12 | Nevada |
| 12 | UNC-Wilmington |
| 12 | UT-Arlington |
| 13 | Princeton |
| 13 | Vermont |
| 13 | Winthrop |
| 13 | Akron |
| 14 | Bucknell |
| 14 | New Mexico St. |
| 14 | FGCU |
| 14 | UNC-Greensboro |
| 15 | Iona |
| 15 | South Dakota |
| 15 | Northern Kentucky |
| 15 | UC-Irvine |
| 16 | North Dakota |
| 16 | Texas Southern |
| 16 | Jacksonville St. |
| 16 | New Orleans |
| 16 | UNC-Central |
| 16 | Mount St. Mary’s |
Last Four Byes: Marquette, Providence, Xavier, USC
Last Four In (headed to Dayton): Vanderbilt vs. Wake Forest, Syracuse vs. Illinois St.
First Four Out (#1 NIT Seeds): Kansas St., Rhode Island, Illinois, Iowa
Next Four Out (#2 NIT Seeds): California, Ole Miss, Houston, Utah
All Conference Tournament Brackets Up to Date
| America East Tournament–Higher Seed at Home | |||||||||
| Quarterfinal Round, Wednesday, March 1 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 1 | 1 | Vermont | 26-5 | vs. | 8 | Maine | 7-24 | 86-41 | |
| 2 | 2 | Stony Brook | 17-12 | vs. | 7 | Binghamton | 12-19 | 70-60 | |
| 3 | 3 | Albany | 19-12 | vs. | 6 | Hartford | 9-22 | 100-71 | |
| 4 | 4 | New Hampshire | 19-11 | vs. | 5 | Md.-Baltimore Co. | 18-11 | 74-65 | |
| Semifinal Round, Monday, March 6 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 5 | 1 | Vermont | 27-5 | vs. | 4 | New Hampshire | 20-11 | 7:00 PM | ESPN3 |
| 6 | 2 | Stony Brook | 18-12 | vs. | 3 | Albany | 20-12 | 7:30 PM | ESPN3 |
| Championship Game, Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | Game 5 winner | Game 6 winner | 11:00 AM | ESPN2 | |||||
| * This Tournament Re-seeds after the quarterfinals like the NFL Playoffs | |||||||||
| American Athletic Conference Tournament–Hartford,CT | |||||||||
| First Round, Thursday, March 9 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 8 | Temple | 16-15 | vs. | 9 | East Carolina | 14-17 | 3:30 PM | ESPNU |
| 2 | 7 | Tulsa | 14-16 | vs. | 10 | Tulane | 6-24 | 6:00 PM | ESPNNews |
| 3 | 6 | Connecticut | 14-16 | vs. | 11 | South Florida | 7-22 | 8:00 PM | ESPNNews |
| Quarterfinal Round, Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 4 | 1 | SMU | 27-4 | vs. | Game 1 winner | 12:00 PM | ESPN2 | ||
| 5 | 4 | Central Florida | 20-10 | vs. | 5 | Memphis | 19-12 | 2:00 PM | ESPN2 |
| 6 | 2 | Cincinnati | 27-4 | vs. | Game 2 winner | 7:00 PM | ESPNU | ||
| 7 | 3 | Houston | 21-9 | vs. | Game 3 winner | 9:00 PM | ESPNU | ||
| Semifinal Round, Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 8 | Game 4 winner | vs. | Game 5 winner | 3:00 PM | ESPN2 | ||||
| 9 | Game 6 winner | vs. | Game 7 winner | 5:00 PM | ESPN2 | ||||
| Championship Game, Sunday, March 12 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 10 | Game 8 winner | vs. | Game 9 winner | 3:15 PM | ESPN | ||||
| Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament–Brooklyn | |||||||||
| First Round, Tuesday, March 7 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 12 | Clemson | 16-14 | vs. | 13 | North Carolina St. | 15-16 | 12:00 PM | ESPN2 |
| 2 | 10 | Wake Forest | 18-12 | vs. | 15 | Boston College | 9-22 | 2:00 PM | ESPN2 |
| 3 | 11 | Georgia Tech | 17-14 | vs. | 14 | Pittsburgh | 15-16 | 7:00 PM | ESPNU |
| Second Round, Wednesday, March 8 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 4 | 8 | Syracuse | 18-13 | vs. | 9 | Miami (Fla.) | 20-10 | 12:00 PM | ESPN |
| 5 | 5 | Duke | 23-8 | vs. | Game 1 winner | 2:00 PM | ESPN | ||
| 6 | 7 | Virginia Tech | 21-9 | vs. | Game 2 winner | 7:00 PM | ESPN2 | ||
| 7 | 6 | Virginia | 21-9 | vs. | Game 3 winner | 9:00 PM | ESPN2 | ||
| Quarterfinal Round, Thursday, March 9 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 8 | 1 | North Carolina | vs. | Game 4 winner | 12:00 PM | ESPN | |||
| 9 | 4 | Louisville | vs. | Game 5 winner | 2:00 PM | ESPN | |||
| 10 | 2 | Florida St. | vs. | Game 6 winner | 7:00 PM | ESPN | |||
| 11 | 3 | Notre Dame | vs. | Game 7 winner | 9:00 PM | ESPN | |||
| Semfinal Round, Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 12 | Game 8 winner | vs. | Game 9 winner | 7:00 PM | ESPN or 2 | ||||
| 13 | Game 10 winner | vs. | Game 11 winner | 9:00 PM | ESPN or 2 | ||||
| Championship Game, Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 14 | Game 12 winner | vs. | Game 13 winner | 9:00 PM | ESPN | ||||
| Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament–Higher Seed at Home | |||||||||
| Quarterfinal Round, Monday, February 27 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 1 | 1 | Florida Gulf Coast | 23-7 | vs. | 8 | Stetson | 11-20 | 87-57 | |
| 2 | 2 | Lipscomb | 19-12 | vs. | 7 | NJIT | 11-19 | 97-66 | |
| 3 | 3 | North Florida | 13-18 | vs. | 6 | Jacksonville | 17-14 | 77-74 | |
| 4 | 4 | USC-Upstate | 17-14 | vs. | 5 | Kennesaw St. | 13-17 | 78-80 | |
| Semifinal Round, Thursday, March 2 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 5 | 1 | Florida Gulf Coast | 24-7 | vs. | 5 | Kennesaw St. | 14-17 | 74-62 | |
| 6 | 2 | Lipscomb | 20-12 | vs. | 3 | North Florida | 14-18 | 85-91 | |
| Championship Game, Sunday, March 5 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 7 | 1 | Florida Gulf Coast | 25-7 | vs. | 3 | North Florida | 15-18 | 77-61 | |
| Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament–Pittsburgh (Duquense) | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Wednesday, March 8 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 12 | Massachusetts | 14-17 | vs. | 13 | St. Joseph’s | 11-19 | 6:00 PM | ASN |
| 2 | 11 | St. Louis | 11-20 | vs. | 14 | Duquesne | 10-21 | 8:30 PM | ASN |
| 2nd Round, Thursday, March 9 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 3 | 8 | LaSalle | 15-14 | vs. | 9 | Davidson | 15-14 | 12:00 PM | NBCSN |
| 4 | 5 | St. Bonaventure | 19-11 | vs. | Game 1 winner | 2:30 PM | NBCSN | ||
| 5 | 7 | George Mason | vs. | 10 | Fordham | 6:00 PM | NBCSN | ||
| 6 | 6 | George Washington | 18-13 | vs. | Game 2 winner | 8:30 PM | NBCSN | ||
| Quarterfinal Round, Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | 1 | Dayton | 24-6 | vs. | Game 3 winner | 12:00 PM | NBCSN | ||
| 8 | 4 | Rhode Island | 21-9 | vs. | Game 4 winner | 2:30 PM | NBCSN | ||
| 9 | 2 | VCU | 24-7 | vs. | Game 5 winner | 6:00 PM | NBCSN | ||
| 10 | 3 | Richmond | 19-11 | vs. | Game 6 winner | 8:30 PM | NBCSN | ||
| Semifinal Round, Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 11 | Game 7 winner | vs. | Game 8 winner | 1:00 PM | CBSSN | ||||
| 12 | Game 9 winner | vs. | Game 10 winner | 3:30 PM | CBSSN | ||||
| Championship Game, Sunday, March 12 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 13 | Game 11 winner | vs. | Game 12 winner | 12:30 PM | CBS | ||||
| Big 12 Conference Tournament–Kansas City | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Wednesday, March 8 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 8 | TCU | 17-14 | vs. | 9 | Oklahoma | 11-19 | 7:00 PM | ESPNU |
| 2 | 7 | Texas Tech | 18-13 | vs. | 10 | Texas | 10-21 | 9:00 PM | ESPNU |
| Quarterfinal Round, Thursday, March 9 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 3 | 4 | Iowa St. | 20-10 | vs. | 5 | Oklahoma St. | 20-11 | 12:30 PM | ESPN2 |
| 4 | 1 | Kansas | 28-3 | vs. | Game 1 winner | 2:30 PM | ESPN2 | ||
| 5 | 2 | West Virginia | 24-7 | vs. | Game 2 winner | 7:00 PM | ESPNU | ||
| 6 | 3 | Baylor | 25-6 | vs. | 6 | Kansas St. | 19-12 | 9:00 PM | ESPNU |
| Semifinal Round, Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | Game 4 winner | vs. | Game 3 winner | 7:00 PM | ESPN or 2 | ||||
| 8 | Game 5 winner | vs. | Game 6 winner | 9:00 P< | ESPN or 2 | ||||
| Semifinal Round, Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 9 | Game 7 winner | vs. | Game 8 winner | 6:00 PM | ESPN | ||||
| Big East Conference Tournament–New York City | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Wednesday, March 8 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 8 | St. John’s | 13-18 | vs. | 9 | Georgetown | 14-17 | 7:00 PM | FS1 |
| 2 | 7 | Xavier | 19-12 | vs. | 10 | DePaul | 9-21 | 9:30 PM | FS1 |
| Quarterfinal Round, Thursday, March 9 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 3 | 1 | Villanova | 28-3 | vs. | 12:00 PM | FS1 | |||
| 4 | 4 | Marquette | 19-11 | vs. | 5 | Seton Hall | 20-10 | 2:30 PM | FS1 |
