Updated Championship Week Predictions: "Cowboy Song"

In honor of the McNeese Cowboys' second straight Southland title and the fact that it's St. Patrick's Day week, today's Championship Week song is "Cowboy Song," an epic ode to the American West -- with not one, but two, amazing guitar solos -- from the best Irish rock band there ever was, Thin Lizzy.

We won't have any bids clinched today or tomorrow, as we'll have the remaining 17 automatic bids up for grabs on Saturday (12) and Sunday (5).  But today, from the start of the Akron/Bowling Green game in the MAC quarterfinals at 11:00 a.m. ET to the end of the three games that tip off at 11:30 p.m. ET, we have 48 games across 15 conference tournaments, spanning about 15 hours.  Huzzah!

Here's what happened yesterday and what we have to look forward to today:

• In the Big Sky title game, 2-seed Montana held off 1-seed Northern Colorado, 91-83, sending the Grizzlies to their 13th NCAA Tournament and first since 2019.
• In the Patriot title game, 2-seed American never trailed and dominated 5-seed Navy, 74-52, to clinch the Eagle's 4th NCAA Tournament berth and first since 2014.
• In the Southland championship, 1-seed McNeese pulled away from 2-seed Lamar for a 63-54 win. The Cowboys will be playing in their 4th NCAA Tournament appearance and second in a row.
• In the first half of the C-USA quarterfinals, top seed Liberty demolished 8-seed UTEP, 81-60, and 2-seed Jacksonville State dropped 10-seed FIU, 65-56, to advance to tomorrow's semifinals.
• In the first half of the MAAC quarterfinals, 1-seed Quinnipiac ousted 8-seed Rider, 78-64, and 2-seed Merrimack needed OT to eliminate 7-seed Sacred Heart, 66-62, to advance to tomorrow's semifinals.
• In the first half of the MEAC quarterfinals, top seed Norfolk State downed 8-seed Maryland Eastern Shore, 77-70, and 2-seed South Carolina State eked by 7-seed Coppin State, 68-63, to advance to tomorrow's semifinals.
• In the first half of the SWAC quarterfinals, 8-seed Grambling upset archrival 1-seed Southern, 65-62 in OT, and 2-seed Jackson State handled 7-seed Florida A&M, 91-76, to advance to tomorrow's semifinals.
• In the first half of the WAC quarterfinals, top seed Utah Valley beat 9-seed Utah Tech, 74-57, and 2-seed Grand Canyon cruised past 7-seed UT Arlington, 98-75, to advance to tomorrow's semifinals.
• In the Second Round of the ACC, 5-seed North Carolina trounced 12-seed Notre Dame, 76-56, 6-seed SMU beat up on 14-seed Syracuse, 73-53, 8-seed Georgia Tech beat 9-seed Virginia, 66-60, and 7-seed Stanford held off archrival 15-seed Cal, 78-73 (still weird that both of those teams are in the ACC), to advance to today's quarterfinals.
• In the Second Round of the Big 12, 5-seed Iowa State destroyed 13-seed Cincinnati, 76-56, 6-seed Kansas outlasted 14-seed UCF in OT, 98-94, 7-seed Baylor bounced 10-seed Kansas State, 70-56, and 16-seed Colorado became the first 16-seed to ever win two conference tournament games (or so I assume), upsetting 8-seed West Virginia, 67-60, to advance to today's quarters.
• In the First Round of the AAC, 13-seed Charlotte took out 12-seed Rice, 64-61, to advance to today's second round.
• In the First Round of the A-10, 15-seed Fordham upset 10-seed Rhode Island, 88-71, 14-seed LaSalle upset 11-seed UMass, 78-71, and 12-seed Davidson topped 13-seed Richmond, 69-65, to advance to today's second round.
• In the First Round of the Big East, 6-seed Villanova topped 11-seed Seton Hall, 67-55, 10-seed DePaul upset 7-seed Georgetown, 71-67, and 9-seed Butler beat 8-seed Providence, 75-69, to advance to today's quarterfinals.
• In the First Round of the Big Ten, all three lower seeds won, as 15-seed Iowa burst 10-seed Ohio State's bubble with a 77-70 win, 14-seed USC beat 11-seed Rutgers in an exciting double overtime 97-89 game, and 13-seed Northwestern downed 12-seed Minnesota, 72-64, to advance to today's second round.
• In the First Round of the Big West, 5-seed UC Santa Barbara got by 8-seed Cal State Bakersfield, 71-66, and 7-seed Cal Poly dropped 6-seed UC Davis, 86-76, to advance to today's quarterfinals.
• In the First Round of the Mountain West, 6-seed UNLV beat 11-seed Air Force, 68-59, 7-seed Nevada made easy work of 10-seed Fresno State, 86-71, and 8-seed San Jose State outlasted 9-seed Wyoming, 66-61, to advance to today's quarterfinals.
• In the First Round of the SEC, 9-seed Arkansas avoided disaster by pulling out a 72-68 win over 16-seed South Carolina, 10-seed Mississippi State stomped 15-seed LSU, 91-62, 14-seed Oklahoma beat fellow bubble team 11-seed Georgia, 81-75, and 13-seed Texas won another battle of bubble teams, beating Vanderbilt, 79-72, to advanced to today's second round.
• Conference tournaments starting today:  1
• Conference tournaments with games today: 15
• Conference tournaments with title games today:  0
• Conference tournaments with semifinals today:  0
• Conference tournaments with quarterfinals today:  11 (ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big West, C-USA, MAAC, MAC, MEAC, Mountain West, SWAC, WAC)
• Here are the teams still playing in the conference tournaments that have never been to the NCAA Tournament (not including teams who are ineligible for this year's NCAA Tournament or who didn't qualify for their conference tournament):
• America East:  3-seed Maine
• Big West:  1-seed UC San Diego, 3-seed UC Riverside
• MAAC:  1-seed Quinnipiac, 2-seed Merrimack
• SWAC:  3-seed Bethune-Cookman
• WAC:  1-seed Utah Valley, 3-seed Cal Baptist, 6-seed Tarleton
• Bubble teams that won yesterday:  Arkansas, Baylor, Liberty, McNeese, Mississippi State, North Carolina, Oklahoma, SMU, Texas
• Bubble teams that lost yesterday:  Cincinnati, Georgia, Ohio State, Vanderbilt, West Virginia
• Bubble teams that did not play yesterday (that have not been eliminated from their conference tournaments yet):  Boise State, Colorado State, Connecticut, Creighton, Dayton, Indiana, Memphis, Missouri, New Mexico, North Texas, San Diego State, UC San Diego, UC Irvine, Utah State, VCU, Wake Forest, Xavier

