Welcome to the Saturday before Selection Sunday, aka the Day of Champions. Fourteen tournament champions were crowned today. For teams on the bubble, things went...well, not bad...as only one bid was stolen. Stephen F. Austin, a possible at large, won the Southland. Providence was already likely in, but it solidified its position. But...
Conference USA went all kinds of crazy this weekend. First, Louisiana Tech beat Southern Miss yesterday to get to the final, as expected. Tulsa, with the worst resume of the 4 top seeds, ended up taking out Middle Tennessee. And then Tulsa won today, securing the automatic bid. But funny thing is that Southern Miss and Louisiana Tech's profiles seemed to improve. Looks like a season of beating a lot of really terrible Conference USA teams was more painful than losing to one of the decent C-USA teams. The Bracket Briefer is projecting three Conference USA teams in the tournament. Southern Miss has a stellar RPI, still something the committee looks at, while Louisiana Tech proved itself when it was healthy---and it is health entering Selection Sunday---and it still is good in computer numbers other than the RPI.
America East Conference Tournament Championship
#4 Albany 69, #2 Stony Brook 60
Notes: Game at Stony Brook, NY. Albany gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
American Athletic Conference Tournament Championship
#2 Louisville 71, #4 Connecticut 61
Notes: Game at New York City, NY. Louisville gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Big 12 Conference Tournament Championship
#4 Iowa State 74, #7 Baylor 65
Notes: Game at Kansas City, MO. Iowa State gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Big East Conference Tournament Championship
#4 Providence 65, #2 Creighton 58
Notes: Game at New York City, NY. Providence gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Big Sky Conference Tournament Championship
#1 Weber State 88, #2 North Dakota 67
Notes: Game at Ogden, UT. Weber State gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Big West Conference Tournament Championship
#7 Cal Poly 61, #5 Cal State Northridge 59
Notes: Game at Anaheim, CA. Cal Poly gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Conference USA Tournament Championship
#2 Tulsa 69, #1 Louisiana Tech 60
Notes: Game at El Paso, TX. Tulsa gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Mid-American Conference Tournament Championship
#1 Western Michigan 98, #2 Toledo 77
Notes: Games at Cleveland, OH. Western Michigan gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Mid Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament Championship
#1 North Carolina Central 71, #3 Morgan State 62
Notes: Game at Norfolk, VA. North Carolina Central gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship
#2 New Mexico 64, #1 San Diego State 58
Notes: Game at Las Vegas, NV. New Mexico gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Pac-12 Conference Tournament Championship
#2 UCLA 75, #1 Arizona 71
Notes: Game at Las Vegas, NV. UCLA gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Southland Conference Tournament Championship
#1 Stephen F. Austin 68, #3 Sam Houston State 49
Notes: Game at Katy, TX. Stephen F. Austin gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Southwest Athletic Conference Tournament Championship
#2 Texas Southern 78, #8 Prairie View A&M 73
Notes: Game at Houston, TX. Texas Southern gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Western Athletic Conference Tournament Championship
#2 New Mexico State 77, #5 Idaho 66
Notes: Game at Las Vegas, NV. New Mexico State gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
ACC Tournament
#1 Virginia 51, #5 Pittsburgh 48
#3 Duke 75, #7 North Carolina State 67
Notes: All games at Greensboro, NC.
Atlantic 10 Tournament
#2 VCU 74, #3 George Washington 55
#4 Saint Joseph's 67, #9 Saint Bonaventure 48
Notes: All games at Brooklyn, NY.
Big Ten Tournament
#1 Michigan 72, #5 Ohio State 69
#3 Michigan State 83, #2 Wisconsin 75
Notes: All games at Indianapolis, IN.
SEC Tournament
#1 Florida 56, #4 Tennessee 49
#2 Kentucky 70, #3 Georgia 58
Notes: All games at Atlanta, GA.
Sun Belt Tournament
#1 Georgia State 72, #4 Arkansas State 45
#3 Louisiana-Lafayette 73, #2 Western Kentucky 72
Notes: All games at New Orleans, LA.
Only 5 games separate us from the end of the season and Selection Sunday. All the teams involved are locks except for the Sun Belt final, but no bids will be stolen if Georgia State loses. They'll be a threat in the NIT, sure, but they won't be anything more than that.
I expect one more Bracket Brief to be posted prior to the start of these games, followed by a final bracket just before Selection Sunday.
Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Championship
#2 VCU vs. #4 Saint Joseph's
Notes: Game played at Brooklyn, NY. Winner gets an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.
Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Championship
#1 Virginia vs. #3 Duke
Notes: Game played at Greensboro, NC. Winner gets an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.
Big Ten Conference Tournament Championship
#1 Michigan vs. #3 Michigan State
Notes: Game played at Indianapolis, IN. Winner gets an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.
Southeastern Conference Tournament Championship
#1 Florida vs. #2 Kentucky
Notes: Game played at Atlanta, GA. Winner gets an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.
Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championship
#1 Georgia State vs. #3 Louisiana-Lafayette
Notes: Game played at New Orleans, LA. Winner gets an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.
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