Updated Championship Week Predictions

Get ready for it.  There are 42 games today -- 16 quarterfinal games and 26 semifinal games -- again spanning over 14 hours.  The first games again tip off at Noon Eastern, and the last game (the second semifinal in the Big West) is scheduled to tip off at 11:59 p.m. Eastern.  More dreams will be crushed today, but heroes will be born -- and in 18-22 years, they too will be playing in Championship Week.  Here's everything that happened yesterday in Championship Week.  We had a fair number of top 4 seeds go down, and many more bubble teams lost than those who won.  For sake of ease, I'm just going to go alphabetically by conference:

• In the first round of the AAC, 5-seed Memphis, 6-seed UCF, 7-seed Temple, 9-seed SMU advanced to the quarterfinals.
• In the ACC quarterfinals, 1-seed Virginia was too much for 9-seed Louisville, beating the Cardinals 75-58 and likely relegating them to the NIT.  4-seed Clemson survived a scare from 12-seed Boston College.  The luck of the Irish has run out, as 2-seed Duke trounced 10-seed Notre Dame, likely wiping out any hopes ND had of going to the Big Dance.  6-seed North Carolina pulled away over the last few minutes, socring the last 13 points to beat 3-seed Miami 82-65, to set up a Duke-UNC matchup in tonight's semifinals.
• The second round of the A-10 went chalk, as 5-seed George Mason, 6-seed Richmond, 7-seed St. Louis, and 8-seed VCU advanced to the quarterfinals.
• In the quarterfinals of the Big 12, top seed Kansas beat 8-seed Oklahoma State 82-68 to put the 14-loss Cowboys' NCAA Tournament hopes in jeopardy.  4-seed Kansas State and 5-seed TCU needed overtime to figure out a winner.  TCU hit a 3 with one second left in regulation to force the extra period.  From there, K-State pulled out a 66-64 win, significantly helping the Wildcats' NCAA Tournament chances. 2-seed Texas Tech downed 7-seed Texas, 73-69, keeping the Longhorns on the bubble.  3-seed West Virginia topped 6-seed Baylor, potentially knocking the Bears out of the NCAA Tournament.
• In the quarterfinals of the Big East, 1-seed Xavier walloped 9-seed St. John's, 88-60.  I believe that might be the first time I have ever written or typed the word "walloped," as evidenced by the fact that it took me about four tries to spell it right.  4-seed Creighton and 5-seed Providence went to OT, where the Friars came out on top, likely securing an NCAA Tournament bid in the process.  2-seed Villanova curbstomped 7-seed Marquette, 94-70, which likely ended the Golden Eagles' chances of going to the Big Dance.  3-seed Seton Hall and 6-seed Butler played a hell of a game, changing leads multiple times over the last minute, with Butler winning 75-74 on a tip in with 3.6 seconds left, giving the Bulldogs their first Big East Tournament win.
• In the Big Sky quarterfinals, 10-seed Southern Utah's dream is not yet over, as the Thunderbirds upset 2-seed Idaho, 92-78.  Top seed Montana, 3-seed Eastern Washington, and 5-seed Northern Colorado also advanced to the semis
• In the Big West quarters, top see UC Davis escaped with a 70-66 win over 8-seed UC Riverside.  3-seed UC Irvine came back from a 10-point deficit with about 4 minutes left to beat 6-seed Hawaii, 68-67.  2-seed UC Santa Barbara and 4-seed Cal State Fullerton also advanced to the semis.
• In the quarterfinals of Conference USA, we had a major upset, as 13-point underdog 9-seed Southern Miss beat 1-seed Middle Tennessee State 71-68 in overtime.  MTSU was a heavy favorite to win the C-USA Tournament and, with an RPI of 27, seemed like they should have been a lock for the NCAA Tournament, but losing in the quarterfinals to a below-.500 team with an RPI in the 220s cannot instill much confidence.  In the other quarterfinals, 4-seed Marshall beat 5-seed UTSA, 3-seed Western Kentucky crushed 6-seed UAB, and 2-seed Old Dominion beat 10-seed Louisiana Tech.
• In the miggity-miggity-miggity-miggity-miggity-miggity-MAC quarterfinals, 3-seed Eastern Michigan overcame a 19-point deficit in the second half, outscoring 11-seed Akron 39-11 over the last 12 minutes for a 67-58 win.  Top seed Buffalo, 2-seed Toledo, and 5-seed Kent State also advanced to the semifinals.
• In the second half of the MEAC quarterfinals, 6-seed (and defending champ) North Carolina Central beat 3-seed Savannah State to advance to the semis, while 4-seed North Carolina A&T beat 5-seed Norfolk State.
• In the quarterfinals of the Mountain West, 1-seed Nevada won a close one over in-state rival UNLV, while 2-seed Boise State fell to 7-seed Utah State.  3-seed New Mexico and 5-seed San Diego State also advanced to the semis.
• In the quarterfinals of the Pac-12, top seed Arizona crushed 8-seed Colorado, 2-seed USC and 4-seed UCLA avoided removal from the bubble by beating 5-seed Stanford and 10-seed Oregon State, respectively.  3-seed Utah hurt its bubble chances by losing to 6-seed Oregon.
• In the second round of the SEC, 9-seed Alabama kept is tournament hopes alive with a dramatic last-second 71-70 win over 8-seed Texas A&M.  Assuming Alabama doesn't win the SEC Tournament, will the Selection Committee let a 15-loss Crimson Tide team into the Big Dance?  We'll find out Sunday.  Meanwhile, 12-seed Georgia upset 5-seed Missouri (which is pronounced "muh-zur-ruh"), putting the Tigers firmly on the bubble.  7-seed Mississippi State beat 10-seed LSU, and 6-seed Arkansas officially ended 11-seed South Carolina's hopes of back-to-back Final Fours.
• In the second round of the Southland, 3-seed Stephen F. Austin destroyed 7-seed Central Arkansas, and 4-seed Sam Houston State destroyed 5-seed New Orleans.  Somewhere Scottie Pippen and Ervin Johnson -- but not Earvin Johnson -- are crying.  Probably not in the same place.  But then again, you never know.  Maybe they hang out during the Southland Tournament.  Prove to me they don't.
• And finally, in the quarterfinals of the wiggity-wiggity-wiggity-wiggity-wiggity-wiggity-WAC, chalk prevailed, as 1-seed New Mexico State, 2-seed Utah Valley, 3-seed Grand Canyon, and 4-seed Seattle advanced to the semis.  Somewhere Elgin Baylor is getting at least a little bit excited.
• No tournaments start today and no bids are up for grabs, but 17 conference tournaments have games today.
• Bubble teams that won yesterday:  Alabama, Kansas State, Providence, UCLA, USC
• Bubble teams that lost yesterday:  Baylor, Louisville, Marquette, Middle Tennessee State, Missouri, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Texas, Utah

