Updated Championship Week Predictions

We are in the thick of it.  While you're drinking green beers today, don't forget to watch one of the 20 conference title games.  Here's what happened in yesterday's Championship Week action.  More 1-seeds were ousted, and more bubbles were burst.  And again my bubble is pretty expansive, but it includes all of the teams listed in ESPN's Bubble Watch, as well as the Last Four Byes, Last Four In, First Four Out, and Next Four Out in Joe Lunardi's Bracketology, and maybe a couple other fringe "high bubble" and "low bubble" teams.

• In the Big Ten quarterfinals, the dream ended for the Hoosiers, and they used up all their energy and luck last night, falling to 2-seed Wisconsin, 70-60.  As I predicted, 8-seed Michigan beat 1-seed Purdue, 74-70, in overtime.  This is the second year in a row the Wolverines have beaten the top seed in the Big Ten in the quarterfinals.  4-seed Minnesota beat 5-seed Michigan State, 63-58, putting the Spartans in a precarious bubble position at 19-14.  Finally, 6-seed Northwestern beat 3-seed Maryland, 72-64, as some extra padding for the Wildcats' NCAA Tournament seed.
• In the Atlantic 10 quarters, 1-seed Dayton fell to 9-seed Davidson, 73-67.
• In the ACC semis, 5-seed Duke upset arch rival and 1-seed North Carolina, while 3-seed Notre Dame beat 2-seed Florida State.  Both teams are locks for the Big Dance.  The Blue Devils will be going to its 41st NCAA Tournament and 22nd in a row, and the Irish will be going to their 36th tournament and 3rd in a row.
• In the Big 12 semis, 4-seed Iowa State beat TCU, while 2-seed West Virginia held off Kansas State, 51-50.  Both of these teams are locks for the tournament.  The Cyclones will be going to their 19th NCAA Tournament and 6th in a row, while the Mountaineers will be going to their 28th tournament and 3rd in a row.
• In the Big East semis, top seed Villanova beat Seton Hall, 55-53, and 6-seed Creighton beat 7-seed Xavier, 75-72.  Both teams are locks for the NCAA Tournament.  The Wildcats are going to their 37th NCAA Tournament and 5th in a row, and the Blue Jays will be going to their 20th tournament and first since 2014.
• In the Big Sky semis, 1-seed North Dakota beat 4-seed Idaho, 69-64, and 3-seed Weber State knocked off 2-seed Eastern Washington, 80-72.  The Fighting Hawks will be playing for their first NCAA Tournament berth, while the Wildcats will be playing for their 17th berth and 2nd in a row.
• In the Big West semis, top seed UC Irvine beat 4-seed Long Beach State, 62-57, and 2-seed UC Davis squeaked by 3-seed Cal State Fullerton, 66-64.  The Anteaters will be playing for their 2nd NCAA Tournament berth and first since 2015, while the Aggies will be playing for their first trip to the Big Dance.
• In the C-USA semis, 1-seed Middle Tennessee State dismantled 4-seed UTEP, 82-56, while 6-seed Marshall upset 2-seed Louisiana Tech.  The Blue Raiders will be playing for their 9th NCAA Tournament berth and second in a row.  As you may recall, they upset 2-seed Michigan State as a 15-seed in the first round of last year's tournament.  The Thundering Herd will be playing for their 6th NCAA Tournament and first since 1987.
• In the miggity miggity miggity miggity miggity miggity MAC semis, top seed Akron beat 4-seed Ball State, 74-70, and 6-seed Kent State upset 2-seed Ohio, 68-66, to set up an all Northeast Ohio final.  The Zips will be playing for their 5th NCAA Tournament berth and first since 2013, and the Golden Flashes will be playing for their 6th berth and first since 2008.
• In the MEAC semis, the top two seeds, North Carolina Central and 2-seed Norfolk State walked through their semifinal games.  The Eagles will be playing for their 2nd NCAA Tournament and first since 2014, and the Spartans will also be playing for their 2nd berth and first since 2012, when they upset 2-seed Florida as a 15-seed.
• In the MWC semis, 1-seed Nevada beat 4-seed Fresno State, 83-72, and 2-seed Colorado State beat 6-seed San Diego State, 71-63.  The Wolfpack will be playing for their 7th trip to the Big Dance and first since 2007, while the Rams will be playing for their 11th berth and first since 2013.
• In the Pac-12 semis, 1-seed Oregon beat 5-seed Cal 73-65, and 2-seed Arizona handled 3-seed UCLA.  Both are locks for the Big Dance.  The Ducks will be playing for their 15th NCAA Tournament and 5th in a row, while the Wildcats will be playing in their 34th tournament and 5th in a row.
• In the Southland semis, top two seeds New Orleans and Texas A&M Corpus Christi won.  The Privateers will be playing for their 5th NCAA Tournament and first since 1996, and the Islanders are playing for their 2nd berth and first since 2007.
• In the SWAC semis, top seed Texas Southern (coached by former Hoosier head coach Mike Davis) beat 5-seed Grambling, 62-57, while 2-seed Alcorn State topped 3-seed Southern, 81-59.  There will be a championship game today, but it will be for naught.  Because Alcorn State is ineligible for postseason play, Texas Southern has clinched the automatic berth for the SWAC.  The Tigers -- coached by former IU head coach Mike Davis -- will be playing in their 7th NCAA Tournament berth, first since 2015, and third in the last four years.  Congrats to Coach Davis and his team.
• In the wiggity wiggity wiggity wiggity wiggity wiggity WAC semis, in the game of the night, 1-seed Cal State Bakersfield survived a 4OT thriller against 4-seed Utah Valley, and 2-seed New Mexico State dominated 3-seed UMKC, 78-60.  The Roadrunners will be playing for their 2nd NCAA Tournament berth and 2nd in a row, while the Aggies will be playing for their 23rd appearance and first since 2015.
• Other than what I've already discussed above, the following teams seeded in the top 4 of their conference lost yesterday to lower-seeded teams:  
• SEC 2-seed Florida (to 7-seed Vanderbilt)
• AAC 3-seed Houston (to 6-seed UConn)
• Sun Belt 3-seed Georgia Southern (to 6-seed Troy)
• SEC 4-seed South Carolina (to 5-seed Alabama)
• There are 14 bids up for grabs today (listed below).
• This is also an historic day because the first-ever Ivy League Tournament kicks off today.  They only have semifinals and a title game, all at the Palestra.  This marks the first year that all of the Division 1 conference have had a conference tournament.
• A total of 20 conferences have games today.  In additional to the finals listed below, there are semifinals in the AAC, Atlantic 10, Big Ten, Ivy League, SEC, and Sun Belt.  There are 32 college basketball games today.  The first games tip off at 11 a.m. Eastern, while the last tips off at 11:30 Eastern, so you are once again getting about 14 hours of college basketball today.  Remember that it's a marathon, not a sprint, and Guinness is only 4.2% ABV, so you can pace yourself.
• Bubble teams that won yesterday:  Alabama, Michigan, Nevada, Rhode Island, Richmond, Vanderbilt
• Bubble teams that lost yesterday:  California, Georgia, Houston, Indiana, Kansas State, Michigan State, Seton Hall, TCU, Xavier

