The number of auto bids will start to really crank up today; here’s a summary of where things stand after last night’s games:
AMERICA EAST (CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND) – ESPN+
Binghamton clinched the first spot in the championship game with a win over Maine and are one win away from the America East title. Maine survived with a win against UMBC and must win twice today if they are to win the title.
AMERICAN (SEMIFINAL ROUND) – ESPN+
UTSA and East Carolina will square off in the first game today to determine the first spot in the winner-take-all championship game tomorrow. The loser will take on the winner of the UAB/Wichita State elimination game; both elimination games will take place later this afternoon.
ACC (SEMIFINAL ROUND) – ACC Network
Pitt continues to be the story of this tournament; they had a late comeback to defeat Florida State 8-6 last night. They will play North Carolina today while Georgia Tech takes on Miami in the first semifinal game.
ATLANTIC SUN (CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND) – ESPN+
Lipscomb outlasted North Alabama with a 4-3 victory in 14 innings; they await the winner of this morning’s North Alabama-Florida Gulf Coast winner in the championship game(s) this afternoon. Either the Lions or the Eagles would have to win 3 games today to end up as the A-Sun champion.
ATLANTIC 10 (CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND) – ESPN+
The festivities began with VCU surviving against Richmond in the completion of Thursday’s suspended game. George Mason eliminated Richmond in the losers’ bracket before they themselves lost to top-seeded Saint Joe’s in the next elimination round. With Rhode Island beating VCU to earn a spot into the championship round, VCU will play Saint Joe’s for the second spot into the championship game.
BIG EAST (SEMIFINAL ROUND) – ESPN+
Mother Nature wiped out the St. John’s/Xavier game yesterday; that has been rescheduled for a 2 PM start today. The winner advances to the championship tomorrow; the loser will play Creighton no earlier than 6 PM earlier today to clinch the second spot in the Big East Championship Round.
BIG SOUTH (SEMIFINAL ROUND) – ESPN+
The first semifinal will pit High Point against USC-Upstate at 9 AM this morning. In the loser’s bracket, we get the Winwood Cup between Winthrop and Longwood at approximately 1 PM. The winner there will play the High Point/Upstate loser at approximately 5 PM for the second spot in the Big South championship round.
B1G (SEMIFINAL ROUND) – B1G Network
3 of the 4 scheduled quarterfinal games were completed yesterday; top-ranked UCLA had to come back in the late innings to defeat Purdue (and effectively eliminating all the legacy Big 10 teams) to advance to the semifinal round. USC and Nebraska also won; the quarterfinal round will be done when Oregon and Washington play each other at 11 AM this morning. The semifinal games will begin no sooner than 3 PM.
BIG TWELVE (CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND) – ESPN2
While chalk has held, we still get a Kansas/West Virginia matchup in the title game that no one would have seen coming at the beginning of the year.
BIG WEST (SEMIFINAL AND CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS) – ESPN+
Cal Poly beat top-seeded UC-Santa Barbara 4-2 to advance to the Big West championship. The Gauchos will need to beat UC-San Diego if they are to advance to the championship round. Cal Poly can wrap up the title with a win tonight; the UCSB/UCSD winner would need to force a winner-take-all game tomorrow if they are to win the Big West.
COASTAL (SEMIFINAL AND CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS) – FloSports
Campbell and Hofstra will square off in the winner’s bracket for the first spot into the championship round. The loser of that game will play Northeastern for the second spot into the championship. The Campbell/Hofstra winner can wrap up the title tonight with a win, but a winner-take-all game would be played tomorrow if necessary.
CONFERENCE USA (SEMIFINAL ROUND) – ESPN+
Jacksonville State, Liberty and Missouri State each won their respective pools with 2-0 records and will advance to the single-elimination semifinals today. Dallas Baptist will be the #4 seed by virtue of being the best 1-1 team in pool play.
HORIZON LEAGUE (SEMIFINAL AND CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND) – ESPN+
Milwaukee upset top-seeded Wright State with a rain-soaked 2-1 win in the morning before rain postponed a scheduled elimination game between Wright State and Oakland. The winner will play Milwaukee in the championship round; game times have yet to be announced.