| 5 | 2 | Butler | 23-7 | vs. | 7:00 PM | FS1 | |||
| 6 | 3 | Providence | 20-11 | vs. | 6 | Creighton | 23-8 | 9:30 PM | FS1 |
| Semifinal Round, Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | Game 1 winner | vs. | Game 2 winner | 6:30 PM | FS1 | ||||
| 8 | Game 3 winner | vs. | Game 4 winner | 9:00 PM | FS1 | ||||
| Championship Game, Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 9 | Game 7 winner | vs. | Game 8 winner | 5:30 PM | Fox | ||||
| Big Sky Conference Tournament–Reno, NV | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Tuesday, March 7 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 8 | Portland St. | 14-15 | vs. | 9 | Northern Arizona | 9-22 | 5:35 PM | Watch Big Sky |
| 2 | 7 | Sacramento St. | 12-17 | vs. | 10 | Idaho St. | 5-25 | 8:35 PM | Watch Big Sky |
| 3 | 6 | Montana St. | 16-15 | vs. | 11 | Southern Utah | 5-26 | 11:05 PM | Watch Big Sky |
| Quarterfinal Round, Thursday, March 9 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 4 | 1 | North Dakota | 19-9 | vs. | Game 1 winner | 3:05 PM | Watch Big Sky | ||
| 5 | 4 | Idaho | 17-12 | vs. | 5 | Montana | 16-15 | 5:35 PM | Watch Big Sky |
| 6 | 2 | Eastern Washington | 21-10 | vs. | Game 2 winner | 8:35 PM | Watch Big Sky | ||
| 7 | 3 | Weber St. | 17-12 | vs. | Game 3 winner | 11:05 PM | Watch Big Sky | ||
| Semifinal Round, Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 8 | Game 4 winner | vs. | Game 5 winner | 8:35 PM | Watch Big Sky | ||||
| 9 | Game 6 winner | vs. | Game 7 winner | 11:05 PM | Watch Big Sky | ||||
| Championship Round, Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 10 | Game 8 winner | vs. | Game 9 winner | 8:30 PM | ESPNU | ||||
| Big South Conference Tournament—Winthrop | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Tuesday, February 28 (at Higher Seed) | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 1 | 7 | Campbell | 14-16 | vs. | 10 | Presbyterian | 5-24 | 81-62 | |
| 2 | 8 | Charleston Southern | 11-18 | vs. | 9 | Longwood | 6-23 | 79-74 | |
| Quarterfinal Round, Thursday, March 2 (at Winthrop) | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 3 | 2 | UNC-Asheville | 23-8 | vs. | 7 | Campbell | 15-16 | 79-81 | |
| 4 | 3 | Liberty | 19-12 | vs. | 6 | Radford | 13-17 | 52-56 | |
| 5 | 1 | Winthrop | 23-6 | vs. | 8 | Charleston Southern | 12-18 | 92-78 | |
| 6 | 4 | Gardner-Webb | 18-13 | vs. | 5 | High Point | 15-15 | 91-55 | |
| Semifinal Round, Friday, March 3 (at Winthrop) | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 7 | 6 | Radford | 14-17 | vs. | 7 | Campbell | 16-16 | 50-66 | |
| 8 | 1 | Winthrop | 24-6 | vs. | 4 | Gardner-Webb | 19-13 | 80-77 ot | |
| Championship Game, Sunday, March 5 (at Higher Seed) | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 9 | 1 | Winthrop | 25-6 | vs. | 7 | Campbell | 17-16 | 76-59 | |
| Big Ten Conference Tournament–Washington, DC | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Wednesday, March 8 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 12 | Nebraska | 12-18 | vs. | 13 | Penn St. | 14-17 | 4:30 PM | ESPN |
| 2 | 11 | Ohio St. | 17-14 | vs. | 14 | Rutgers | 14-17 | 7:00 PM | BTN |
| 2nd Round, Thursday, March 9 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 3 | 8 | Michigan | 20-11 | vs. | 9 | Illinois | 18-13 | 12:00 PM | BTN |
| 4 | 5 | Michigan St. | 18-13 | vs. | Game 1 winner | 2:20 PM | BTN | ||
| 5 | 7 | Iowa | 18-13 | vs. | 10 | Indiana | 17-14 | 6:30 PM | ESPN2 |
| 6 | 6 | Northwestern | 21-10 | vs. | Game 2 winner | 8:50 PM | ESPN2 | ||
| Quarterfinal Round, Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | 1 | Purdue | 25-6 | vs. | Game 3 winner | 12:00 PM | ESPN | ||
| 8 | 4 | Minnesota | 23-8 | vs. | Game 4 winner | 2:20 PM | ESPN | ||
| 9 | 2 | Wisconsin | 23-8 | vs. | Game 5 winner | 6:30 PM | BTN | ||
| 10 | 3 | Maryland | 24-7 | vs. | Game 6 winner | 8:50 PM | BTN | ||
| Semifinal Round, Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 11 | Game 7 winner | vs. | Game 8 winner | 1:00 PM | CBS | ||||
| 12 | Game 9 winner | vs. | Game 10 winner | 3:30 PM | CBS | ||||
| Championship Game, Sunday, March 12 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 13 | Game 11 winner | vs. | Game 12 winner | 3:00 PM | CBS | ||||
| Big West Conference Tournament–Anaheim | |||||||||
| Quarterfinal Round–Thursday, March 9 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 2 | UC-Davis | 19-12 | vs. | 7 | Cal Poly | 11-19 | 3:00 PM | FSW |
| 2 | 3 | Cal St. Fullerton | 16-13 | vs. | 6 | Cal St. Northridge | 11-18 | 5:30 PM | FSW |
| 3 | 1 | UC-Irvine | 19-13 | vs. | 8 | UC-Riverside | 7-20 | 9:00 PM | Prime |
| 4 | 4 | Long Beach St. | 14-18 | vs. | 5 | Hawaii | 14-15 | 11:30 PM | Prime |
| Semifinal Round–Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 5 | Game 1 winner | vs. | Game 2 winner | 9:30 PM | ESPN3 | ||||
| 6 | Game 3 winner | vs. | Game 4 winner | 12:00 AM | ESPN3 | ||||
| Championship Game–Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | Game 5 winner | vs. | Game 6 winner | 11:30 PM | ESPN2 | ||||
| Colonial Athletic Association Tournament–Charleston, SC | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Friday, March 3 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 1 | 8 | Hofstra | 15-16 | vs. | 9 | Delaware | 12-19 | 76-81 | |
| 2 | 7 | James Madison | 9-22 | vs. | 10 | Drexel | 9-22 | 80-70 | |
| Quarterfinal Round, Saturday, March 4 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 3 | 1 | UNC-Wilmington | 26-5 | vs. | 9 | Delaware | 13-19 | 91-82 | |
| 4 | 4 | William & Mary | 16-13 | vs. | 5 | Elon | 18-13 | 71-66 | |
| 5 | 2 | College of Charleston | 23-8 | vs. | 7 | James Madison | 10-22 | 67-62 | |
| 6 | 3 | Towson St. | 19-12 | vs. | 6 | Northeastern | 15-15 | 82-54 | |
| Semifinal Round, Sunday, March 5 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 7 | 1 | UNC-Wilmington | 27-5 | vs. | 4 | William & Mary | 17-13 | 105-94 | |
| 8 | 2 | College of Charleston | 24-8 | vs. | 6 | Northeastern | 16-15 | 67-59 | |
| Championship Game, Monday, March 6 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 9 | 1 | UNC-Wilmington | 28-5 | vs. | 2 | College of Charleston | 25-8 | 7:00 PM | CBSSN |
| Conference USA Tournament–Birmingham, AL | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Wednesday, March 8 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 8 | Western Kentucky | 15-16 | vs. | 9 | UTSA | 13-18 | 12:30 PM | Camp. Insiders |
| 2 | 5 | Rice | 21-10 | vs. | 12 | Southern Miss. | 9-21 | 3:00 PM | Camp. Insiders |
| 3 | 7 | UAB | 16-15 | vs. | 10 | Charlotte | 13-16 | 6:30 PM | Camp. Insiders |
| 4 | 6 | Marshall | 17-14 | vs. | 11 | Florida Atlantic | 10-19 | 9:00 PM | Camp. Insiders |
| Quarterfinal Round, Thursday, March 9 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 5 | 1 | Middle Tennessee | 27-4 | vs. | Game 1 winner | 12:30 PM | ASN | ||
| 6 | 4 | UTEP | 14-16 | vs. | Game 2 winner | 3:00 PM | ASN | ||
| 7 | 2 | Louisiana Tech | 22-9 | vs. | Game 3 winner | 6:30 PM | ASN | ||
| 8 | 3 | Old Dominion | 19-11 | vs. | Game 4 winner | 9:00 PM | ASN | ||
| Semifinal Round, Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 9 | Game 5 winner | vs. | Game 6 winner | 12:30 PM | CBSSN | ||||
| 10 | Game 7 winner | vs. | Game 8 winner | 3:00 PM | CBSSN | ||||
| Championship Game, Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 11 | Game 9 winner | vs. | Game 10 winner | 8:30 PM | CBSSN | ||||
| Horizon League Tournament (Motor City Madness)–Detroit | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Friday, March 3 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 1 | 7 | Detroit Mercy | 8-22 | vs. | 10 | Milwaukee | 8-23 | 60-85 | |
| 2 | 8 | Cleveland St. | 9-21 | vs. | 9 | Youngstown St. | 11-20 | 69-84 | |
| Quarterfinal Round–Day 1, Saturday, March 4 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 3 | 1 | Oakland | 24-7 | vs. | 9 | Youngstown St. | 12-20 | 80-81 | |
| 4 | 2 | Valparaiso | 24-7 | vs. | 10 | MIlwaukee | 9-23 | 41-43 | |
| Quarterfinal Round–Day 2, Sunday, March 5 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 5 | 3 | Green Bay | 18-12 | vs. | 6 | Illinois-Chicago | 14-17 | 70-79 | |