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
None

Tournaments with games today

-AAC
-ACC
-Atlantic 10
-Big 12
-Big East
-Big Sky
-Big West
-Conference USA
-MAC
-MEAC
-Mountain West
-Pac-12
-SEC
-Southland
-Sun Belt
-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 for conferences whose tournaments have not yet ended, I'll list the date of the championship game)

-AAC (March 11)

-ACC (March 10)

-America East (March 10)

-Atlantic 10 (March 11)

-Atlantic Sun:  Lipscomb (1)

-Big 12 (March 10)

-Big East (March 10)

-Big Sky (March 10)

-Big South:  Radford (3)

-Big Ten:  Michigan (28)

-Big West (March 10)

-Colonial:  Charleston (5)

-Conference USA (March 10)

-Horizon:  Wright State (3)

-Ivy League (March 11)

-MAAC:  Iona (13)

-MAC (March 10)

-MEAC (March 10)

-Missouri Valley:  Loyola (IL) (6)

-Mountain West (March 10)

-Northeast Conference:  LIU-Brooklyn (7)

-Ohio Valley:  Murray State (16)

-Pac-12 (March 10)

-Patriot League:  Bucknell (8)

-SEC (March 11)

-Southern Conference:  UNC Greensboro (3)

-Southland (March 10)

-Summit:  South Dakota State (5)

-Sun Belt (March 11)

-SWAC (March 10)

-WAC (March 10)

-West Coast:  Gonzaga (21)

Because I am unhealthily obsessed with college basketball in March -- to the detriment of my marriage, children, friendships, work, sleep schedule, sanity, wallet, and loyalty to Xenu -- I have not only listed out every game and my predictions, but the date, time, and TV station(s) on which the game will appear, even if it's just local, regional, or online, to the extent that information is available.  Some conference tournament websites are better than others.  I want this to be as comprehensive as possible, so that you can always come here to figure out when any given team is playing.  I love you so much, you guys.  Don't you ever forget it.

