Updated Championship Week Predictions: "Dance the Night Away"

Today's Championship Week theme song is Van Halen's sublime "Dance the Night Away," as it's all semifinals and finals from here on out, and 20 tickets to the Big Dance are going to be punched today and well into the night.  Yesterday was another exciting day of college hoops, with upsets galore, including seven 1-seeds falling in the semifinals or quarterfinals (North Texas and Middle Tennessee State in the Conference USA semis, Toledo in the MAC semis, Nicholls in the Southland semis, Providence in the Big East semis, Illinois in the Big Ten quarterfinals, and Auburn in the SEC quarterfinals).  28 out of 44 games were decided by single digits.  Today, we have 25 games over the course of 15 hours, beginning with America East title game between Vermont and UMC and the first Ivy League semi between Princeton and Cornell tipping off at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, and ending with the Big West title game between Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton tipping off at 11:30 p.m. Eastern.

Here's what happened in yesterday's action:

• In the ACC semis, 1-seed Duke staved off 4-seed Miami, 80-76, and 7-seed Virginia Tech upset 3-seed North Carolina in convincing fashion, 72-59 -- their biggest win over UNC since Harry Truman was president -- to advance to tonight's title game.  The Blue Devils are a lock for the Big Dance and will be playing in their 44th NCAA Tournament and first since 2019, while the Hokies may still need a win to secure their 13th NCAA Tournament bid and second in a row.
• In the Big 12 semis, top seed Kansas beat 5-seed TCU, 75-62, and 3-seed Texas Tech escaped with a 56-55 win over 7-seed Oklahoma, to advance to tonight's title game. Both are locks for the Big Dance. The Jayhawks will be playing in their 50th NCAA Tournament and second in a row, while the Red Raiders will be playing in their 20th NCAA Tournament and second in a row.
• In the Big East semifinals, 4-seed Creighton annihilated 1-seed Providence, 85-58, while 2-seed Villanova beat 3-seed UConn in a 63-60 thriller.  When they face off in tonight's final, both are locks for the NCAA Tournament.  The Bluejays will be playing in their 23rd NCAA Tournament and second in a row, and the Wildcats will be playing in their 41st NCAA Tournament and second in a row.
• In the Big Sky semis, top seed Montana State avoided an upset by 4-seed Weber State with a 69-66 win, and 3-seed Northern Colorado came back to beat 7-seed Portland State, 86-79, to advance to tonight's championship game, where the Bobcats play for their 4th trip to the Big Dance and first since 1996, while the Bears will be playing for their 2nd trip and first since 2011.
• In the Big West semifinals, 1-seed Long Beach State beat 5-seed UC Santa Barbara, 67-64, on a buzzer-beating three, while 2-seed Cal State Fullerton beat 3-seed Hawaii, 58-46.  When they meet in tonight's title game, the 49ers will be seeking their 10th NCAA Tournament bid and first since 2012, and the Titans will be seeking their 4th bid and first since 2018.
• In the Conference USA semis, West 3-seed Louisiana Tech upset West 1-seed (and bubble team) North Texas in a 42-36 rock fight -- the lowest-scoring game in Division 1 this season -- while on the other hand, and West 2-seed UAB and East 1-seed Middle Tennessee State played the most exciting game of the day, with UAB winning 102-98, in triple overtime.  When they face off in tonight's final, the Bulldogs will be playing for their 6th trip to the NCAA Tournament and first since 1991, while the Blazers will be playing for their 16th trip and first since 2015, when they beat Iowa State in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament as a 14-seed.
• In the MAAC semis, 2-seed St. Peter's ended 11-seed Quinnipiac's unlikely quest for its first NCAA Tournament bid with a 64-52 win, and 4-seed Monmouth beat 9-seed Rider, 72-68.  When they match up in this afternoon's title game, the Peacock will be playing for their 4th trip to the Big Dance and first since 2011 Peacocks, and the Hawks will be playing for their 5th trip and first since 2006.
• In the MAC semifinals, 4-seed Akron upset top seed Toledo, 70-62, while 2-seed Kent State beat 3-seed Ohio, 67-61, to advance to tonight's final.  The Zips will be playing for their 5th NCAA Tournament berth and first since 2013, Golden Flashes will be playing for their 7th berth and first since 2017.