| 6 | 4 | Northern Kentucky | 21-10 | vs. | 5 | Wright St. | 20-11 | 82-77 | |
| Semifinal Round, Monday, March 6 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | Northern Kentucky | 22-10 | vs. | 9 | Youngstown St. | 13-20 | 7:00 PM | ESPNU | |
| 8 | Illinois-Chicago | 15-17 | vs. | 10 | Milwaukee | 10-23 | 9:30 PM | ESPNU | |
| Championship Game, Tuesday, March 7 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 9 | Game 7 winner | vs. | Game 8 winner | 7:00 PM | ESPN | ||||
| Ivy League Tournament–Philadelphia | |||||||||
| Semifinal Round, Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 1 | Princeton | 21-6 | vs. | 4 | Penn | 13-14 | 1:30 PM | ESPNU |
| 2 | 2 | Harvard | 18-9 | vs. | 3 | Yale | 17-10 | 4:00 PM | ESPNU |
| Championship Game, Sunday, March 12 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 3 | Game 1 winner | vs. | Game 2 winner | 12:00 PM | ESPN2 | ||||
| Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament at Albany (Siena) | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Thursday, March 2 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 1 | 8 | Quinnipiac | 10-20 | vs. | 9 | Niagara | 9-22 | 69-88 | |
| 2 | 7 | Canisius | 17-14 | vs. | 10 | Marist | 8-23 | 77-73 | |
| 3 | 6 | Rider | 17-14 | vs. | 11 | Manhattan | 10-21 | 69-68 | |
| Quarterfinal Round–Day 1, Friday, March 3 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 4 | 1 | Mounmouth | 26-5 | vs. | 9 | Niagara | 10-22 | 84-59 | |
| 5 | 2 | St. Peter’s | 18-12 | vs. | 7 | Canisius | 18-14 | 61-58 | |
| Quarterfinal Round–Day 2, Saturday, March 4 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 6 | 3 | Iona | 19-12 | vs. | 6 | Rider | 18-14 | 88-70 | |
| 7 | 4 | Siena | 15-16 | vs. | 5 | Fairfield | 16-13 | 78-66 | |
| Semifinal Round–Sunday, March 5 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 8 | 1 | Monmouth | 27-5 | vs. | 4 | Siena | 16-16 | 85-89 | |
| 9 | 2 | St. Peter’s | 19-12 | vs. | 3 | Iona | 20-12 | 65-73 | |
| Championship Game–Monday, March 6 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 10 | 3 | Iona | 21-12 | vs. | 4 | Siena | 17-16 | 9:00 PM | ESPN2 |
| Mid-American Conference Tournament (1st Round at Higher Seed, All Others at Cleveland) | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Monday, March 6 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 8 | Eastern Michigan | 15-16 | vs. | 9 | Northern Illinois | 15-16 | 7:00 PM | ESPN |
| 2 | 5 | Western Michigan | 15-15 | vs. | 12 | Miami (O) | 11-20 | 7:30 PM | ESPN |
| 3 | 7 | Toledo | 16-15 | vs. | 10 | Bowling Green | 13-18 | 8:00 PM | ESPN |
| 4 | 6 | Kent St. | 18-13 | vs. | 11 | Central Michigan | 16-15 | 7:00 PM | None |
| Quarterfinal Round, Thursday, March 9 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 5 | 1 | Akron | 24-7 | vs. | Game 1 winner | 12:00 PM | ESPN3 | ||
| 6 | 4 | Ball St. | 20-11 | vs. | Game 2 winner | 2:30 PM | ESPN3 | ||
| 7 | 2 | Ohio U | 19-10 | vs. | Game 3 winner | 6:30 PM | ESPN3 | ||
| 8 | 3 | Buffalo | 17-14 | vs. | Game 4 winner | 9:00 PM | ESPN3 | ||
| Semifinal Round, Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 9 | Game 5 winner | vs. | Game 6 winner | 5:30 PM | CBSSN | ||||
| 10 | Game 7 winner | vs. | Game 8 winner | 8:00 PM | CBSSN | ||||
| Mideast Athletic Conference Tournament at Norfolk, VA (Norfolk St.) | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Day 1–Monday, March 6 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 5 | Maryland-Eastern Shore | 12-19 | vs. | 12 | N. Carolina A&T | 3-28 | 5:00 PM | ESPN3 |
| 2 | 6 | Coppin St. | 8-23 | vs. | 11 | Howard | 8-23 | 7:00 PM | ESPN3 |
| 1st Round, Day 2–Tuesday, March 7 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 3 | 8 | Delaware St. | 10-21 | vs. | 9 | Bethune-Cookman | 9-21 | 4:00 PM | ESPN3 |
| 4 | 7 | South Carolina St. | 10-19 | vs. | 10 | Florida A&M | 7-22 | 6:00 PM | ESPN3 |
| Quarterfinal Round–Day 1, Wednesday, March 8 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 5 | 1 | UNC-Central | 22-8 | vs. | Game 3 winner | 6:00 PM | ESPN3 | ||
| 6 | 2 | Norfolk St. | 15-15 | vs. | Game 4 winner | 8:00 PM | ESPN3 | ||
| Quarterfinal Round–Day 2, Thursday, March 9 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | 3 | Morgan St. | 14-15 | vs. | Game 2 winner | 6:00 PM | ESPN3 | ||
| 8 | 4 | Hampton | 14-15 | vs. | Game 1 winner | 8:00 PM | ESPN3 | ||
| Semifinal Round, Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 9 | Game 5 winner | vs. | Game 8 winner | 6:00 PM | ESPN3 | ||||
| 10 | Game 6 winner | vs. | Game 7 winner | 8:00 PM | ESPN3 | ||||
| Championship Game, Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 11 | Game 9 winner | vs. | Game 10 winner | 1:00 PM | ESPN2 | ||||
| Missouri Valley Conference Tournament (Arch Madness) at St. Louis | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Thursday, March 2 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 1 | 8 | Evansville | 15-16 | vs. | 9 | Indiana St. | 11-19 | 83-72 | |
| 2 | 7 | Bradley | 12-19 | vs. | 10 | Drake | 7-23 | 67-58 | |
| Quarterfinal Round, Friday, March 3 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 3 | 1 | Illinois St. | 25-5 | vs. | 8 | Evansville | 16-16 | 80-69 | |
| 4 | 4 | Southern Illinois | 16-15 | vs. | 5 | Loyola (Chi.) | 18-13 | 55-50 | |
| 5 | 2 | Wichita St. | 27-4 | vs. | 7 | Bradley | 13-19 | 82-56 | |
| 6 | 3 | Northern Iowa | 14-15 | vs. | 6 | Missouri St. | 16-15 | 64-70 | |
| Semifinal Round, Saturday, March 4 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 7 | 1 | Illinois St. | 26-5 | vs. | 4 | Southern Illinois | 17-15 | 63-50 | |
| 8 | 2 | Wichita St. | 28-4 | vs. | 6 | Missouri St. | 17-15 | 78-63 | |
| Championship Game, Sunday, March 5 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 9 | 1 | Illinois St. | 27-5 | vs. | 2 | Wichita St. | 29-4 | 51-71 | |
| Mountain West Conference Tournament–Las Vegas (UNLV) | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Wednesday, March 8 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 8 | Utah St. | vs. | 9 | San Jose St. | 2:00 PM | MWN | ||
| 2 | 7 | Wyoming | vs. | 10 | Air Force | 4:30 PM | MWN | ||
| 3 | 6 | San Diego St. | vs. | 11 | UNLV | 7:00 PM | MWN | ||
| Quarterfinal Round, Thursday, March 9 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 4 | 1 | Nevada | 25-6 | vs. | Game 1 winner | 3:00 PM | CBSSN | ||
| 5 | 4 | Fresno St. | 19-11 | vs. | 5 | New Mexico | 17-13 | 5:30 PM | CBSSN |
| 6 | 2 | Colorado St. | 21-10 | vs. | Game 2 winner | 9:00 PM | CBSSN | ||
| 7 | 3 | Boise St. | 19-10 | vs. | Game 3 winner | 11:30 PM | CBSSN | ||
| Semifinal Round, Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 8 | Game 4 winner | vs. | Game 5 winner | 10:00 PM | CBSSN | ||||
| 9 | Game 6 winner | vs. | Game 7 winner | 12:30 AM | CBSSN | ||||
| Championship Game, Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 10 | Game 8 winner | vs. | Game 9 winner | 6:00 PM | CBS | ||||
| Northeast Conference Tournament–All Games at Higher Seed | |||||||||
| Quarterfinal Round, Wednesday, March 1 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 1 | 1 | Mount St. Mary’s | 16-15 | vs. | 8 | Sacred Heart | 13-18 | 76-73 | |
| 2 | 2 | Long Island | 20-11 | vs. | 7 | Robert Morris | 13-18 | 68-69 | |
| 3 | 3 | Wagner | 15-13 | vs. | 6 | Fairleigh-Dickinson | 11-18 | 72-70 | |
| 4 | 4 | St. Francis (PA) | 14-15 | vs. | 5 | Bryant | 12-19 | 100-78 | |
| Semifinal Round, Saturday, March 4 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 5 | 3 | Wagner | 16-13 | vs. | 4 | St. Francis (PA) | 15-15 | 70-71 | |
| 6 | 1 | Mount St. Mary’s | 17-15 | vs. | 7 | Robert Morris | 14-18 | 75-66 | |
| Championship Game, Tuesday, March 7 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | 1 | Mount St. Mary’s | 18-15 | 4 | St. Francis (PA) | 16-15 | 11:00 AM | ESPN2 | |
| * This Tournament Re-seeds after the quarterfinals like the NFL Playoffs | |||||||||
| Ohio Valley Conference Tournament at Nashville | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Wednesday, March 1 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 1 | 5 | Southeast Missouri | 14-17 | vs. | 8 | Tennessee St. | 17-12 | 78-75 ot | |