With that, here are the tournaments starting today, the tournaments with games today, bids up for grab today, who has already clinched an automatic berth, and my predictions for the remaining conference tournaments.

Tournaments starting today

-MAC

Tournaments with games today

-AAC

-ACC

-Atlantic 10

-Big 12

-Big East

-Big Ten

-Big West

-Conference USA

-MAAC

-MAC

-MEAC

-Mountain West

-SEC

-SWAC

-WAC

Bids up for grabs today (all times Eastern)

-None

Already clinched automatic berths (I will add in parentheses the NCAA tournament appearances for each school, including the bid just clinched and last NCAA Tournament appearance where applicable, and for conferences whose tournaments have not yet ended, I'll list the date of the championship game)

-AAC (March 16)

-ACC (March 15)

-America East (March 15)

-Atlantic 10 (March 16)

-Atlantic Sun:  Lipscomb (2; 2018)

-Big 12 (March 15)

-Big East (March 15)

-Big Sky:  Montana (13; 2019)

-Big South:  High Point (1)

-Big Ten (March 16)

-Big West (March 15)

-Coastal:  UNC Wilmington (7; 2017)

-Conference USA (March 15)

-Horizon:  Robert Morris (9; 2015)

-Ivy League (March 16)

-MAAC (March 15)

-MAC (March 15)

-MEAC (March 15)

-Missouri Valley:  Drake (8; 2024)