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

-Ivy League

Tournaments with games today

-AAC
-ACC
-America East
-Atlantic 10
-Big 12
-Big East
-Big Sky
-Big Ten
-Big West
-Conference USA
-Ivy League
-MAC
-MEAC
-Mountain West
-Pac-12
-SEC
-Southland
-Sun Belt
-SWAC
-WAC

Bids up for grabs today (all times Eastern)

-America East:  (2) Stony Brook at (1) Vermont (11 a.m., ESPN2)
-MEAC:  (1) North Carolina Central vs. (2) Norfolk State (1:00 p.m., ESPN2)
-Big East:  (1) Villanova vs. (6) Creighton (5:30 p.m., Fox)
-Big 12:  (2) West Virginia vs. (4) Iowa State (6 p.m., ESPN)
-Mountain West:  (1) Nevada vs. (2) Colorado State (6 p.m., CBS)
-SWAC:  (1) Texas Southern vs. (2) Alcorn State (6:30 p.m., ESPNU)
-MAC:  (1) Akron vs. (6) Kent State (7:30 p.m., ESPN2)
-Big Sky:  (1) North Dakota vs. (3) Weber State (8:30 p.m., ESPNU)
-Conference USA: (1) Middle Tennessee State vs. (6) Marshall (8:30 p.m., CBSSN)
-ACC:  (3) Notre Dame vs. (5) Duke (9 p.m., ESPN)
-Southland:  (1) New Orleans vs. (2) Texas A&M Corpus Christi (9:30 p.m., ESPN2)
-Pac-12:  (1) Oregon vs. (2) Arizona (11 p.m., ESPN)
-WAC:  (1) Cal State Bakersfield vs. (2) New Mexico State (11 p.m., ESPNU)
-Big West:  (1) UC Irvine vs. (2) UC Davis (11:30 p.m., ESPN2)

Already clinched automatic berths (I will add in parentheses the NCAA tournament appearances for each school, including the bid just clinched)

-Atlantic Sun:  Florida Gulf Coast (3)
-Big South:  Winthrop (10)
-Colonial:  UNC-Wilmington (6)
-Horizon:  Northern Kentucky (1)
-MAAC:  Iona (12)
-Missouri Valley:  Wichita State (14)
-Northeast:  Mount St. Mary's (5)
-Ohio Valley:  Jacksonville State (1)
-Patriot:  Bucknell (7)
-Southern:  East Tennessee State (10)
-Summit:  South Dakota State (4)
-SWAC:  Texas Southern (7)
-West Coast:  Gonzaga (20)

Remaining Tournaments (all times are Eastern)

AAC (March 9-12; Hartford)

3/11 – Semifinals

3 p.m. (ESPN2) (1) SMU vs. (4) Central Florida.  Predicted winner:  SMU

5 p.m. (ESPN2) (2) Cincinnati vs. (6) UConn.  Predicted winner:  Cincinnati

3/12 – Finals

3:15 p.m. (ESPN) (1) SMU vs. Cincinnati.  Predicted winner:  SMU

ACC (March 7-11; Brooklyn)