| 2 | 6 | Tennessee Tech | 12-19 | vs. | 7 | Murray St. | 14-16 | 84-85 2ot | |
| Quarterfinal Round, Thursday, March 2 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 3 | 4 | Jacksonville St. | 17-14 | vs. | 5 | Southeast Missouri | 15-17 | 74-51 | |
| 4 | 3 | Morehead St. | 14-15 | vs. | 7 | Murray St. | 15-16 | 69-75 | |
| Semifinal Round, Friday, March 3 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 5 | 1 | Belmont | 22-5 | vs. | 4 | Jacksonville St. | 18-14 | 59-65 | |
| 6 | 2 | UT-Martin | 20-11 | vs. | 7 | Murray St. | 16-16 | 73-67 | |
| Championship Game, Saturday, March 4 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 7 | 2 | UT-Martin | 21-11 | vs. | 4 | Jacksonville St. | 19-14 | 55-66 | |
| Pac-12 Conference Tournament–Las Vegas | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Wednesday, March 8 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 8 | Arizona St. | 14-17 | vs. | 9 | Stanford | 14-16 | 3:00 PM | P12 Net. |
| 2 | 5 | California | 19-11 | vs. | 12 | Oregon St. | 5-26 | 5:30 PM | P12 Net. |
| 3 | 7 | Colorado | 18-13 | vs. | 10 | Washington St. | 13-17 | 9:00 PM | P12 Net. |
| 4 | 6 | USC | 23-8 | vs. | 11 | Washington | 9-21 | 11:30 PM | P12 Net. |
| Quarterfinal Round, Thursday, March 9 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 5 | 1 | Oregon | 27-4 | vs. | Game 1 winner | 3:00 PM | P12 Net. | ||
| 6 | 4 | Utah | 20-10 | vs. | Game 2 winner | 5:30 PM | P12 Net. | ||
| 7 | 2 | Arizona | 27-4 | vs. | Game 3 winner | 9:00 PM | P12 Net. | ||
| 8 | 3 | UCLA | 28-3 | vs. | Game 4 winner | 11:30 PM | ESPN | ||
| Semifinal Round, Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 9 | Game 5 winner | vs. | Game 6 winner | 9:00 PM | P12 Net. | ||||
| 10 | Game 7 winner | vs. | Game 8 winner | 11:30 PM | ESPN | ||||
| Championship Game, Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 11 | Game 9 winner | vs. | Game 10 winner | 11:00 PM | ESPN | ||||
| Patriot League Tournament–All Games at Higher Seed | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Tuesday, February 28 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 1 | 7 | Loyola (MD.) | 14-15 | vs. | 10 | Lafayette | 9-20 | 67-64 | |
| 2 | 8 | Army | 12-18 | vs. | 9 | American | 8-21 | 74-58 | |
| Quarterfinal Round, Thursday, March 2 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 3 | 2 | Boston U | 23-8 | vs. | 7 | Loyola (MD.) | 15-15 | 64-60 | |
| 4 | 3 | Lehigh | 19-12 | vs. | 6 | Colgate | 10-21 | 77-72 | |
| 5 | 1 | Bucknell | 23-6 | vs. | 8 | Army | 13-18 | 78-62 | |
| 6 | 4 | Navy | 18-13 | vs. | 5 | Holy Cross | 15-16 | 49-42 | |
| Semifinal Round, Sunday, March 5 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 7 | 2 | Boston U | 24-8 | vs. | 3 | Lehigh | 20-12 | 88-91 ot | |
| 8 | 1 | Bucknell | 24-6 | vs. | 4 | Navy | 19-13 | 70-65 | |
| Championship Game, Wednesday, March 8 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 9 | 1 | Bucknell | 25-6 | vs. | 3 | Lehigh | 21-12 | 7:30 PM | CBSSN |
| Southeastern Conference Tournament–Nashville | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Wednesday, March 8 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 12 | Mississippi St. | 15-15 | vs. | 13 | LSU | 10-20 | 7:00 PM | SECN |
| 2 | 11 | Auburn | 18-13 | vs. | 14 | MIssouri | 7-23 | 9:00 PM | SECN |
| 2nd Round, Thursday, March 9 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 3 | 8 | Georgia | 18-13 | vs. | 9 | Tennessee | 16-15 | 1:00 PM | SECN |
| 4 | 5 | Alabama | 17-13 | vs. | Game 1 winner | 3:20 PM | SECN | ||
| 5 | 7 | Vanderbilt | 17-14 | vs. | 10 | Texas A&M | 16-14 | 7:00 PM | SECN |
| 6 | 6 | Ole Miss | 19-12 | vs. | Game 2 winner | 9:20 PM | SECN | ||
| Quarterfinal Round, Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | 1 | Kentucky | 26-5 | vs. | Game 3 winner | 1:00 PM | SECN | ||
| 8 | 4 | South Carolina | 22-9 | vs. | Game 4 winner | 3:20 PM | SECN | ||
| 9 | 2 | Florida | 24-7 | vs. | Game 5 winner | 7:00 PM | SECN | ||
| 10 | 3 | Arkansas | 23-8 | vs. | Game 6 winner | 9:20 PM | SECN | ||
| Semifinal Round, Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 11 | Game 7 winner | vs. | Game 8 winner | 1:00 PM | ESPN | ||||
| 12 | Game 9 winner | vs. | Game 10 winner | 3:20 PM | ESPN | ||||
| Championship Game, Sunday, March 12 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 13 | Game 11 winner | vs. | Game 12 winner | 1:00 PM | ESPN | ||||
| Southern Conference Tournament–Asheville, NC | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Friday, March 3 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 1 | 8 | Western Carolina | 9-22 | vs. | 9 | The Citadel | 11-20 | 72-78 | |
| 2 | 7 | Samford | 17-14 | vs. | 10 | VMI | 6-23 | 79-61 | |
| Quarterfinal Round, Saturday, March 4 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 3 | 1 | UNC-Greensboro | 23-8 | vs. | 9 | The Citadel | 12-20 | 76-67 | |
| 4 | 4 | Chattanooga | 19-11 | vs. | 5 | Wofford | 15-16 | 67-79 | |
| 5 | 2 | Furman | 21-10 | vs. | 7 | Samford | 18-14 | 63-67 | |
| 6 | 3 | East Tennessee St. | 24-7 | vs. | 6 | Mercer | 15-16 | 73-66 | |
| Semifinal Round, Sunday, March 5 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 7 | 1 | UNC-Greensboro | 24-8 | vs. | 5 | Wofford | 16-16 | 77-73 | |
| 8 | 3 | East Tennessee St. | 25-7 | vs. | 7 | Samford | 19-14 | 81-72 | |
| Championship Game, Monday, March 6 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 9 | 1 | UNC-Greensboro | 25-8 | vs. | 3 | East Tennessee St. | 26-7 | 7:00 PM | ESPN2 |
| Southland Conference Tournament–Katy, TX (Greater Houston area) | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Wednesday, March 8 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 5 | Sam Houston St. | 19-12 | vs. | 8 | Central Arkansas | 8-23 | 6:00 PM | ESPN3 |
| 2 | 6 | Lamar | 18-13 | vs. | 7 | Southeastern Louisiana | 16-15 | 8:30 PM | ESPN3 |
| Quarterfinal Round, Thursday, March 9 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 3 | 4 | Houston Baptist | 17-12 | vs. | Game 1 winner | 6:00 PM | ESPN3 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Stephen F. Austin | 17-13 | vs. | Game 2 winner | 8:30 PM | ESPN3 | ||
| Semifinal Round, Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 5 | 1 | New Orleans | 18-11 | vs. | Game 3 winner | 6:00 PM | ESPN3 | ||
| 6 | 2 | Texas A&M-CC | 19-10 | vs. | Game 4 winner | 8:30 PM | ESPN3 | ||
| Championship Game, Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | Game 5 winner | vs. | Game 6 winner | 9:30 PM | ESPN2 | ||||
| Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament–1st round at higher seed, Semis and Finals at Houston | |||||||||
| Quarterfinal Round–Tuesday, March 7 at higher seed | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 1 | Texas Southern | 20-11 | vs. | 8 | Alabama St. | 8-22 | 8:30 PM | None |
| 2 | 4 | Prairie View A&M | 13-19 | vs. | 5 | Grambling | 15-16 | 9:00 PM | None |
| 3 | 2 | Alcorn St. * | 16-13 | vs. | 7 | Mississippi Valley | 7-24 | 7:00 PM | None |
| 4 | 3 | Southern | 14-17 | vs. | 6 | Jackson St. | 14-17 | 8:30 PM | None |
| Semifinal Round–Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 5 | Game 1 winner | vs. | Game 2 winner | 3:30 PM | None | ||||
| 6 | Game 3 winner | vs. | Game 4 winner | 9:30 PM | None | ||||
| Championship Game–Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | Game 5 winner | vs. | Game 6 winner | 6:30 PM | ESPNU | ||||
| *Alcorn St. is ineligible for postseason play due to low APR scores. If the Braves win the tourney, Texas Sou. wins the bid. | |||||||||
| Summit League Tournament–Sioux Falls, SD | |||||||||
| Quarterfinal Round–Day 1, Saturday, March 4 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 1 | 1 | South Dakota | 21-10 | 8 | Western Illinois | 8-19 | 78-69 ot | ||
| 2 | 2 | North Dakota St. | 19-10 | 7 | IUPUI | 13-17 | 57-76 | ||
| Quarterfinal Round–Day 2, Sunday, March 5 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 3 | 4 | South Dakota St. | 15-16 | 5 | Denver | 16-13 | 83-73 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Omaha | 16-13 | 6 | Fort Wayne | 19-11 | 84-80 | ||