-Mountain West (March 15)

-Northeast Conference:  St. Francis (PA) (2; 1991)

-Ohio Valley:  SIU Edwardsville (1)

-Patriot League:  American (4; 2014)

-SEC (March 16)

-Southern Conference: Wofford (6; 2019)

-Southland:  McNeese (4; 2024)

-Summit:  Omaha (1)

-Sun Belt:  Troy (3; 2017)

-SWAC (March 15)

-WAC (March 15)

-West Coast:  Gonzaga (27; 2024)

Remaining Tournaments (all times are Eastern)

AAC (March 12-16; Fort Worth)

3/13 – Second Round

12:30 p.m. (ESPNU) (8) Wichita State vs. (9) South Florida.  Predicted winner:  Wichita State

2:30 p.m. (ESPNU) (5) FAU vs. (13) Charlotte.  Predicted winner:  FAU

7 p.m. (ESPNU) (7) Temple vs. (10) Tulsa.  Predicted winner:  Temple

9 p.m. (ESPNU) (6) East Carolina vs. (11) UTSA.  Predicted winner:  East Carolina

3/14 – Quarterfinals

1 p.m. (ESPN2) (1) Memphis vs. (8) Wichita State.  Predicted winner:  Memphis

3 p.m. (ESPN2) (4) Tulane vs. (5) FAU.  Predicted winner:  Tulane

7 p.m. (ESPNU) (2) North Texas vs. (7) Temple.  Predicted winner:  North Texas

9 p.m. (ESPNU) (3) UAB vs. (6) East Carolina.  Predicted winner:  UAB

3/15 – Semifinals

3 p.m. (ESPN2) (1) Memphis vs. (4) Tulane.  Predicted winner:  Memphis

5 p.m. (ESPN2) (2) North Texas vs. (3) UAB.  Predicted winner:  North Texas

3/16 – Finals

3:15 p.m. (ESPN) (1) Memphis vs. (2) North Texas.  Predicted winner:  Memphis

ACC (March 11-15; Charlotte)

3/13 – Quarterfinals

12 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2) (1) Duke vs. (8) Georgia Tech.  Predicted winner:  Duke

2:30 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2) (4) Wake Forest vs. (5) North Carolina.  Predicted winner:  North Carolina

7 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2) (2) Louisville vs. (7) Stanford.  Predicted winner:  Louisville

9:30 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2) (3) Clemson vs. (6) SMU.  Predicted winner:  Clemson

3/14 – Semifinals

7 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2) (1) Duke vs. (5) North Carolina.  Predicted winner:  Duke

9:30 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2) (2) Louisville vs. (3) Clemson.  Predicted winner:  Clemson

3/15 – Finals

8:30 p.m. (ESPN) (1) Duke vs. (3) Clemson.  Predicted winner:  Duke

America East (March 8, 11, 15; campus of higher seed)

3/15 – Finals

11 a.m. (ESPN2) (3) Maine at (1) Bryant.  Predicted winner:  Maine

Atlantic 10 (March 12-16; Washington, DC)

3/13 – Second Round

11:30 a.m. (USA) (8) St. Bonaventure vs. (9) Duquesne.  Predicted winner:  St. Bonaventure

2 p.m. (USA) (5) St. Louis vs. (12) Davidson.  Predicted winner:  St. Louis

5 p.m. (USA) (7) George Washington vs. (15) Fordham.  Predicted winner:  George Washington

7:30 p.m. (USA) (6) St. Joseph's vs. (14) LaSalle.  Predicted winner:  St. Joseph's

3/14 – Quarterfinals

11:30 a.m. (USA) (1) VCU vs. (8) St. Bonaventure.  Predicted winner:  VCU

2 p.m. (USA) (4) Loyola (IL) vs. (5) St. Louis.  Predicted winner:  Loyola (IL)

5 p.m. (USA) (2) George Mason vs. (7) George Washington.  Predicted winner:  George Mason