• In the MEAC semis, 1-seed Norfolk State downed 4-seed Morgan State, 72-63, and 7-seed Coppin State upset 3-seed North Carolina Central, 79-73.  In this afternoon's championship game, the Spartans will be seeking their 3rd NCAA Tournament appearance and second in a row, Eagles will be seeking their 5th appearance and first since 2008.
• In the Mountain West semis, all four teams remaining were firmly on the bubble.  Top seed Boise State survived against 4-seed Wyoming, 68-61, while 3-seed San Diego State beat 2-seed Colorado State, 63-58.  When they meet in this evening's title game, the Broncos will be playing for their 8th trip to the Big Dance and first since 2015, and the Aztecs will be playing for their 14th and second in a row, though both are likely in the Tournament regardless.
• In the Pac-12 semifinals, 1-seed Arizona beat 4-seed Colorado, 82-72, and 2-seed UCLA beat rival 3-seed USC, 69-59, to advance to tonight's finals.  Both teams are locks for the NCAA Tournament.  The Wildcats will be playing in their 36th and first since 2018, and the Bruins will be playing in their 51st and second in a row.
• In the Southland semis, 4-seed Texas A&M CC upset top seed Nicholls, 71-64, and 2-seed Southeastern Louisiana beat 3-seed New Orleans, 74-65.  When they face off in tonight's final, the Islanders will be playing for their 2nd NCAA Tournament berth and first since 2007, and the Lions will also be playing for their 2nd berth and first since 2005.
• In the SWAC semis, top seed Alcorn State topped 5-seed Alabama A&M, 69-64, and 2-seed Texas Southern made easy work of 6-seed Grambling, 73-54, to advance to this evening's title game, where the Braves will be playing for their 7th bid to the NCAA Tournament and first since 2002, and the Tigers will be playing for their 10th bid and second in a row.
• In the WAC semifinals, 1-seed New Mexico State held off 4-seed Grand Canyon, 75-70, and 6-seed Abilene Christian beat 2-seed Seattle in an exciting 78-76 contest.  When they meet in tonight's championship game, the Aggies will be seeking their 26th trip to the Big Dance and first since 2019, and the Wildcats will be seeking their 3rd trip and second in a row, as last year, they were a member of the Southland Conference and beat Texas in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament as a 14-seed.
• In the AAC quarterfinals, top seed Houston beat 8-seed Cincinnati, 69-56, 2-seed SMU crushed 10-seed Tulsa, 83-58, 3-seed Memphis beat up on 6-seed UCF, 85-69, and 5-seed Tulane beat 4-seed Temple, 69-60, to advance to today's semifinals.
• In the A-10 quarterfinals, 1-seed Davidson beat 8-seed Fordham, 74-56, 2-seed Dayton survived 10-seed UMass, 75-72, 6-seed Richmond upset 3-seed VCU, 75-64, likely ending the Rams' NCAA Tournament hopes, and 5-seed St. Louis beat 4-seed St. Bonaventure, 57-56, on a game-winning shot with 17 seconds left, to advance to today's semifinals.
• In the Big Ten quarterfinals, the top two seeds lost in the quarterfinals for the first time in the same year.  9-seed Indiana got its second huge victory in as many days, beating 1-seed Illinois in a thrilling 65-63 game, 7-seed Michigan State took down 2-seed Wisconsin, 69-63, 3-seed Purdue survived 11-seed Penn State, 69-61, and 5-seed Iowa ousted 4-seed Rutgers, 84-74, to advance to this afternoon's semifinals.
• In the SEC quarterfinals, 8-seed Texas A&M improved its NCAA Tournament resume with a 67-62 upset of 1-seed Auburn -- the Aggies' first win over a Top 5 team since 1980 -- 2-seed Tennessee beat 10-seed Mississippi State, 72-59, 3-seed Kentucky beat11-seed Vanderbilt, 77-71, and 4-seed Arkansas dropped 5-seed LSU, 79-67, to advance to today's semis.
• The last conference tournament start today (the Ivy League), and 20 conference tournaments have games today, including 15 championship games (ACC, America East, Big 12, Big East, Big Sky, Big West, C-USA, MAAC, MAC, MEAC, Mountain West, Pac-12, Southland, SWAC, WAC), and the remaining 5 with semifinals (AAC, A-10, Big Ten, Ivy League, SEC).
• Bubble teams that won yesterday:  Boise State, Creighton, Davidson, Dayton, Indiana, Memphis, Michigan State, San Diego State, SMU, St. Louis, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech
• Bubble teams that lost yesterday:  Colorado State, Miami, North Carolina, North Texas, Oklahoma, Rutgers, TCU, VCU, Wyoming