| Semifinal Round–Monday, March 6 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 5 | 1 | South Dakota | 22-10 | 4 | South Dakota St. | 16-16 | 7:00 PM | ESPN3 | |
| 6 | 7 | IUPUI | 14-17 | 3 | Omaha | 17-13 | 9:30 PM | ESPN3 | |
| Championship–Tuesday, March 7 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | Game 5 winner | Game 6 winner | 9:00 PM | ESPN2 | |||||
| Sun Belt Conference Tournament–New Orleans | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Wednesday, March 8 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 8 | Coastal Carolina | 15-16 | vs. | 9 | South Alabama | 14-17 | 1:30 PM | ESPN3 |
| 2 | 5 | Arkansas St. | 20-11 | vs. | 12 | Louisiana-Monroe | 8-23 | 3:00 PM | ESPN3 |
| 3 | 7 | Louisiana-Lafayette | 20-11 | vs. | 10 | Arkansas-Little Rock | 15-16 | 6:00 PM | ESPN3 |
| 4 | 6 | Troy | 18-14 | vs. | 11 | Appalachian St. | 9-20 | 8:30 PM | ESPN3 |
| Quarterfinal Round, Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 5 | 1 | UT-Arlington | 24-7 | vs. | Game 1 winner | 1:30 PM | ESPN3 | ||
| 6 | 4 | Texas St. | 18-12 | vs. | Game 2 winner | 3:00 PM | ESPN3 | ||
| 7 | 2 | Georgia St. | 19-11 | vs. | Game 3 winner | 6:00 PM | ESPN3 | ||
| 8 | 3 | Georgia Southern | 18-13 | vs. | Game 4 winner | 8:30 PM | ESPN3 | ||
| Semifinal Round, Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 9 | Game 5 winner | vs. | Game 6 winner | 12:30 PM | ESPN3 | ||||
| 10 | Game 7 winner | vs. | Game 8 winner | 3:00 PM | ESPN3 | ||||
| Championship Game, Sunday, March 12 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 11 | Game 9 winner | vs. | Game 10 winner | 2:00 PM | ESPN2 | ||||
| West Coast Conference Tournament at Las Vegas | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Friday, March 3 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 1 | 8 | Pepperdine | 9-21 | vs. | 9 | Pacific | 10-21 | 84-89 | |
| 2 | 7 | San Diego | 13-17 | vs. | 10 | Portland | 10-21 | 55-60 | |
| Quarterfinal Round, Saturday, March 4 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Score | |
| 3 | 3 | BYU | 21-10 | vs. | 6 | Loyola Marymount | 15-14 | 89-81 | |
| 4 | 4 | Santa Clara | 16-15 | vs. | 5 | San Francisco | 20-11 | 76-69 | |
| 5 | 1 | Gonzaga | 29-1 | vs. | 9 | Pacific | 11-21 | 82-50 | |
| 6 | 2 | Saint Mary’s | 26-3 | vs. | 10 | Portland | 11-21 | 81-58 | |
| Semifinal Round, Monday, March 6 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | 3 | BYU | 22-10 | vs. | 2 | Saint Mary’s | 27-3 | 9 or 11:30 | ESPN/ESPN2 |
| 8 | 1 | Gonzaga | 30-1 | vs. | 4 | Santa Clara | 17-15 | 9 or 11:30 | ESPN/ESPN2 |
| Championship Game, Tuesday, March 7 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 9 | Game 7 winner | vs. | Game 8 winner | 9:00 PM | ESPN | ||||
| Western Athletic Conference Tournament–Las Vegas | |||||||||
| Quarterfinal Round–Thursday, March 9 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 4 | Utah Valley | 14-15 | vs. | 5 | Seattle | 13-16 | 5:00 PM | WAC Digital |
| 2 | 2 | New Mexico St. | 25-5 | vs. | 7 | Chicago St. | 6-25 | 7:30 PM | WAC Digital |
| 3 | 3 | Missouri-KC | 16-15 | vs. | 6 | UT Rio Grande Valley | 10-21 | 10:00 PM | WAC Digital |
| Semifinal Round–Friday, March 10 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 4 | 1 | Cal State Bakersfield | 21-8 | vs. | Game 1 winner | 9:00 PM | ESPN3 | ||
| 5 | Game 2 winner | vs. | Game 3 winner | 11:30 PM | ESPN3 | ||||
| Championship Game–Saturday, March 11 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 6 | Game 4 winner | vs. | Game 5 winner | 11:00 PM | ESPNU | ||||
February 27, 2017
The Pirate Ratings Bracketology Gurus Report For February 27, 2017
Gonzaga’s Loss–Good or Bad
Minutes after Gonzaga lost their home finale Saturday night, we began hearing the so-called experts talk about how a loss might help the Bulldogs rather than keep the pressure on them to stay undefeated. We have heard this statement many times in the past, and we believe it is hogwash. A loss never really helps a team, even if coaches and others say it may help focus attention and force players to play harder.
The team that goes 29-0 before losing is not one that needs help focusing or one that can find a way to improve on the loss. As a matter of fact, we believe this loss hurts Gonzaga more than what it looks like on face value. Their players lost a lot of confidence, and any self-doubt can create weaker play. Look at it in baseball. When a player has to think about facing Aroldis Chapman, or before him Randy Johnson, Rob Dibble, or Sandy Koufax, the thought of facing a pitcher than they cannot possibly hit oftentimes leads to the batter not being able to hit these stars. The all-time hits leader, Pete Rose, didn’t believe he could hit Koufax’s curve ball, and he didn’t. He hit below .175 against him.
In the basketball world, we see a close correlation between Gonzaga and the 1977 San Francisco Dons. That USF team had four stars that would matriculate to the NBA, including future Chicago Bulls’ center Bill Cartwright, who had been considered the nation’s top high school prospect when he signed with the Dons.
The 1977 USF team played in the West Coast Athletic Conference, the predecessor of today’s West Coast Conference, of which Gonzaga is a member (as is USF). The Dons were the odds-on favorite to win the WCAC title, but nobody expected USF to do what they did that year. Starting just outside the top 10, USF began winning game after game. Their early schedule featured several power conference teams, including eventual SEC champion Tennessee and WAC Champion Utah. The Dons stayed undefeated throughout November and December, and with a win over St. John’s and a second win over Houston, USF moved to the top of the polls in early January. There was no real competition in conference play as the Dons won the league by five games. With a 29-0 record and a scoring margin near 20 points per game, USF closed out the regular season with a road game against a good but not great Notre Dame team.
In the second half, the Irish began to wear down the USF stars, and they were able to neutralize the Dons’ best factor–their rebounding ability. Notre Dame went on a run and knocked USF out of the unbeaten ranks just before NCAA Tournament play began. USF fell to number three in the nation behind Michigan and UCLA, but the experts of the day said that the loss would help USF be able to focus and recover. It wasn’t to be. In their very first tournament game, USF ran up against the Runnin’ Rebels of UNLV, and Coach Jerry Tarkanian was about to take his team to its first Final Four. UNLV ran out to a quick double-digit lead and cruised to a 121-95 victory to end USF’s year at 29-2.
We are not saying that Gonzaga will lose its first tournament game, and remember that when USF lost to UNLV, there were just 32 Tournament teams. What we are saying is that Gonzaga’s chances of making the Final 4 are now less by several percentage points than it was prior to Saturday. In fact, we are willing to state that we do not believe the Bulldogs will make it to the Elite 8 this year, because their confidence level has dropped. They may not even win the WCC Tournament. Saint Mary’s might advance further in the Dance. That’s how much we believe this loss hurt the Zags.
Our Weekly Look at the Conferences
To many basketball fans, the next five weeks equates to summer vacation. Conference tournament action commences today with the opening round of the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament tipping off in Fort Myers, Florida, Nashville, Spartanburg, South Carolina, and Jacksonville, as the four higher seeded teams host the four lower seeded teams.
Starting today, our Bracketology Report merges with the Conference Tournament Coverage, so you will get a bit of both. In total 10 different leagues have their tournament brackets in place, so instead of showing you the records of the top teams in those leagues, we will show you the tournament schedules along with a brief look at who is hot, who is not, and who we think might win.
Our Bracketology Gurus have sent their selections to us this week, and many of them plan to update every time their bracket changes in the last two weeks before Selection Sunday.