3/11 – Finals

9 p.m. (ESPN) (3) Notre Dame vs. (5) Duke.  Predicted winner:  Notre Dame

America East (March 1, 6, 11; campus of higher seeds)

3/11 – Finals

11 a.m. (ESPN2) (2) Stony Brook at (1) Vermont.  Predicted winner:  Vermont

Atlantic 10 (March 8-12; Pittsburgh)

3/11 – Semifinals

1 p.m. (CBSSN) (9) Davidson vs. (4) Rhode Island.  Predicted winner: Rhode Island

3:30 p.m. (CBSSN) (2) VCU vs. (3) Richmond.  Predicted winner:  VCU

3/12 – Finals

12:30 p.m. (CBS) (4) Rhode Island vs. (2) VCU.  Predicted winner:  VCU

Big 12 (March 8-11; Kansas City)

3/11 – Finals

6 p.m. (ESPN) (2) West Virginia vs. (4) Iowa State.  Predicted winner:  West Virginia

Big East (March 8-11; New York)

3/11 – Finals

5:30 p.m. (Fox) (1) Villanova vs. (6) Creighton.  Predicted winner:  Villanova

Big Sky (March 7, 9-11; Reno)

3/11 – Finals

8:30 p.m. (ESPNU) (1) North Dakota vs. (3) Weber State.  Predicted winner:  North Dakota

Big Ten (March 8-12; Washington, DC)

3/11 – Semifinals

1 p.m. (CBS) (4) Minnesota vs. (8) Michigan.  Predicted winner:  Michigan

3:30 p.m. (CBS) (2) Wisconsin vs. (6) Northwestern.  Predicted winner:  Wisconsin

3/12 – Finals

3 p.m. (CBS) (2) Wisconsin vs. (8) Michigan. Predicted winner:  Wisconsin

Big West (March 9-11; Anaheim)

3/11 – Finals

11:30 p.m. (ESPN2) (1) UC Irvine vs. (2) UC Davis. Predicted winner:  UC Irvine

Conference USA (March 8-11; Birmingham, AL)

3/11 – Finals

8:30 p.m. (CBSSN) (1) Middle Tennessee State vs. (6) Marshall.  Predicted winner:  Middle Tennessee State

Ivy League (March 11-12; Philadelphia)

3/11 – Semifinals

1:30 p.m. (ESPNU) (1) Princeton vs. (4) Penn.  Predicted winner:  Princeton

4 p.m. (ESPNU) (2) Harvard vs. (3) Yale.  Predicted winner:  Yale

3/12 – Finals

12 p.m. (ESPN2) (1) Princeton vs. (3) Yale.  Predicted winner:  Princeton

MAC (March 6, 9-11; first round at campus of higher seed and remaining rounds in Cleveland)

3/11 – Finals

7:30 p.m. (ESPN2) (1) Akron vs. (6) Kent State.  Predicted winner:  Akron

MEAC (March 6-11; Norfolk, VA)

3/11 – Final

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

Mountain West (March 8-11; Las Vegas)

3/11 – Finals

6 p.m. (CBS) (1) Nevada vs. (2) Colorado State.  Predicted winner:  Colorado State

Pac-12 (March 8-11; Las Vegas)

3/11 – Finals

11 p.m. (ESPN) (1) Oregon vs. (2) Arizona.  Predicted winner:  Oregon

SEC (March 8-12; Nashville)

3/11 – Semifinals

1 p.m. (ESPN) (1) Kentucky vs. (5) Alabama.  Predicted winner: Kentucky

3:30 p.m. (ESPN) (7) Vanderbilt vs. (3) Arkansas.  Predicted winner: Arkansas

3/12 – Finals

1 p.m. (ESPN) (1) Kentucky vs. (3) Arkansas.  Predicted winner:  Kentucky

Southland (March 8-11; Katy, TX)

3/11 – Finals

9:30 p.m. (ESPN2) (1) New Orleans vs. (2) Texas A&M Corpus Christi.  Predicted winner:  New Orleans

Sun Belt (March 8, 10-12; New Orleans)

3/11 – Semifinals

12:30 p.m. (ESPN3) (1) UT-Arlington vs. (4) Texas State.  Predicted winner: UT-Arlington

3 p.m. (ESPN3) (2) Georgia State vs. (6) Troy.  Predicted winner: Georgia State

3/12 – Finals

2 p.m. (ESPN) (1) UT-Arlington vs. (2) Georgia State.  Predicted winner:  UT-Arlington

SWAC (March 7, 10-11; quarterfinals at campus of higher seed, remaining games in Houston)

3/11 - Finals
6:30 p.m. (ESPNU) (1) Texas Southern vs. (2) Alcorn State.  Predicted winner:  Texas Southern

WAC (March 9-11; Las Vegas)

3/11 – Finals

11 p.m. (ESPNU) (1) Cal State Bakersfield vs. (2) New Mexico State.  Predicted winner:  Cal State Bakersfield