7:30 p.m. (Peacock) (3) Dayton vs. (6) St. Joseph's.  Predicted winner:  Dayton

3/15 – Semifinals

1 p.m. (CBSSN) (1) VCU vs. (4) Loyola (IL).  Predicted winner:  VCU

3:30 p.m. (CBSSN) (2) George Mason vs. (3) Dayton.  Predicted winner:  Dayton

3/16 – Finals

1 p.m. (CBS) (1) VCU vs. (3) Dayton.  Predicted winner:  VCU

Big 12 (March 11-15; Kansas City)

3/13 – Quarterfinals

12:30 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2) (4) BYU vs. (5) Iowa State.  Predicted winner:  Iowa State

3 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2) (1) Houston vs. (16) Colorado.  Predicted winner:  Houston

7 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2) (2) Texas Tech vs. (7) Baylor.  Predicted winner:  Texas Tech

9:30 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2) (3) Arizona vs. (6) Kansas.  Predicted winner:  Kansas

3/14 – Semifinals

7 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2) (1) Houston vs. (5) Iowa State.  Predicted winner:  Houston

9:30 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2) (2) Texas Tech vs. (6) Kansas.  Predicted winner:  Kansas

3/15 – Finals

6 p.m. (ESPN) (1) Houston vs. (6) Kansas.  Predicted winner:  Houston

Big East (March 12-15; New York)

3/13 – Quarterfinals

12 p.m. (Peacock) (1) St. John's vs. (9) Butler.  Predicted winner:  St. John's

2:30 p.m. (Peacock) (4) Xavier vs. (5) Marquette.  Predicted winner:  Marquette

7 p.m. (FS1) (2) Creighton vs. (10) DePaul.  Predicted winner:  Creighton

9:30 p.m. (FS1) (3) UConn vs. (6) Villanova.  Predicted winner:  UConn

3/14 – Semifinals

6:30 p.m. (Fox) (1) St. John's vs. (5) Marquette.  Predicted winner:  St. John's

9 p.m. (Fox) (2) Creighton vs. (3) UConn.  Predicted winner:  UConn

3/15 – Finals

6:30 p.m. (Fox) (1) St. John's vs. (3) UConn.  Predicted winner:  St. John's

Big Ten (March 12-16; Indianapolis)

3/13 – Second Round

12 p.m. (BTN) (8) Oregon vs. (9) Indiana.  Predicted winner:  Indiana

2:30 p.m. (BTN) (5) Wisconsin vs. (13) Northwestern.  Predicted winner:  Wisconsin

6:30 p.m. (BTN) (7) Illinois vs. (15) Iowa.  Predicted winner:  Illinois

9 p.m. (BTN) (6) Purdue vs. (14) USC.  Predicted winner:  Purdue

3/14 – Quarterfinals

12 p.m. (BTN) (1) Michigan State vs. (9) Indiana.  Predicted winner:  Indiana

2:30 p.m. (BTN) (4) UCLA vs. (5) Wisconsin.  Predicted winner:  Wisconsin

6:30 p.m. (BTN) (2) Maryland vs. (7) Illinois.  Predicted winner:  Maryland

9 p.m. (BTN) (3) Michigan vs. (6) Purdue.  Predicted winner:  Michigan

3/15 – Semifinals

1 p.m. (CBS) (5) Wisconsin vs. (9) Indiana.  Predicted winner:  Indiana

3:30 p.m. (CBS) (2) Maryland vs. (3) Michigan.  Predicted winner:  Michigan

3/16 – Finals

3:30 p.m. (CBS) (3) Michigan vs. (9) Indiana.  Predicted winner:  Indiana

Big West (March 12-15; Henderson, NV)

3/13 – Quarterfinals

9 p.m. (ESPN+) (3) UC Riverside vs. (7) Cal Poly.  Predicted winner:  UC Riverside

11:30 p.m. (ESPN+) (4) Cal State Northridge vs. (5) UC Santa Barbara.  Predicted winner:  Cal State Northridge

3/14 – Semifinals

9 p.m. (ESPN+) (1) UC San Diego vs. (4) Cal State Northridge.  Predicted winner:  UC San Diego

