Click here for last night’s Championship Week notebook that discusses Austin Peay and Yale getting their tickets punched for the Big Dance
Click here for Jon Teitel’s latest bracketology update as he guesses what the Selection Committee will pick next Sunday
After yesterday’s slate of action, all but 2 conferences wrapped up regular season play.
In the ACC, North Carolina got the signature road win that was lacking from their profile with a win at Duke. Thanks to Miami getting snakebitten at Virginia Tech, the Tar Heels won the ACC outright and will be the top seed in Washington, DC this week. Also look out for Georgia Tech – they can get serious discussion if they’re able to beat Clemson and Virginia in their quadrant of the ACC bracket.
In the SEC, Texas A&M got the top seed in Nashville thanks to their win against Vanderbilt. South Carolina also stopped the bleeding with a win at Arkansas; even though they were 4-5 on the road in the SEC, 2 of those came in very tough places at Texas A&M and the aforementioned Arkansas.
In the Big 12, one mild surprise involved West Virginia clinching the #2 seed for the conference tournament over Oklahoma with the Mountaineers winning at Baylor. The Sooners will draw Iowa State in the quarterfinal round; if Iowa State (the 2-time defending tournament champion) upsets Oklahoma, the Sooners likely fall out of the running for a 1 seed.
In the Pac 12, the top tier of Oregon and Utah was finalized; Arizona and Cal also get 1st-round byes in the conference tournament in Las Vegas. The best win of the day was by Oregon State at UCLA; the Beavers finished 9-9 in the Pac-12 and play Arizona State in the opening round as the #6 seed on Cal’s side of the bracket. Their first NCAA Tournament bid in 26 years is all but set in stone; a win on Wednesday locks them in. Lose to the Sun Devils and they’ll have to sweat a few more days.
In the Atlantic 10, VCU blew a golden opportunity to get a signature win at Dayton and settled for a share of the regular-season title with Dayton and St. Bonaventure. They’ll get the #2 seed and will be on the same side of the bracket with the Bonnies. They are strongly advised not to lose their opener against either Rhody or UMass if they want to get an at-large bid.
In the Big East, 5 bids for the conference are all but assured after Butler and Providence won their finales against Marquette and DePaul, respectively. The Bulldogs and Friars face each other in the Big East tournament; the winner gets one more quality win and another shot to play Villanova. Don’t sleep on Creighton, though – they could make a Cinderella run if they can take advantage of favorable matchups against Seton Hall and Xavier and somehow get the auto bid.
-SMU AT CINCINNATI (American). This is the season finale for a talented SMU team that narrowly defeated UC in Dallas earlier this season. Cincy is in need of quality wins of any sort – they’ve also struggled throughout the year in close games as well.
-UCF AT UCONN (American, Civil Conflict). The Huskies are playing not so much for seeding in the American Tournament (they’re locked into the #5 seed in Orlando) as they are not to incur a damaging loss today. We also highlight this game as we love mythical rivalries, and the Civil Conflict certainly qualifies.
-TEMPLE AT TULANE (American). A win and an SMU loss gives the Owls the outright regular season title in the American, but get the #1 seed in Orlando since the Mustangs are ineligible. The Owls have already used up their quota of disastrous losses, however.
-MARYLAND AT INDIANA (Big 10). The Hoosiers have a chance to further solidify a rapidly improving profile going into the Big 10 Tournament. Maryland could really use another quality road win besides Wisconsin, but better late than never, right? (Just ask North Carolina)
-WISCONSIN AT PURDUE (Big 10). The nation’s penultimate regular season game features a much-improved Wisconsin team that is red hot and a Purdue team that has only lost once at home all year (to Iowa). The Boilers still have an outside shot at a protected seed, even if it involves taking a charter flight to Spokane.