Remaining Tournaments (all times are Eastern; to the extent there are teams that have clinched seeds in tournament fields that are not completely set, I will put those in)

AAC (March 8-11; Orlando)

3/9 – Quarterfinals

12 p.m. (ESPN2) (1) Cincinnati vs. (9) SMU.  Predicted winner:  Cincinnati

2:30 p.m. (ESPN2) (4) Tulsa vs. (5) Memphis.  Predicted winner:  Tulsa

6 p.m. (ESPNU) (2) Wichita State vs. (7) Temple.  Predicted winner:  Wichita State

8:30 p.m. (ESPNU) (3) Houston vs. (6) UCF.  Predicted winner:  Houston

3/10 – Semifinals

1 p.m. (CBS) (1) Cincinnati vs. (4) Tulsa.  Predicted winner:  Cincinnati

3:30 p.m. (CBS) (2) Wichita State vs. (3) Houston.  Predicted winner:  Wichita State

3/11 – Finals

3 p.m. (CBS) (1) Cincinnati vs. (2) Wichita State.  Predicted winner:  Wichita State

ACC (March 6-10; Brooklyn)

3/9 – Semifinals

7 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2) (1) Virginia vs. (4) Clemson.  Predicted winner:  Virginia

9 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2) (2) Duke vs. (6) North Carolina.  Predicted winner:  North Carolina

3/10 – Finals

9 p.m. (ESPN) (1) Virginia vs. (6) North Carolina.  Predicted winner:  Virginia

America East (March 3, 6, 10; campus of higher seeds)

3/10 – Finals

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

Atlantic 10 (March 7-11; Washington, DC)

3/9 – Quarterfinals

12 p.m. (NBCSN) (1) Rhode Island vs. (8) VCU.  Predicted winner:  Rhode Island

2:30 p.m. (NBCSN) (4) St. Joseph's vs. (5) George Mason.  Predicted winner:  George Mason

6 p.m. (NBCSN) (2) St. Bonaventure vs. (7) St. Louis.  Predicted winner:  St. Bonaventure

8:30 p.m. (NBCSN) (3) Davidson vs. (6) Richmond.  Predicted winner:  Davidson

3/10 – Semifinals

1 p.m. (CBSSN) (1) Rhode Island vs. (5) George Mason.  Predicted winner:  Rhode Island

3:30 p.m. (CBSSN) (2) St. Bonaventure vs. (3) Davidson.  Predicted winner:  St. Bonaventure

3/11 – Finals

1 p.m. (CBS) (1) Rhode Island vs. (2) St. Bonaventure.  Predicted winner:  Rhode Island

Big 12 (March 7-10; Kansas City)

3/9 – Semifinals

7 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2) (1) Kansas vs. (4) Kansas State.  Predicted winner:  Kansas

9 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2) (2) Texas Tech vs. (3) West Virginia.  Predicted winner:  West Virginia

3/10 – Finals

6 p.m. (ESPN) (1) Kansas vs. (3) West Virginia.  Predicted winner:  Kansas

Big East (March 7-10; New York)

3/9 – Semifinals

6:30 p.m. (FS1) (1) Xavier vs. (5) Providence.  Predicted winner:  Xavier

9:30 p.m. (FS1) (2) Villanova vs. (6) Butler.  Predicted winner:  Villanova

3/10 – Finals

5:30 p.m. (Fox) (1) Xavier vs. (2) Villanova.  Predicted winner:  Villanova

Big Sky (March 6, 8-10; Reno)

3/9 – Semifinals

8:35 p.m. (Pluto TV) (1) Montana vs. (5) Northern Colorado.  Predicted winner:  Montana

11:05 p.m. (Pluto TV) (10) Southern Utah vs. (2) Eastern Washington.  Predicted winner:  Eastern Washington

3/10 – Finals

8:05 p.m. (ESPNU) (1) Montana vs. (2) Eastern Washington.  Predicted winner:  Montana

Big West (March 8-10; Anaheim)

3/9 – Semifinals

9:30 p.m. (ESPN3) (1) UC Davis vs. (4) Cal State Fullerton.  Predicted winner:  UC Davis

11:59 p.m. (ESPNU) (2) UC Santa Barbara vs. (3) UC Irvine.  Predicted winner:  UC Santa Barbara

3/10 – Finals

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

Conference USA (March 7-10; Frisco, TX)

3/9 – Semifinals

12:30 p.m. (CBSSN) (9) Southern Mississippi vs. (4) Marshall.  Predicted winner:  Marshall

3 p.m. (CBSSN) (2) Old Dominion vs. (3) Western Kentucky.  Predicted winner:  Western Kentucky

3/10 – Finals

8:30 p.m. (CBSSN) (4) Marshall vs. (3) Western Kentucky.  Predicted winner:  Western Kentucky

Ivy League (March 10-11; Philadelphia)

3/10 – Semifinals

12:30 p.m. (ESPNU) (1) Harvard vs. (4) Cornell.  Predicted winner:  Harvard

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

3/11 – Finals

12 p.m. (ESPN2) (1) Harvard vs. (2) Penn.  Predicted winner:  Penn

MAC (March 5, 8-10; first round at campus of higher seed and remaining rounds in Cleveland)