ONE BID CONFERENCES
America East
| America East Tournament–Higher Seed at Home | |||||||||
| Quarterfinal Round, Wednesday, March 1 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 1 | Vermont | 26-5 | vs. | 8 | Maine | 7-24 | 7:00 PM | ESPN3 |
| 2 | 2 | Stony Brook | 17-12 | vs. | 7 | Binghamton | 12-19 | 7:00 PM | ESPN3 |
| 3 | 3 | Albany | 19-12 | vs. | 6 | Hartford | 9-22 | 7:30 PM | ESPN3 |
| 4 | 4 | New Hampshire | 19-11 | vs. | 5 | Md.-Baltimore Co. | 18-11 | 7:30 PM | ESPN3 |
|
Semifinal Round, Monday, March 6 |
|||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 5 | Highest Remaining Seed | vs. | Lowest Remaining Seed | 7:00 PM | ESPN3 | ||||
| 6 | 2nd Highest Remaining Seed | vs. | 2nd Lowest Remaining Seed | 7:30 PM | ESPN3 | ||||
|
Championship Game, Saturday, March 11 |
|||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | Game 5 winner | Game 6 winner | 11:00 AM | ESPN2 | |||||
| * This Tournament Re-seeds after the quarterfinals like the NFL Playoffs | |||||||||
Vermont finished the regular season with a perfect 16-0 record in the league, and there is only one other team remaining that has an undefeated conference record (Princeton is 12-0 in the Ivy League with two games remaining). So, the Catamounts must be considered prohibitive favorites, especially since they have home court advantage throughout the tournament. Only one league opponent gabe Vermont any real difficulty this year, and that was Maryland-Baltimore County. However, UMBC finished as the fifth seed, and the Retrievers will have to win a road game against New Hampshire to get a chance at the Catamounts. UNH lost at Vermont by just eight points after playing to a stalemate in the first half, and the Wildcats did not lose another game afterwards, finishing on a five-game winning streak.
Atlantic Sun
| Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament–Higher Seed at Home | |||||||||
| Quarterfinal Round, Monday, February 27 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 1 | Florida Gulf Coast | 23-7 | vs. | 8 | Stetson | 11-20 | 7:00 PM | WatchESPN |
| 2 | 2 | Lipscomb | 19-12 | vs. | 7 | NJIT | 11-19 | 8:00 PM | WatchESPN |
| 3 | 3 | North Florida | 13-18 | vs. | 6 | Jacksonville | 17-14 | 7:00 PM | WatchESPN |
| 4 | 4 | USC-Upstate | 17-14 | vs. | 5 | Kennesaw St. | 13-17 | 7:00 PM | WatchESPN |
|
Semifinal Round, Thursday, March 2 |
|||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 5 | Game 1 winner | vs. | Game 4 winner | TBA | WatchESPN | ||||
| 6 | Game 2 winner | vs. | Game 3 winner | TBA | WatchESPN | ||||
|
Championship Game, Sunday, March 5 |
|||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | Game 5 winner | vs. | Game 6 winner | 3:00 PM | ESPN | ||||
Florida Gulf Coast has been in this spot before, and the Eagles have come through as the favorite more than once. They did lose at home to second seed Lipscomb in an ugly game where defense dominated, but the Bisons will most likely have to beat North Florida in the semifinals to get to Fort Myers for the title game. North Florida swept Lipscomb during the regular season, with their star Dallas Moore scoring 75 points in the two contests. FGCU is looking pretty and the Eagles would be competitive if they make the Big Dance. They beat UT-Arlington and lost close games to Michigan St. and Baylor.
Big Sky
North Dakota 13-3/18-8
Eastern Washington 12-4/20-9
Weber St. 11-5/16-11
Idaho 10-6/16-12
Montana St. 10-6/15-14
Weber State dropped three straight games, while the two teams above them in the standings are enjoying nice winning streaks. Montana State is the hot team from the next waive, but keep an eye on 8th place Portland State (7-9/14-13). The Vikings have lost a lot of close games, five in overtime, and they have the ability to score points in big spurts. It would not be a surprise if PSU upset a team or two in this tournament, which in our opinion is wide open.
Big South
| Big South Conference Tournament–1st Round & Championship at Higher Seed, Middle 2 Rounds at #1 Winthrop | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Tuesday, February 28 (at Higher Seed) | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 7 | Campbell | 14-16 | vs. | 10 | Presbyterian | 5-24 | 7:00 PM | BSouth Net. |
| 2 | 8 | Charleston Southern | 11-18 | vs. | 9 | Longwood | 6-23 | 7:00 PM | BSouth Net. |
|
Quarterfinal Round, Thursday, March 2 (at Winthrop) |
|||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 3 | 2 | UNC-Asheville | 23-8 | vs. | Game 1 winner | 1:00 PM | ESPN3 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Liberty | 19-12 | vs. | 6 | Radford | 13-17 | 3:00 PM | ESPN3 |
| 5 | 1 | Winthrop | 23-6 | vs. | Game 2 winner | 7:00 PM | ESPN3 | ||
| 6 | 4 | Gardner-Webb | 18-13 | vs. | 5 | High Point | 15-15 | 9:00 PM | ESPN3 |
|
Semifinal Round, Friday, March 3 (at Winthrop) |
|||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | Game 3 winner | vs. | Game 4 winner | 6:00 PM | ESPN3 | ||||
| 8 | Game 5 winner | vs. | Game 6 winner | 8:00 PM | ESPN3 | ||||
|
Championship Game, Sunday, March 5 (at Higher Seed) |
|||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 9 | Game 7 winner | vs. | Game 8 winner | 1:00 PM | ESPN | ||||
Winthrop and UNC-Asheville could be on a collision course for a rematch of last year’s championship game, where UNCA won on a neutral floor and then became fodder for eventual National Champion Villanova in the Round of 64. Winthrop has the edge this year, as the Eagles will play at home as long as they remain in the tournament. The two games between these teams were both nip and tuck games that went to the wire, with the game in Asheville needing an extra 10 minutes to decide the winner (UNCA won to earn a split). If you are looking for a dark horse, Gardner-Webb is playing its best ball of the year at the present time, and the Bulldogs upset UNCA to give the regular season title to Winthrop.
Big West
UC-Davis 10-4/18-11
UC-Irvine 10-4/17-13
Cal St. Fullerton 8-6/14-13
No team has been able to dominate in this league this year, and the tournament should be competitive. The current co-leaders meet in Irvine to close the regular season, and the winner should take the top seed. Long Beach St. (8-7/13-18) has been dreadful away from home this year, but Anaheim is almost like being at home in the Pyramid, so the 49ers might be worth looking at as a dark horse.
Colonial Athletic
| Colonial Athletic Association Tournament–Charleston, SC | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Friday, March 3 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 8 | Hofstra | 15-16 | vs. | 9 | Delaware | 12-19 | 6:00 PM | CAA.tv |
| 2 | 7 | James Madison | 9-22 | vs. | 10 | Drexel | 9-22 | 8:30 PM | CAA.tv |
|
Quarterfinal Round, Saturday, March 4 |
|||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 3 | 1 | UNC-Wilmington | 26-5 | vs. | 12:00 PM | Comcast SN | |||
| 4 | 4 | William & Mary | 16-13 | vs. | 5 | Elon | 18-13 | 2:30 PM | Comcast SN |
| 5 | 2 | College of Charleston | 23-8 | vs. | 6:00 PM | Comcast SN | |||
| 6 | 3 | Towson St. | 19-12 | vs. | 6 | Northeastern | 15-15 | 8:30 PM | Comcast SN |
|
Semifinal Round, Sunday, March 5 |
|||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | Game 3 winner | vs. | Game 4 winner | 2:00 PM | Comcast SN | ||||
| 8 | Game 5 winner | vs. | Game 6 winner | 4:30 PM | Comcast SN | ||||
|
Championship Game, Monday, March 6 |
|||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 9 | Game 7 winner | vs. | Game 8 winner | 7:00 PM | CBSSN | ||||
A month ago, we could have just ceded this tournament to defending champ UNC-Wilmington, but that was before the Seahawks lost to William and Mary, Charleston, and Elon. Now, this looks like a tournament that is much more up for grabs. UNCW is still the favorite, but they will not win this is a cake walk. Expect some competitive games, and it would not be a surprise if somebody other than the top two teams emerges as the eventual champion. We are keeping an eye on 8-seed Hofstra. The Gaels lost a lot of close games and then won a couple on the road at the end. They have to play in the opening round and would need to win four games to take the NCAA bid, but they could sneak into the semifinals.
Conference USA
Note: Middle Tennessee is closing in on moving into the Bubble should they win out and make it to the CUSA Championship Game and lose. For now, we keep CUSA as a one-team bid.
Middle Tennessee 15-1/25-4
Louisiana Tech 13-4/21-9
Old Dominion 11-5/18-10
UTEP 11-5/13-15
Rice 10-6/20-9
Middle Tennessee clinched the CUSA regular season title yesterday, and with two home games over bottom-feeders, the Blue Raiders should enter the conference tournament at 27-4. The good news for MTSU is the host team looks like they are headed for a 7th place finish, and UAB could not face the Blue Raiders until the Championship Game from that spot. The Blazers took the Raiders to the wire yesterday in the Magic City. UTEP was the lone team to beat the Raiders, but Rice and Louisiana Tech played MTSU close and could pose a challenge.
Horizon
Oakland 14-4/24-7
Valparaiso 14-4/24-7
Northern Kentucky 12-6/21-10
Green Bay 12-6/18-12
Wright St. 11-7/20-11
Imagine how the Cleveland Cavaliers would respond if Lebron James were lost just prior to the start of the playoffs. That’s how Valpo feels right now, as their big star is out of action, and the Crusaders are just an average team without him. Will Alec Peters return 100% healthy from his leg injury that cost him to miss the last two games? Without him yesterday, Valpo lost at Northern Kentucky to fall into a first place tie with Oakland.
Oakland has won nine consecutive games, while Northern Kentucky is making a name for itself for the first time since it became the third Cincinnati-area team to play Division 1 basketball. NKU Head Coach John Brannen is one of the up and coming coaches with a future at a bigger program sometime down the road, and his Norse could be ready to make some noise in Motor City Madness.