METRO ATLANTIC (CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND) – ESPN+
Rider defeated Fairfield to advance to the championship and are 1 win away from the MAAC auto bid. Fairfield eliminated Niagara in the nightcap and will need to beat Rider twice if they are to win the auto bid.
MID AMERICAN (SEMIFINAL AND CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS) – ESPN+
Kent State survived two games in the elimination bracket with wins over Mother Miami and Western Michigan; they need to beat Toledo to advance to the championship round while fighting to avoid potentially needing an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Waiting in the wings is Northern Illinois; the Huskies are already in the championship round with their win over Toledo earlier in the day.
MISSOURI VALLEY (SEMIFINAL ROUND) – ESPN+
Illinois-Chicago and Murray State will play at noon for the first spot into the championship game; the loser will play the winner of the Indiana State/Southern Illinois elimination game later in the evening.
MOUNTAIN WEST (SEMIFINAL ROUND) – Mountain West Network
San Diego State and Washington State won their opening games to advance to the semifinal round; the winner advances to the championship round while the loser plays the winner of the Air Force/New Mexico elimination game in the nightcap.
NEC (SEMIFINAL AND CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS) – ESPN+
With Le Moyne having been eliminated, the auto bid will be up for grabs in the championship round today. Long Island defeated Fairleigh Dickinson to clinch the first spot in the championship. FDU will play Wagner in an elimination game this morning to determine the second spot in the championship game to be played later today. If a second championship game is needed, that will be played tomorrow.
OHIO VALLEY (SEMIFINAL AND CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS) – ESPN+
Eastern Illinois outlasted SIU-Edwardsville 3-2 in 10 innings to advance to the championship round. SIUE will play Little Rock in an elimination game in the morning to see who clinches the spot into the championship game round. Should a second championship game be necessary, that will be played tomorrow.
SEC (SEMIFINAL ROUND) – SEC Network
Both teams from the state of Texas were one-and-done in Birmingham; Arkansas and Auburn both won to advance to the semifinals where they will play each other in today’s second game. Georgia and Florida will face off in the first semifinal game.
SOUTHERN (CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND) – ESPNU
The Citadel and Samford advanced to tonight’s winner-take-all game in the SoCon; this means that a bid thief will now emerge with the auto bid. Mercer will be sweating through Selection Monday in the hopes that their bid won’t be the one that’s stolen.
SOUTHLAND
Lamar will make their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 16 years after defeating McNeese 2-1 to clinch the auto bid for the Southland conference.
SUMMIT LEAGUE (CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND) – Summit League Network
Oral Roberts defeated Northern Colorado in the losers’ bracket yesterday to advance to the championship series this afternoon. ORU would need two wins to win the auto bid, but South Dakota State needs only one more win to claim the Summit League crown.
SUN BELT (SEMIFINAL ROUND) – ESPN+
In the top bracket, Southern Miss will play the winner of the Troy/South Alabama game for a spot in tomorrow’s winner-take-all championship game. In the bottom bracket, Texas State needs one win against Louisiana (who would need two wins against TSU) to advance to the championship tomorrow. Texas State is on the bubble for an at-large, so there are definitely higher stakes for them this weekend while Southern Miss and Coastal Carolina (already eliminated) are safely in the NCAA Tournament field.
SWAC (SEMIFINAL ROUND) – SWAC TV
In the top bracket, Alabama State will play the winner of the Arkansas-Pine Bluff/Bethune-Cookman elimination game and needs one more win to advance to the winner-take-all SWAC championship game. In the bottom bracket, Florida A&M will play Southern in the semifinals; FAMU needs one win to advance while Southern needs two wins to advance to the championship game.
WEST COAST (CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND) – ESPNU
Saint Mary’s defeated Pacific to clinch the first spot in the championship round; they will take on San Francisco who eliminated Pacific from the tournament. The Gaels need one win for the auto bid; USF would need two wins to clinch the auto bid. Game 1 will be on ESPNU, but should a second game be needed, that game will be on ESPN+.
WAC (CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND) – ESPN+
Tarleton defeated California Baptist 5-3 to advance to the championship round; Sacramento State won two elimination games against Utah Tech and California Baptist to advance to the championship. Tarleton needs one win for the auto bid; Sacramento State needs two wins in what will be the final event hosted by the WAC.
