-BINGHAMTON (America East) – out with a loss and a Maine win
-MAINE (America East) – out with a loss and a Binghamton win
-TENNESSEE TECH (Ohio Valley) – out with a loss to Jacksonville State
-MOREHEAD STATE (Ohio Valley) – out with a loss to Eastern Kentucky if Tennessee Tech wins at Jacksonville State
-JACKSONVILLE STATE (Ohio Valley) – out with a loss to Tennessee Tech if Morehead State wins
-INCARNATE WORD (Southland) – out with a loss to TAMUCC and a McNeese State win
-MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE (SWAC) – out with a loss to Jackson State and an Alabama A&M win
-ARKANSAS PINE BLUFF (SWAC) – out with a loss to Grambling if Mississippi Valley State loses and Alabama A&M wins
-WESTERN ILLINOIS AT DENVER (Summit league). It is the last game of the year. The winner advances to the conference tournament, and the loser is eliminated
-TROY (Sun Belt) – out with a loss to South Alabama or wins by both Coastal Carolina and Louisiana
-CORNELL (Ivy League) – out with a loss to Harvard or a Brown win
-DARTMOUTH (Ivy League) – out with a loss to Columbia and a Brown win
-PENN (Ivy League) – out with a loss to Brown
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
– 11 conferences will be finishing up their regular seasons today: Atlantic Sun, Big South, Horizon League, Missouri Valley, Mountain West, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot League, Southern, Summit League and West Coast. Keep an eye on our Conference Tournaments page for brackets which will get updated as they get released!
-PROVIDENCE AT VILLANOVA (Big East). Providence keeps picking up big wins and is getting closer and closer to making the NCAA Tournament. Villanova should end up as a protected seed so long as they are able to finish strong. So, both teams have something to play for today.
-PENN STATE AT IOWA (Big Ten). Both teams are playing for seeding in this one. Penn State is looking like they could end up with a protected seed if they’re able to pick up a few more big wins, and Iowa is looking like they’ll land in the top half of the bracket.
-TEXAS AT TEXAS TECH (Big 12). Texas still has a path to the NCAA Tournament, but they’ll really need to finish strong. They’ll need this win today as well as several others. Texas Tech should be safe barring a complete and total collapse.
-TEXAS A&M AT LSU (SEC). LSU hasn’t been playing all that well since getting off to such a strong start in conference play. They really want to make sure they don’t drop this one. TAMU is nowhere near the NCAA Tournament, but they have done fairly well in SEC play and shouldn’t be overlooked.
-PITTSBURGH AT NC STATE (ACC). NC State is inside the bubble, but they are hardly to a point to where they can just put it on cruise control. They need to hold serve and avoid a home loss to a team that’s outside the bubble.
-KANSAS AT KANSAS STATE (Big 12). The last time these two played it was a boring game that didn’t end well. I’m expecting it to be a boring game again, but hopefully it ends better. Kansas is the #1 overall seed and will hold on to that (at least for now) with a win today.
-BAYLOR AT TCU (Big 12). Baylor is a solid #1 seed and still has a shot at the overall #1 seed. As always, they’ll be tested on the road again today.
-FLORIDA STATE AT CLEMSON (ACC). This is a winnable road game for a Florida State team who is all alone in first place with just three games to go. They’re also cruising toward a protected seed and could end up as high as the #2 line.
-FLORIDA AT TENNESSEE (SEC). Florida has now won four out of five and appears to be cruising toward the NCAA Tournament. They should be able to pick up this road win today, and any road win makes the profile look just a little bit better.
-SETON HALL AT MARQUETTE (Big East). Seton Hall is one of three Big East teams that are likely to end up as protected seeds, and Marquette appears to be heading toward the top half of the bracket. This would be another really nice road win for Seton Hall, or a win that could help Marquette’s seeding come Selection Sunday.
-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT MISSOURI (SEC). Mississippi State is squarely on the bubble, so every game has a pivotal feel to it. A win gives them another road win, and a loss means that they dropped another one to a team that’s outside the bubble.
-AUBURN AT KENTUCKY (SEC). Many think Auburn is a protected seed. If they win today, I will totally agree with them. As of now the Tigers really haven’t beaten anyone above the bubble away from home, so this would improve their resume by a ton.
-OKLAHOMA AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12). West Virginia is slipping. They’re still safely inside the bubble, but right now they’re not looking anything like a protected seed. Oklahoma is squarely on the bubble and could use a win like this to help them land on the right side of it.
-WESTERN CAROLINA AT EAST TENNESSEE STATE (SoCon). If ETSU can win out until the semifinals of their tournament then I think they’ll make the NCAA Tournament even if they don’t win the automatic bid. Anything less than that and they’ll be sweating, though.
-AIR FORCE AT COLORADO STATE (Mountain West) Front Range). Colorado State still has a chance to get a bye into the MWC Quarterfinals, but the real reason we highlight this is because we at Hoops HD love the Front Range!!!
-LAMAR AT STEPHEN F AUSTIN (Southland). If SFA wins out, but loses in the conference tournament, then they should at least get a look from the selection committee.