Ivy
Princeton 12-0/19-6
Harvard 10-2/18-7
Yale 7-5/15-10
Columbia 5-7/11-14
Penn 5-7/12-13
The top four teams in the Ivy League qualify for the inaugural Ivy League Tournament at the Palestra in Philadelphia. Princeton and Harvard have clinched spots, while Yale needs another win to clinch a spot. The final spot is still to be decided, as Columbia beat Penn Saturday night to move back into a tie for fourth place. At present, Columbia holds the tiebreaker, but Penn has the more advantageous closing schedule with two home games, while the Lions must play two road games.
Princeton must still get by Harvard at home to finish 14-0 and then most likely will have to beat Harvard a third time to make it to the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers played a couple of good non-conference foes close, but this does not look like the year where an Ivy team will win an NCAA Tournament game.
Metro Atlantic
| Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament at Albany (Siena) | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Thursday, March 2 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 8 | Quinnipiac | 10-20 | vs. | 9 | Niagara | 9-22 | 5:00 PM | ESPN3 |
| 2 | 7 | Canisius | 17-14 | vs. | 10 | Marist | 8-23 | 7:00 PM | ESPN3 |
| 3 | 6 | Rider | 17-14 | vs. | 11 | Manhattan | 10-21 | 9:00 PM | ESPN3 |
|
Quarterfinal Round–Day 1, Friday, March 3 |
|||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 4 | 1 | Mounmouth | 26-5 | vs. | Game 1 winner | 7:00 PM | ESPN3 | ||
| 5 | 2 | St. Peter’s | 18-12 | vs. | Game 2 winner | 9:30 PM | ESPN3 | ||
|
Quarterfinal Round–Day 2, Saturday, March 4 |
|||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 6 | 3 | Iona | 19-12 | vs. | Game 3 winner | 7:00 PM | ESPN3 | ||
| 7 | 4 | Siena | 15-16 | vs. | 5 | Fairfield | 16-13 | 9:30 PM | ESPN3 |
|
Semifinal Round–Sunday, March 5 |
|||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 8 | Game 4 winner | vs. | Game 7 winner | 4:30 PM | ESPN3 | ||||
| 9 | Game 5 winner | vs. | Game 6 winner | 7:00 PM | ESPN3 | ||||
|
Championship Game–Monday, March 6 |
|||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 10 | Game 8 winner | vs. | Game 9 winner | 9:00 PM | ESPN2 | ||||
An interesting factoid here: The MAAC tiebreaker system forced a coin flip to determine the bottom two seeds. Marist and Manhattan tied for last at 5-15. Using the MAAC tiebreaker system, the two teams split their games. The second tiebreaker resorts in seeing who had the better record against the top-ranked team and downward until one team finished with a better record against the teams in order. Unfortunately, both Marist and Manhattan were swept by the top 5 teams. The 6th and 7th place teams tied, and Marist and Manhattan both went 1-3 against those two teams. Both teams swept Niagara, so that left no choice but to flip a coin to decide which team would be the #10 seed and which team would be the #11 seed.
Marist won the coin flip and will be the #10 seed, while Manhattan will be the #11 seed.
As for the other end of the standings, Monmouth tries to make up for stumbling in this tournament last year when the Hawks had enough talent to do some damage in the Big Dance. They may get there a year late, but the 2017 Hawks do not look to be as strong as last year’s team; they do enter the tournament riding a 16-game winning streak. Siena has to be considered a contender, since the tournament will be played on their home floor. Iona and St. Peter’s will not go down without a fight, so if the bracket holds, the semifinal round should be one worth watching.
Mid-American
Akron 13-3/23-6
Ohio 10-6/18-9
Ball St. 9-7/18-11
Kent St. 9-7/17-12
Buffalo 9-7/15-14
Western Michigan 9-7/13-15
The MAC Tournament is always a wide-open event, and the regular season champ is rarely a big favorite. Buffalo has won the last two MAC Tournaments, and the Bulls have to be considered a contender to “three-peat.” Akron failed as the top seed last year, and the Zips have lost the magic touch they had earlier in the season when they ran off a dozen victories in a row. Kent State is the hot team in the East, while Western Michigan is trying to become the MAC basketball version of the 1914 Miracle Boston Braves. WMU was in last place at 3-7 in the league, but the Broncos have won six consecutive games to move into a tie for first in the West.
Mideastern Athletic
UNC-Central 13-1/22-6
Norfolk St. 12-3/15-14
Morgan St. 10-4/13-14
MEAC hopes for avoiding Dayton rest on UNC-Central winning the conference tournament. The Eagles could even concievably move up to a 15-seed if they win out.
Mountain West
Nevada 12-4/23-6
Colorado St. 12-4/20-9
Boise St. 11-5/18-9
Fresno St. 9-7/17-11
Every week, we see a different team looking like the best in this league, but what the last few weeks have really told us is there is no really great MWC team this year like San Diego State and New Mexico have been in recent years. Then again, the top four this year are not chopped liver, and even though this figures to be a one-bid league in 2017, don’t automatically select this league’s representative to fall in their first NCAA Tournament game. Nevada has a very good offense. Colorado State has a very good defense. Boise State and Fresno State have better than average offenses and defenses. And, then there is always the possibility that one of the two recent teams that have controlled this league (San Diego St. and New Mexico) could get hot and take the conference tournament crown.
Northeast
| Northeast Conference Tournament–All Games at Higher Seed | |||||||||
| Quarterfinal Round, Wednesday, March 1 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 1 | Mount St. Mary’s | 16-15 | vs. | 8 | Sacred Heart | 13-18 | 7:00 PM | NEC Frontrow |
| 2 | 2 | Long Island | 20-11 | vs. | 7 | Robert Morris | 13-18 | 9:00 PM | MSG+/FCS |
| 3 | 3 | Wagner | 15-13 | vs. | 6 | Fairleigh-Dickinson | 11-18 | 7:00 PM | MSG+/FCS |
| 4 | 4 | St. Francis (PA) | 14-15 | vs. | 5 | Bryant | 12-19 | 7:00 PM | NEC Frontrow |
|
Semifinal Round, Saturday, March 4 |
|||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 5 | Highest Remaining Seed | vs. | Lowest Remaining Seed | 12 or 2 PM | MSG/FCS | ||||
| 6 | 2nd Highest Remaining Seed | vs. | 2nd Lowest Remaining Seed | 12 or 2 PM | MSG/FCS | ||||
|
Championship Game, Tuesday, March 7 |
|||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | Game 5 winner | Game 6 winner | 11:00 AM | ESPN2 | |||||
| * This Tournament Re-seeds after the quarterfinals like the NFL Playoffs | |||||||||
In the last four years, four different teams have won the NEC regular season championship, and four different teams have won the conference tournament. In the four cases, the regular season champion did not win the conference tournament. The last team to win both the regular season and conference tournament was Long Island five years ago. Mount St. Mary’s won the regular season title, but LIU looks like the team to beat once again, as the Blackbirds enter tourney play riding a six-game winning streak that includes a victory at MSM.
Ohio Valley
| Ohio Valley Conference Tournament at Nashville | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Wednesday, March 1 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 5 | Southeast Missouri | 14-17 | vs. | 8 | Tennessee St. | 17-12 | 7:30 PM | OVC Digital |
| 2 | 6 | Tennessee Tech | 12-19 | vs. | 7 | Murray St. | 14-16 | 9:30 PM | OVC Digital |
|
Quarterfinal Round, Thursday, March 2 |
|||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 3 | 4 | Jacksonville St. | 17-14 | Game 1 winner | 7:30 PM | OVC Digital | |||
| 4 | 3 | Morehead St. | 14-15 | Game 2 winner | 9:30 PM | OVC Digital | |||
|
Semifinal Round, Friday, March 3 |
|||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 5 | 1 | Belmont | 22-5 | Game 3 winner | 7:30 PM | ESPNU | |||
| 6 | 2 | UT-Martin | 20-11 | Game 4 winner | 10:00 PM | ESPNU | |||
|
Championship Game, Saturday, March 4 |
|||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | Game 5 winner | Game 6 winner | 8:00 PM | ESPN2 | |||||
Belmont has been in the NCAA Tournament seven times in the last 11 years, and if the Bruins do not make it eight out of 12 this year, it will be a major shock. Last year, Austin Peay came from the lowest seed to upset the field, and if you are looking for a team to repeat that, keep an eye on Tennessee State.
Patriot
| Patriot League Tournament–All Games at Higher Seed | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Tuesday, February 28 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 7 | Loyola (MD.) | 14-15 | vs. | 10 | Lafayette | 9-20 | 7:30 PM | Patriot Lg Net |
| 2 | 8 | Army | 12-18 | vs. | 9 | American | 8-21 | 7:00 PM | Patriot Lg Net |
|
Quarterfinal Round, Thursday, March 2 |
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| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 3 | 2 | Boston U | 23-8 | vs. | Game 1 winner | 7:00 PM | Patriot Lg Net | ||
| 4 | 3 | Lehigh | 19-12 | vs. | 6 | Colgate | 10-21 | 7:00 PM | Patriot Lg Net |
| 5 | 1 | Bucknell | 23-6 | vs. | Game 2 winner | 7:00 PM | Patriot Lg Net | ||
| 6 | 4 | Navy | 18-13 | vs. | 5 | Holy Cross | 15-16 | 7:00 PM | Patriot Lg Net |
|
Semifinal Round, Sunday, March 5 |
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| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | Game 3 winner | vs. | Game 4 winner | 12 or 2 PM | CBSSN | ||||
| 8 | Game 5 winner | vs. | Game 6 winner | 12 or 2 PM | CBSSN | ||||
|
Championship Game, Wednesday, March 8 |
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| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 9 | Game 7 winner | vs. | Game 8 winner | 7:30 PM | CBSSN | ||||
Bucknell is tough to beat at home, and the Bison will get home court advantage throughout the tournament, but Lehigh swept the Bison during the regular season. The Explorers were swept by Boston U, and they will most likely have to win in Boston to get to Bucknell. Boston was swept by Bucknell, so the top three were like Rock, Paper, Scissors. Might another team be in the mix? It would be a very long shot, because the top three ended the season looking double-digit points better than the rest of the league.