Hoops HD Hardball Championship Week – Friday Edition
The number of auto bids will start to really crank up today; here’s a summary of where things stand after last night’s games:
AMERICA EAST (CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND) – ESPN+
Binghamton clinched the first spot in the championship game with a win over Maine and are one win away from the America East title. Maine survived with a win against UMBC and must win twice today if they are to win the title.
AMERICAN (SEMIFINAL ROUND) – ESPN+
UTSA and East Carolina will square off in the first game today to determine the first spot in the winner-take-all championship game tomorrow. The loser will take on the winner of the UAB/Wichita State elimination game; both elimination games will take place later this afternoon.
ACC (SEMIFINAL ROUND) – ACC Network
Pitt continues to be the story of this tournament; they had a late comeback to defeat Florida State 8-6 last night. They will play North Carolina today while Georgia Tech takes on Miami in the first semifinal game.
ATLANTIC SUN (CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND) – ESPN+
Lipscomb outlasted North Alabama with a 4-3 victory in 14 innings; they await the winner of this morning’s North Alabama-Florida Gulf Coast winner in the championship game(s) this afternoon. Either the Lions or the Eagles would have to win 3 games today to end up as the A-Sun champion.
ATLANTIC 10 (CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND) – ESPN+
The festivities began with VCU surviving against Richmond in the completion of Thursday’s suspended game. George Mason eliminated Richmond in the losers’ bracket before they themselves lost to top-seeded Saint Joe’s in the next elimination round. With Rhode Island beating VCU to earn a spot into the championship round, VCU will play Saint Joe’s for the second spot into the championship game.
BIG EAST (SEMIFINAL ROUND) – ESPN+
Mother Nature wiped out the St. John’s/Xavier game yesterday; that has been rescheduled for a 2 PM start today. The winner advances to the championship tomorrow; the loser will play Creighton no earlier than 6 PM earlier today to clinch the second spot in the Big East Championship Round.
BIG SOUTH (SEMIFINAL ROUND) – ESPN+
The first semifinal will pit High Point against USC-Upstate at 9 AM this morning. In the loser’s bracket, we get the Winwood Cup between Winthrop and Longwood at approximately 1 PM. The winner there will play the High Point/Upstate loser at approximately 5 PM for the second spot in the Big South championship round.
B1G (SEMIFINAL ROUND) – B1G Network
3 of the 4 scheduled quarterfinal games were completed yesterday; top-ranked UCLA had to come back in the late innings to defeat Purdue (and effectively eliminating all the legacy Big 10 teams) to advance to the semifinal round. USC and Nebraska also won; the quarterfinal round will be done when Oregon and Washington play each other at 11 AM this morning. The semifinal games will begin no sooner than 3 PM.
BIG TWELVE (CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND) – ESPN2
While chalk has held, we still get a Kansas/West Virginia matchup in the title game that no one would have seen coming at the beginning of the year.
BIG WEST (SEMIFINAL AND CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS) – ESPN+
Cal Poly beat top-seeded UC-Santa Barbara 4-2 to advance to the Big West championship. The Gauchos will need to beat UC-San Diego if they are to advance to the championship round. Cal Poly can wrap up the title with a win tonight; the UCSB/UCSD winner would need to force a winner-take-all game tomorrow if they are to win the Big West.
COASTAL (SEMIFINAL AND CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS) – FloSports
Campbell and Hofstra will square off in the winner’s bracket for the first spot into the championship round. The loser of that game will play Northeastern for the second spot into the championship. The Campbell/Hofstra winner can wrap up the title tonight with a win, but a winner-take-all game would be played tomorrow if necessary.
CONFERENCE USA (SEMIFINAL ROUND) – ESPN+
Jacksonville State, Liberty and Missouri State each won their respective pools with 2-0 records and will advance to the single-elimination semifinals today. Dallas Baptist will be the #4 seed by virtue of being the best 1-1 team in pool play.
HORIZON LEAGUE (SEMIFINAL AND CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND) – ESPN+
Milwaukee upset top-seeded Wright State with a rain-soaked 2-1 win in the morning before rain postponed a scheduled elimination game between Wright State and Oakland. The winner will play Milwaukee in the championship round; game times have yet to be announced.