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

-Ivy League

Tournaments with games today

-AAC

-ACC

-Atlantic 10

-Big 12

-Big East

-Big Sky

-Big Ten

-Big West

-Conference USA

-Ivy League

-MAAC

-MAC

-MEAC

-Mountain West

-Pac-12

-SEC

-Southland

-SWAC

-WAC

Bids up for grabs today (all times Eastern)

-America East (11 a.m.; ESPN2):  (2) UMBC at (1) Vermont

-MEAC (1 p.m.; ESPN2):  (1) Norfolk State vs. (7) Coppin State

-MAAC (4 p.m.; ESPNU):  (2) St. Peter's vs. (4) Monmouth

-Big 12 (6 p.m.; ESPN):  (1) Kansas vs. (3) Texas Tech

-Mountain West (6 p.m.; CBS):  (1) Boise State vs. (3) San Diego State

-SWAC (6 p.m.; ESPNU):  (1) Alcorn State vs. (2) Texas Southern

-Big East (6:30 p.m.; Fox):  (2) Villanova vs. (4) Creighton

-MAC (7:30 p.m.; ESPN2):  (2) Kent State vs. (4) Akron

-Big Sky (8 p.m.; ESPNU):  (1) Montana State vs. (3) Northern Colorado

-ACC (8:30 p.m.; ESPN):  (1) Duke vs. (7) Virginia Tech

-Conference USA (8:30 p.m.; CBSSN):  (W2) UAB vs. (W3) Louisiana Tech

-Pac-12 (9 p.m.; Fox):  (1) Arizona vs. (2) UCLA

-Southland (9:30 p.m.; ESPN2):  (2) Southeastern Louisiana vs. (4) Texas A&M CC

-WAC (10 p.m.; ESPNU):  (1) New Mexico State vs. (6) Abilene Christian

-Big West (11:30 p.m.; ESPN):  (1) Long Beach State vs. (2) Cal State Fullerton

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 the year of the team's last NCAA Tournament appearance.  For conferences whose tournaments have not yet ended, I'll list the date of the championship game.)

-AAC (March 13)

-ACC (March 12)

-America East (March 12)

-Atlantic 10 (March 13)

-Atlantic Sun:  Jacksonville State (2; 2017)

-Big 12 (March 12)

-Big East (March 12)

-Big Sky (March 12)

-Big South:  Longwood (1; never)

-Big Ten (March 13)

-Big West (March 12)

-Colonial:  Delaware (6; 2014)

-Conference USA (March 12)

-Horizon:  Wright State (4; 2018)

-Ivy League (March 13)

-MAAC (March 12)

-MAC (March 12)

-MEAC (March 12)

-Missouri Valley:  Loyola (IL) (8; 2021)

-Mountain West (March 12)

-Northeast Conference:  Bryant (1; never)

-Ohio Valley:  Murray State (19; 2019)

-Pac-12 (March 12)

-Patriot League:  Colgate (5; 2021)

-SEC (March 13)

-Southern Conference:  Chattanooga (12; 2016)

-Southland (March 12)

-Summit:  South Dakota State (6; 2018)

-Sun Belt:  Georgia State (6; 2019)

-SWAC (March 12)

-WAC (March 12)

-West Coast:  Gonzaga (24; 2021)

Remaining Tournaments (all times are Eastern)

AAC (March 10-13; Fort Worth)

3/12 – Semifinals

3 p.m. (ESPN2) (1) Houston vs. (5) Tulane.  Predicted winner:  Houston

5 p.m. (ESPN2) (2) SMU vs. (3) Memphis.  Predicted winner:  Memphis

3/13 – Finals

3:15 p.m. (ESPN) (1) Houston vs. (3) Memphis.  Predicted winner:  Houston

ACC (March 8-12; Brooklyn)