11:30 p.m. (ESPN2) (2) UC Irvine vs. (3) UC Riverside.  Predicted winner:  UC Irvine

3/15 – Finals

9:40 p.m. (ESPN2) (1) UC San Diego vs. (2) UC Irvine.  Predicted winner:  UC Irvine

Conference USA (March 11-15; Huntsville, AL)

Quarterfinals

3/13

6:30 p.m. (ESPN+) (4) Kennesaw State vs. (5) New Mexico State.  Predicted winner:  New Mexico State

9 p.m. (ESPN+) (3) Middle Tennessee State vs. (6) Louisiana Tech.  Predicted winner:  Middle Tennessee State

3/14 – Semifinals

12:30 p.m. (CBSSN)  (1) Liberty vs. (5) New Mexico State.  Predicted winner:  Liberty

3 p.m. (CBSSN) (2) Jacksonville State vs. (3) Middle Tennessee State.  Predicted winner:  Middle Tennessee State

3/15 – Finals

8:30 p.m. (CBSSN) (1) Liberty vs. (3) Middle Tennessee State.  Predicted winner:  Liberty

Ivy League (March 15-16; Providence)

3/15 - Semifinals

11 a.m. (ESPNU) (1) Yale vs. (4) Princeton.  Predicted winner:  Yale

2 p.m. (ESPNews) (2) Cornell vs. (3) Dartmouth.  Predicted winner:  Cornell  

3/16 - Finals

12 p.m. (ESPN2) (1) Yale vs. (2) Cornell.  Predicted winner:  Yale

MAAC (March 11-15; Atlantic City, NJ)

Quarterfinals

3/13

6 p.m. (ESPN+) (3) Marist vs. (6) Mt. St. Mary's.  Predicted winner:  Marist

8:30 p.m. (ESPN+) (4) Iona vs. (5) Manhattan.  Predicted winner:  Manhattan

3/14 – Semifinals

6 p.m. (ESPNews) (1) Quinnipiac vs. (5) Manhattan.  Predicted winner:  Quinnipiac

8:30 p.m. (ESPNews) (2) Merrimack vs. (3) Marist.  Predicted winner:  Marist

3/15 – Finals

7:30 p.m. (ESPNU) (1) Quinnipiac vs. (3) Marist.  Predicted winner:  Quinnipiac

MAC (March 13-15; Cleveland)

3/13 – Quarterfinals

11 a.m. (ESPN+) (1) Akron vs. (8) Bowling Green.  Predicted winner:  Akron

1:30 p.m. (ESPN+) (4) Toledo vs. (5) Ohio.  Predicted winner:  Toledo

4 p.m. (ESPN+) (2) Miami (OH) vs. (7) Eastern Michigan.  Predicted winner:  Miami (OH)

6:30 p.m. (ESPN+) (3) Kent State vs. (6) Western Michigan.  Predicted winner:  Kent State

3/14 – Semifinals

5 p.m. (CBSSN) (1) Akron vs. (4) Toledo.  Predicted winner:  Akron

7:30 p.m. (CBSSN) (2) Miami (OH) vs. (3) Kent State.  Predicted winner:  Kent State

3/15 – Finals

7:30 p.m. (ESPN2) (1) Akron vs. (3) Kent State.  Predicted winner:  Akron

MEAC (March 12-15; Norfolk, VA)

Quarterfinals

3/13

6 p.m. (ESPN+) (4) Howard vs. (5) Morgan State.  Predicted winner:  Morgan State

8 p.m. (ESPN+) (3) Delaware State vs. (6) North Carolina Central.  Predicted winner:  Delaware

3/14 – Semifinals

6 p.m. (ESPN+) (1) Norfolk State vs. (5) Morgan State.  Predicted winner:  Norfolk State

8 p.m. (ESPN+) (2) South Carolina State vs. (3) Delaware State.  Predicted winner:  South Carolina State

3/15 – Final

1:00 p.m. (ESPN2) (1) Norfolk State vs. (2) South Carolina State.  Predicted winner:  Norfolk State

Mountain West (March 12-15; Paradise, NV)