METRO ATLANTIC (CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND) – ESPN+
Rider defeated Fairfield to advance to the championship and are 1 win away from the MAAC auto bid. Fairfield eliminated Niagara in the nightcap and will need to beat Rider twice if they are to win the auto bid.
MID AMERICAN (SEMIFINAL AND CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS) – ESPN+
Kent State survived two games in the elimination bracket with wins over Mother Miami and Western Michigan; they need to beat Toledo to advance to the championship round while fighting to avoid potentially needing an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Waiting in the wings is Northern Illinois; the Huskies are already in the championship round with their win over Toledo earlier in the day.
MISSOURI VALLEY (SEMIFINAL ROUND) – ESPN+
Illinois-Chicago and Murray State will play at noon for the first spot into the championship game; the loser will play the winner of the Indiana State/Southern Illinois elimination game later in the evening.
MOUNTAIN WEST (SEMIFINAL ROUND) – Mountain West Network
San Diego State and Washington State won their opening games to advance to the semifinal round; the winner advances to the championship round while the loser plays the winner of the Air Force/New Mexico elimination game in the nightcap.
NEC (SEMIFINAL AND CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS) – ESPN+
With Le Moyne having been eliminated, the auto bid will be up for grabs in the championship round today. Long Island defeated Fairleigh Dickinson to clinch the first spot in the championship. FDU will play Wagner in an elimination game this morning to determine the second spot in the championship game to be played later today. If a second championship game is needed, that will be played tomorrow.
OHIO VALLEY (SEMIFINAL AND CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS) – ESPN+
Eastern Illinois outlasted SIU-Edwardsville 3-2 in 10 innings to advance to the championship round. SIUE will play Little Rock in an elimination game in the morning to see who clinches the spot into the championship game round. Should a second championship game be necessary, that will be played tomorrow.
SEC (SEMIFINAL ROUND) – SEC Network
Both teams from the state of Texas were one-and-done in Birmingham; Arkansas and Auburn both won to advance to the semifinals where they will play each other in today’s second game. Georgia and Florida will face off in the first semifinal game.
SOUTHERN (CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND) – ESPNU
The Citadel and Samford advanced to tonight’s winner-take-all game in the SoCon; this means that a bid thief will now emerge with the auto bid. Mercer will be sweating through Selection Monday in the hopes that their bid won’t be the one that’s stolen.
SOUTHLAND
Lamar will make their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 16 years after defeating McNeese 2-1 to clinch the auto bid for the Southland conference.
SUMMIT LEAGUE (CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND) – Summit League Network
Oral Roberts defeated Northern Colorado in the losers’ bracket yesterday to advance to the championship series this afternoon. ORU would need two wins to win the auto bid, but South Dakota State needs only one more win to claim the Summit League crown.
SUN BELT (SEMIFINAL ROUND) – ESPN+
In the top bracket, Southern Miss will play the winner of the Troy/South Alabama game for a spot in tomorrow’s winner-take-all championship game. In the bottom bracket, Texas State needs one win against Louisiana (who would need two wins against TSU) to advance to the championship tomorrow. Texas State is on the bubble for an at-large, so there are definitely higher stakes for them this weekend while Southern Miss and Coastal Carolina (already eliminated) are safely in the NCAA Tournament field.
SWAC (SEMIFINAL ROUND) – SWAC TV
In the top bracket, Alabama State will play the winner of the Arkansas-Pine Bluff/Bethune-Cookman elimination game and needs one more win to advance to the winner-take-all SWAC championship game. In the bottom bracket, Florida A&M will play Southern in the semifinals; FAMU needs one win to advance while Southern needs two wins to advance to the championship game.
WEST COAST (CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND) – ESPNU
Saint Mary’s defeated Pacific to clinch the first spot in the championship round; they will take on San Francisco who eliminated Pacific from the tournament. The Gaels need one win for the auto bid; USF would need two wins to clinch the auto bid. Game 1 will be on ESPNU, but should a second game be needed, that game will be on ESPN+.
WAC (CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND) – ESPN+
Tarleton defeated California Baptist 5-3 to advance to the championship round; Sacramento State won two elimination games against Utah Tech and California Baptist to advance to the championship. Tarleton needs one win for the auto bid; Sacramento State needs two wins in what will be the final event hosted by the WAC.