3/12 – Finals

8:30 p.m. (ESPN) (1) Duke vs. (7) Virginia Tech.  Predicted winner:  Duke

America East (March 6, 9, 12; campus of higher seed for semis and final)

3/12 – Finals

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

Atlantic 10 (March 9-13; Washington, DC)

3/12 – Semifinals

1 p.m. (CBSSN) (1) Davidson vs. (5) St. Louis.  Predicted winner:  Davidson

3:30 p.m. (CBSSN) (2) Dayton vs. (6) Richmond.  Predicted winner:  Dayton

3/13 – Finals

1 p.m. (CBS) (1) Davidson vs. (2) Dayton.  Predicted winner:  Davidson

Big 12 (March 9-12; Kansas City)

3/12 – Finals

6 p.m. (ESPN) (1) Kansas vs. (3) Texas Tech.  Predicted winner:  Texas Tech

Big East (March 9-12; New York)

3/12 – Finals

6:30 p.m. (Fox) (2) Villanova vs. (4) Creighton.  Predicted winner:  Villanova

Big Sky (March 9-12; Boise)

3/12 – Finals

8 p.m. (ESPNU) (1) Montana State vs. (3) Northern Colorado.  Predicted winner:  Montana State

Big Ten (March 9-13; Indianapolis)

3/12 – Semifinals

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

3:30 p.m. (CBS) (3) Purdue vs. (7) Michigan State.  Predicted winner:  Michigan State

3/13 – Finals

3:30 p.m. (CBS) (5) Iowa vs. (7) Michigan State.  Predicted winner:  Michigan State

Big West (March 8, 10-12; Henderson, NV)

3/12 – Finals

11:30 p.m. (ESPN) (1) Long Beach State vs. (2) Cal State Fullerton.  Predicted winner:  Cal State Fullerton

Conference USA (March 8-12; Frisco, TX)

3/12 – Finals

8:30 p.m. (CBSSN) (W2) UAB vs. (W3) Louisiana Tech.  Predicted winner:  UAB

Ivy League (March 12-13; Boston)

3/12 - Semifinals

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

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

3/13 - Finals

Noon (ESPN2) (1) Princeton vs. (2) Yale.  Predicted winner:  Princeton

MAAC (March 8-12; Atlantic City, NJ)

3/12 – Finals

4 p.m. (ESPNU) (2) St. Peter's vs. (4) Monmouth.  Predicted winner:  St. Peter's

MAC (March 10-12; Cleveland)

3/12 – Finals

7:30 p.m. (ESPN2) (2) Kent State vs. (4) Akron.  Predicted winner:  Kent State

MEAC (March 9-12; Norfolk, VA)

3/12 – Final

1:00 p.m. (ESPN2) (1) Norfolk State vs. (7) Coppin State.  Predicted winner:  Norfolk State

Mountain West (March 9-12; Las Vegas)

3/12 – Finals

6 p.m. (CBS) (1) Boise State vs. (3) San Diego State.  Predicted winner:  San Diego State

Pac-12 (March 9-12; Paradise, NV)

3/12 – Finals

9 p.m. (Fox) (1) Arizona vs. (2) UCLA.  Predicted winner:  UCLA

SEC (March 9-13; Tampa)

3/12 – Semifinals

1 p.m. (ESPN) (4) Arkansas vs. (8) Texas A&M.  Predicted winner:  Arkansas

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

3/13 – Finals

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

Southland (March 9-12; Katy, TX)

3/12 – Finals

9:30 p.m. (ESPN2) (2) Southeastern Louisiana vs. (4) Texas A&M CC.  Predicted winner:  Southeastern Louisiana

SWAC (March 9-12; Birmingham, AL)

3/12 – Finals

6 p.m. (ESPNU) (1) Alcorn State vs. (2) Texas Southern.  Predicted winner:  Texas Southern

WAC (March 8-12; Paradise, NV)

3/12 – Finals

10 p.m. (ESPNU) (1) New Mexico State vs. (6) Abilene Christian.  Predicted winner:  New Mexico State