3/13 – Quarterfinals

3 p.m. (CBSSN) (1) New Mexico vs. (8) San Jose State.  Predicted winner:  New Mexico

5:30 p.m. (CBSSN) (4) San Diego State vs. (5) Boise State.  Predicted winner:  San Diego State

9 p.m. (CBSSN) (2) Colorado State vs. (7) Nevada.  Predicted winner:  Nevada

11:30 p.m. (CBSSN) (3) Utah State vs. (6) UNLV.  Predicted winner:  Utah State

3/14 – Semifinals

9:30 p.m. (CBSSN) (1) New Mexico vs. (4) San Diego State.  Predicted winner:  New Mexico

11:59 p.m. (CBSSN) (3) Utah State vs. (7) Nevada.  Predicted winner:  Utah State

3/15 – Finals

6 p.m. (CBS) (1) New Mexico vs. (3) Utah State.  Predicted winner:  New Mexico

SEC (March 12-16; Nashville)

3/13 – Second Round

1 p.m. (SEC Network) (8) Mississippi vs. (9) Arkansas.  Predicted winner:  Mississippi

3:30 p.m. (SEC Network) (5) Texas A&M vs. (13) Texas.  Predicted winner:  Texas A&M

7 p.m. (SEC Network) (7) Missouri vs. (10) Mississippi State.  Predicted winner:  Missouri

9:30 p.m. (SEC Network) (6) Kentucky vs. (14) Oklahoma.  Predicted winner:  Kentucky

3/14 – Quarterfinals

1 p.m. (ESPN) (1) Auburn vs. (8) Mississippi.  Predicted winner:  Auburn

3:30 p.m. (ESPN) (4) Tennessee vs. (5) Texas A&M.  Predicted winner:  Tennessee

7 p.m. (SEC Network) (2) Florida vs. (7) Missouri.  Predicted winner:  Missouri

9:30 p.m. (SEC Network) (3) Alabama vs. (6) Kentucky.  Predicted winner:  Alabama

3/15 – Semifinals

1 p.m. (ESPN) (1) Auburn vs. (4) Tennessee.  Predicted winner:  Auburn

3:30 p.m. (ESPN) (3) Alabama vs. (7) Missouri.  Predicted winner:  Alabama

3/16 – Finals

1 p.m. (ESPN) (1) Auburn vs. (3) Alabama.  Predicted winner:  Auburn

SWAC (March 11-15; College Park, GA)

Quarterfinals

3/13

2 p.m. (ESPN+) (4) Texas Southern vs. (5) Alabama State.  Predicted winner:  Texas Southern

8:30 p.m. (ESPN+) (3) Bethune-Cookman vs. (6) Alcorn State.  Predicted winner:  Bethune-Cookman

3/14 – Semifinals

2 p.m. (ESPN+) (4) Texas Southern vs. (8) Grambling.  Predicted winner:  Texas Southern

8:30 p.m. (ESPN+) (2) Jackson State vs. (3) Bethune-Cookman.  Predicted winner:  Bethune-Cookman

3/15 – Finals

9:30 p.m. (ESPNU) (3) Bethune-Cookman vs. (4) Texas Southern.  Predicted winner:  Texas Southern

WAC (March 11-15; first round at St. George, UT; remaining rounds at Paradise, NV)

Quarterfinals

3/13

9 p.m. (ESPN+) (4) Abilene Christian vs. (5) Seattle.  Predicted winner:  Abilene Christian

11:30 p.m. (ESPN+) (3) Cal Baptist vs. (6) Tarleton.  Predicted winner:  Cal Baptist

3/14 – Semifinals

9 p.m. (ESPN+) (1) Utah Valley vs. (4) Abilene Christian.  Predicted winner:  Utah Valley

11:30 p.m. (ESPN2/ESPNU) (2) Grand Canyon vs. (3) Cal Baptist.  Predicted winner:  Grand Canyon

3/15 – Finals

11:40 p.m. (ESPN2) (1) Utah Valley vs. (2) Grand Canyon.  Predicted winner:  Grand Canyon