-DUKE AT VIRGINIA (ACC). Duke has really been struggling on the road lately and they could be in for a battle today against a Virginia team that’s been playing better, but that still doesn’t have a big time win that could really help earn them a good seed.
-BYU AT PEPPERDINE (West Coast). BYU is already a virtual lock for the NCAA Tournament. They will be in on the first ballot and in the top half of the bracket so long as they hold serve.
-ARKANSAS AT GEORGIA (SEC). Arkansas still has a path to the NCAA Tournament, but they pretty much need to win out in order to make it happen.
-NORTHERN IOWA AT DRAKE (Missouri Valley). Northern Iowa is squarely on the bubble and needs to avoid losing until at least the semifinals of the conference tournament in order to have a good shot at making the field.
-DEPAUL AT BUTLER (Big East). Butler has had a bit of a rough ride through the Big East, but they are still in really good shape and should easily land in the top half of the bracket. They just need to hold serve tonight.
-SAN DIEGO STATE AT NEVADA (Mountain West). This will likely be a tough road game for San Diego State, and a loss could end up knocking them off the #1 line, but even if that happens they are still set up to go deep into the NCAA Tournament.
-MICHIGAN STATE AT MARYLAND (Big Ten). Michigan State was ranked #1 coming into the season, and while you still get the sense that they have a very high ceiling, right now it’s not looking like they will even end up as a protected seed. That can change if they can get a big time road win like this, though.
-ARIZONA STATE AT USC (Pac 12). Arizona State is coming off a close loss to a red hot UCLA team and USC is coming off a big win against Arizona. Despite the loss, Arizona State is playing really well and I expect them to come into this game with quite a bit of purpose. It would be a road win against a USC team that appears to be inside the bubble, which would help their resume.
-MEMPHIS AT TULANE (American). Memphis may be totally out of strikes. They basically need to win out until the conference championship game to have any real chance.
-SOUTH CAROLINA AT ALABAMA (SEC). South Carolina is still hovering around outside the bubble, but they will get the chances that they need between now and the end to play their way in. They need to pick up this one on the road tonight.
-SAINT MARY’S AT GONZAGA (West Coast). Gonzaga still appears to be cruising toward the #1 line. They blew out SMC in the first meeting, and the results may not be all that different tonight. SMC is coming off a nice win at Santa Clara, but winning at Gonzaga is an entirely different sized beast.
-ARIZONA AT UCLA (Pac 12). UCLA just keeps winning and I think they’ve already played their way inside the bubble. A win tonight should move them even further inside of it. Arizona is safely in the field, but could really use another nice road win, so they’ve got quite a bit to play for as well.
-UTAH STATE AT NEW MEXICO (Mountain West). Utah State is squarely on the bubble and really can’t afford any slip ups prior to the conference championship game.
UNDER THE RADAR CONFERENCES
-AMERICA EAST – Vermont has clinched first place and home court advantage throughout the conference tournament
-ATLANTIC SUN – Liberty clinches first place outright with a win at Lipscomb, which gives them home court advantage in the conference tournament
-BIG SKY – Northern Colorado, Eastern Washington and Montana are in a 3 way tie for first place in the Big Sky with 3 games to go
-BIG SOUTH – Radford clinches first place outright with a home win against Gardner Webb, which means they will host the conference tournament
BIG WEST – UC Irvine has clinched first place
-COLONIAL – Hofstra clinches first place outright with a home win against James Madison
-CONFERENCE USA – North Texas clinches a share of first place with a home win against Western Kentucky
-HORIZON LEAGUE – Wright State has clinched first place outright
-IVY LEAGUE – Yale clinches at least a share of first place with a win vs Princeton and a Harvard loss
-METRO ATLANTIC – Siena clinches a share of first place with a win against Niagara on Wednesday
-MEAC – NC Central and NC A&T are tied for first place and will face each other on Thursday
-MAC – Bowling Green clinches a share of best overall record with a win today against Miami OH and an Akron loss
-MISSOURI VALLEY – Northern Iowa clinches first place outright with a win at Drake
-NORTHEAST CONFERENCE – Merrimack has clinched at least a share of first place, but are not eligible for the conference tourney. Saint Francis U can clinch the #1 seed and home court advantage in the conference tournament with a win at Robert Morris
-OHIO VALLEY – Belmont, Murray State, and Austin Peay are all tied for first place on the last day. The top two teams bye into the semifinals of the conference tournament
-PATRIOT LEAGUE – Colgate has clinched first place and has home court advantage in the conference tournament
-SOCON – East Tennessee State clinches first place outright with a win vs Western Carolina
-SOUTHLAND – Stephen F Austin clinches first place outright with a win vs Lamar
-SUN BELT – Little Rock clinches first place outright with a win vs Louisiana
-SWAC – Prairie View A&M can clinch a share of first place with a win vs Alabama State and a Texas Southern loss
-SUMMIT – South Dakota State has clinched a share of first place. North Dakota State can tie them with a win vs Omaha
-WAC – New Mexico State has clinched first place outright