3/9 – Semifinals

6:30 p.m. (CBSSN) (1) Buffalo vs. (5) Kent State.  Predicted winner:  Buffalo

9 p.m. (CBSSN) (2) Toledo vs. (3) Eastern Michigan.  Predicted winner:  Toledo

3/10 – Finals

7 p.m. (ESPN2) (1) Buffalo vs. (2) Toledo.  Predicted winner:  Buffalo

MEAC (March 5-10; Norfolk, VA)

3/9 – Semifinals

6:00 p.m. (1) Hampton vs. (4) North Carolina A&T.  Predicted winner:  North Carolina A&T

8:00 p.m. (7) Morgan State vs. (6) North Carolina Central.  Predicted winner:  North Carolina Central

3/10 – Final

1:00 p.m. (ESPN2) (6) North Carolina Central vs. (4) North Carolina A&T.  Predicted winner:  North Carolina A&T

Mountain West (March 7-10; Las Vegas)

3/9 – Semifinals

9 p.m. (CBSSN) (1) Nevada vs. (5) San Diego State.  Predicted winner:  Nevada

11:30 p.m. (CBSSN) (7) Utah State vs. (3) New Mexico.  Predicted winner:  New Mexico

3/10 – Finals

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

Pac-12 (March 7-10; Las Vegas)

3/9 – Semifinals

9 p.m. (Pac-12 Network) (1) Arizona vs. (4) UCLA.  Predicted winner:  UCLA

11:30 p.m. (FS1) (2) USC vs. (6) Oregon.  Predicted winner:  USC

3/10 – Finals

10 p.m. (FS1) (2) USC vs. (4) UCLA.  Predicted winner:  USC

SEC (March 7-11; St. Louis)

3/9 – Quarterfinals

1 p.m. (ESPN) (1) Auburn vs. (9) Alabama.  Predicted winner:  Auburn

3:30 p.m. (ESPN) (4) Kentucky vs. (12) Georgia.  Predicted winner:  Kentucky

7 p.m. (SEC Network) (2) Tennessee vs. (7) Mississippi State.  Predicted winner:  Tennessee

9:30 p.m. (SEC Network) (3) Florida vs. (6) Arkansas.  Predicted winner:  Florida

3/10 – Semifinals

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

3:30 p.m. (ESPN) (2) Tennessee vs. (3) Florida.  Predicted winner:  Florida

3/11 – Finals

1 p.m. (ESPN) (3) Florida vs. (4) Kentucky.  Predicted winner:  Kentucky

Southland (March 7-10; Katy, TX)

3/9 – Semifinals

6 p.m. (ESPN3) (1) Southeastern Louisiana vs. (4) Sam Houston State.  Predicted winner:  Southeastern Louisiana

8:30 p.m. (ESPN3) (2) Nicholls State vs. (3) Stephen F. Austin.  Predicted winner:  Stephen F. Austin

3/10 – Finals

9:30 p.m. (ESPN2) (1) Southeastern Louisiana vs. (3) Stephen F. Austin.  Predicted winner:  Stephen F. Austin

Sun Belt (March 7, 9-11; New Orleans)

3/9 – Quarterfinals

12:30 p.m. (ESPN3) (1) Louisiana-Lafayette vs. (9) Texas State.  Predicted winner:  Louisiana-Lafayette

3 p.m. (ESPN3) (4) Texas-Arlington vs. (5) Appalachian State.  Predicted winner:  Texas-Arlington

6 p.m. (ESPN3) (2) Georgia State vs. (7) Louisiana-Monroe.  Predicted winner:  Georgia State

8:30 p.m. (ESPN3) (3) Georgia Southern vs. (6) Troy.  Predicted winner:  Georgia Southern

3/10 – Semifinals

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

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

3/11 – Finals

2 p.m. (ESPN) (1) Louisiana-Lafayette vs. (2) Georgia State.  Predicted winner:  Louisiana-Lafayette

SWAC (March 6, 9-10; quarterfinals at campus of higher seed, remaining games in Houston)

3/9 – Semifinals

3:30 p.m. (1) Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. (4) Southern.  Predicted winner:  Southern

9:30 p.m. (2) Prairie View A&M vs. (3) Texas Southern.  Predicted winner:  Texas Southern

3/10 – Finals

4 p.m. (TBD) (3) Texas Southern vs. (4) Southern.  Predicted winner:  Southern

WAC (March 8-10; Las Vegas)

3/9 – Semifinals

9 p.m. (ESPN3) (1) New Mexico State vs. (4) Seattle.  Predicted winner:  New Mexico State

11:30 p.m. (ESPN3) (2) Utah Valley vs. (3) Grand Canyon.  Predicted winner:  Grand Canyon

3/10 – Finals 

10 p.m. (ESPNU) (1) New Mexico State vs. (3) Grand Canyon.  Predicted winner:  New Mexico State