Southern
East Tennessee 14-3/24-6
Furman 14-4/21-10
UNC-Greensboro 13-4/22-8
Chattanooga 10-7/19-10
The two hot teams meet tonight to decide the regular season champion, with ETSU visiting UNCG. Both teams enter with six-game winning streaks, and both teams have been playing defense like champions. The loser of this game will probably get a chance for revenge when the outcome is much more important.
Southland
New Orleans 12-4/17-10
Texas A&M-CC 11-5/18-9
Stephen F. Austin 11-5/16-12
Houston Baptist 10-6/15-12
This is a weak year in the SLC, and the eventural league representative in the NCAA has a high probability of heading to Dayton as a 16-seed in a first four game. The two hot teams as conference play comes to the end are Texas A&M-CC with a nine-game winning streak and Houston Baptist with a seven-game winning streak. TAMCC coach Willis Wilson came close to getting into the Dance many times with Rice, and he has slowly built the Islanders into a contender. It would be touching if Wilson finally made it to the NCAA Tournament in his 22nd season as a Division I head coach.
Southwestern Athletic
Texas Southern 13-2/17-11
Southern 10-6/14-15
Grambling 8-7/13-15
Unfortunately for this league, the hottest team is the one ineligible to go to the NCAA Tournament (Alcorn State). Texas Southern will be the heavy favorite, but even if the Tigers win the tournament, they will almost assuredly have to play in the First Four in Dayton.
Summit
| Summit League Tournament–Sioux Falls, SD | |||||||||
| Quarterfinal Round–Day 1, Saturday, March 4 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 1 | South Dakota | 21-10 | 8 | Western Illinois | 8-19 | 7:00 PM | ESPN3 | |
| 2 | 2 | North Dakota St. | 19-10 | 7 | IUPUI | 13-17 | 9:30 PM | ESPN3 | |
|
Quarterfinal Round–Day 2, Sunday, March 5 |
|||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 3 | 4 | South Dakota St. | 15-16 | 5 | Denver | 16-13 | 7:00 PM | ESPN3 | |
| 4 | 3 | Omaha | 16-13 | 6 | Fort Wayne | 19-11 | 9:30 PM | ESPN3 | |
|
Semifinal Round–Monday, March 6 |
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| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 5 | Game 1 winner | Game 3 winner | 7:00 PM | ESPN3 | |||||
| 6 | Game 2 winner | Game 4 winner | 9:30 PM | ESPN3 | |||||
|
Championship–Tuesday, March 7 |
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| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | Game 5 winner | Game 6 winner | 9:00 PM | ESPN2 | |||||
This should be a rather interesting tournament. 4-seed South Dakota State and 6-seed Fort Wayne cannot be overlooked, but the top three seeds are clearly the co-favorites. Omaha and Fort Wayne can light up the scoreboard, and their quarterfinal game could see one or both teams top the century mark.
Sun Belt
UT-Arlington 12-3/22-6
Georgia St. 11-5/18-10
Georgia Southern 11-5/18-11
Arkansas St. 10-5/18-9
UT-Arlington has the lone signature win in this league this year (beat St. Mary’s), and the Mavericks could be this year’s version of UALR. The top four in this league could play each other 10 times, and the final records might range from just 17-13 to 13-17, so UTA cannot automatically waltz through to the NCAA Tournament.
Western Athletic
Cal St. Bakersfield 12-1/21-7
New Mexico St. 10-3/24-5
One of these two teams should win the conference tournament, mostly because the only other quality team (Grand Canyon) is still a year away from becoming a full-fledge Division I member. CSUB has won 10 games in a row by an average of 11.5 points per game, which includes a win over New Mexico St.
MULTIPLE BID LEAGUES
American
In: SMU, Cincinnati
Bubble: Houston
Atlantic 10
In: Dayton, VCU
Bubble: Rhode Island
Atlantic Coast
In: North Carolina, Florida St., Louisville, Notre Dame, Duke, Miami, Virginia Tech, Virginia
Bubble: Syracuse, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech
Big 12
In: Kansas, West Virginia, Baylor, Iowa St., Oklahoma St.
Bubble: Kansas St., TCU, Texas Tech
Big East
In: Villanova, Butler, Creighton
Bubble: Seton Hall, Providence, Xavier, Marquette
Big Ten
In: Purdue, Wisconsin, Maryland, Minnesota, Michigan St., Northwestern, Michigan
Bubble: Iowa
Missouri Valley
| Missouri Valley Conference Tournament (Arch Madness) at St. Louis | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Thursday, March 2 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 8 | Evansville | 15-16 | vs. | 9 | Indiana St. | 11-19 | 7:00 PM | MVC TV |
| 2 | 7 | Bradley | 12-19 | vs. | 10 | Drake | 7-23 | 9:30 PM | MVC TV |
|
Quarterfinal Round, Friday, March 3 |
|||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 3 | 1 | Illinois St. | 25-5 | vs. | Game 1 winner | 1:00 PM | MVC TV | ||
| 4 | 4 | Southern Illinois | 16-15 | vs. | 5 | Loyola (Chi.) | 18-13 | 3:30 PM | MVC TV |
| 5 | 2 | Wichita St. | 27-4 | vs. | Game 2 winner | 7:00 PM | MVC TV | ||
| 6 | 3 | Northern Iowa | 14-15 | vs. | 6 | Missouri St. | 16-15 | 9:30 PM | MVC TV |
|
Semifinal Round, Saturday, March 4 |
|||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | Game 3 winner | vs. | Game 4 winner | 3:30 PM | CBSSN | ||||
| 8 | Game 5 winner | vs. | Game 6 winner | 6:00 PM | CBSSN | ||||
|
Championship Game, Sunday, March 5 |
|||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 9 | Game 7 winner | vs. | Game 8 winner | 2:00 PM | CBS | ||||
In: Wichita St.
Bubble: Illinois St.
Pac-12
In: Oregon, Arizona, UCLA
Bubble: California, Utah, USC
SEC
In: Kentucky, Florida, Arkansas, South Carolina
Bubble: Vanderbilt, Georgia
West Coast
| West Coast Conference Tournament at Las Vegas | |||||||||
| 1st Round, Friday, March 3 | |||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 1 | 8 | Pepperdine | 9-21 | vs. | 9 | Pacific | 10-21 | BYUtv | 9:00 PM |
| 2 | 7 | San Diego | 13-17 | vs. | 10 | Portland | 10-21 | BYUtv | 11:00 PM |
|
Quarterfinal Round, Saturday, March 4 |
|||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 3 | 3 | BYU | 21-10 | vs. | 6 | Loyola Marymount | 15-14 | 4:00 PM | BYUtv |
| 4 | 4 | Santa Clara | 16-15 | vs. | 5 | San Francisco | 20-11 | 6:00 PM | BYUtv |
| 5 | 1 | Gonzaga | 29-1 | vs. | Game 1 winner | 10:00 PM | ESPN2 | ||
| 6 | 2 | Saint Mary’s | 26-3 | vs. | Game 2 winner | 12:00 AM | ESPN2 | ||
|
Semifinal Round, Monday, March 6 |
|||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 7 | Game 3 winner | vs. | Game 4 winner | 9 or 11:30 | ESPN/ESPN2 | ||||
| 8 | Game 5 winner | vs. | Game 6 winner | 9 or 11:30 | ESPN/ESPN2 | ||||
|
Championship Game, Tuesday, March 7 |
|||||||||
| Gm # | Seed | Team | W-L | vs. | Seed | Team | W-L | Time | TV |
| 9 | Game 7 winner | vs. | Game 8 winner | 9:00 PM | ESPN | ||||
In: Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s
Bubble: None
The PiRate Ratings Bracketology Gurus Composite For February 27, 2017
1. North Carolina, Kansas, Villanova, Oregon
2. Gonzaga, Louisville, Kentucky, Baylor
3. Arizona, UCLA, Butler, Florida St.
4. West Virginia, SMU, Purdue, Florida
5. Duke, Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Creighton
6. Virginia, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Oklahoma St.
7. Saint Mary’s, Miami, Maryland, Iowa St.
8. South Carolina, Dayton, Michigan St., Virginia Tech
9. Michigan, Wichita St., Arkansas, VCU
10. Middle Tennessee, Northwestern, Seton Hall, Syracuse
11. Providence, Seton Hall, Xavier, California, Marquette
12. UNC-Wilmington, Nevada, UT-Arlington, Illinois St., Wake Forest
13. Vermont, Monmouth, Bucknell, East Tennessee
14. Western Michigan, Belmont, Princeton, UNC-Asheville
15. Oakland, Cal St. Bakersfield, Florida Gulf Coast, South Dakota
16. Eastern Washington, UNC-Central, Texas Southern, UC-Davis, Long Island, Texas A&M-CC
Last Four Byes: Xavier, Seton Hall, Providence, Syracuse
Last Four In/Dayton Bound: Wake Forest vs. Illinois St. / Marquette vs. California
First Four Out/#1 NIT Seeds: Vanderbilt, Rhode Island, Kansas St., TCU
Next Four Out: Georgia Tech, Houston, Texas Tech, Georgia
