Final Championship Week Predictions: "Got to Choose"

Today's Championship Week theme song is KISS's 1974 song "Got to Choose" because, baby, you know I heard the neighbors say, today is Selection Sunday!  Do the right thing, Chris Reynolds.

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

• In the ACC final, 4-seed Duke beat 2-seed Virginia, 59-49.  What an awful game to watch.  Anyway, the Blue Devils will be playing in their 45th NCAA Tournament and second in a row.
• In the America East championship, top seed Vermont handled 2-seed UMass Lowell, 72-59, clinching the Catamounts' 9th NCAA Tournament bid and second in a row.
• In the Big 12 title game, 2-seed Texas beat the shit out of 1-seed Kansas, 76-56, to seal the Longhorns' 37th NCAA Tournament berth and third in a row.
• In the Big East championship, top seed Marquette outlasted 2-seed Xavier, 65-51.  The Golden Eagles will be going to their 35th NCAA Tournament and second in a row.
• In the Big West final, 2-seed UC Santa Barbara topped 4-seed Cal State Fullerton, 72-62.  The Gauchos will be playing in their 7th NCAA Tournament and first since 2021.
• In the C-USA title game, top seed FAU drubbed 3-seed UAB, 78-56.  The Owls will be playing in their 2nd NCAA Tournament and first since 2002.
• In the MAAC championship, 1-seed Iona dominated 11-seed Marist, 76-55.  The Gaels  will be playing in their 16th NCAA Tournament and first since 2021.
• In the all-Ohio MAC final, 2-seed Kent State upended top-seed Toledo, 93-78.  The Golden Flashes will be playing in their 7th Big Dance and first since 2017.
• In the MEAC championship game, 1-seed Howard edged 3-seed Norfolk State, 65-64, to clinch the Bison's 3rd NCAA Tournament bid and first since 1992.
• In the MWC title game, top seed San Diego State held off 3-seed Utah State, 62-57, the Aztecs will be playing in their 15th Big Dance and third in a row.
• In the Pac-12 final, 2-seed Arizona beat 1-seed UCLA in a 61-59 thriller.  The Wildcats will be playing in their 36th and second in a row.
• In the SWAC championship, 8-seed Texas Southern prevented 2-seed Grambling from reaching is first NCAA Tournament, winning 61-58.  The Tigers will be playing in their 11th NCAA Tournament and 3rd in a row, and they won their 7th SWAC Tournament title in the last nine -- as an 8-seed!
• In the WAC final, 5-seed Grand Canyon trounced 3-seed Southern Utah, 84-66, to clinch the Antelopes second trip to the Big Dance and first since 2021.
• In the AAC semis, the top two seeds dominated, as 1-seed Houston destroyed  4-seed Cincinnati, 60-46, and 2-seed Memphis crushed 6-seed Wichita State, 82-76, to advance to tonight's semis.
• In the A-10 semis, 1-seed VCU took care of 4-seed St. Louis, 90-78, and 2-seed Dayton beat 3-seed Fordham.  When the meet in today's title game, the Rams will be seeking their 19th NCAA Tournament berth and first since 2021, and the Flyers will be seeking their 19th and first since 2017.
• In the Big Ten semifinals, top seed Purdue took down 13-seed Ohio State, 80-66, and 10-seed Penn State topped my beloved 3-seed Indiana, 77-73.  Both should be locks for the NCAA Tournament.  The Boilermakers -- who haven't been the the Final Four since 1980 -- will be playing in their 34th NCAA Tournament and second in a row, and the Nittany Lions will be playing for their 11th and first since 2011.
• In the Ivy League semis, top seed Yale crushed 4-seed Cornell, 80-60, and 2-seed Princeton held off 3-seed Penn, 77-70.  When they meet in tomorrow's title game, the Bulldogs will be playing for their 7th NCAA Tournament and second in a row.
• In the SEC semifinals, 1-seed Alabama cruised to a 72-61 win over 4-seed Missouri, and 2-seed Texas A&M routed 6-seed Vanderbilt, 87-75.  Both are locks for the Big Dance.  The Crimson Tide will be playing in their 24th NCAA Tournament and third in a row, and the Aggies will be playing in their 15th and first since 2019.
• Bubble teams that won yesterday:  FAU, Memphis, Penn State
• Bubble teams that lost yesterday:  Missouri, Utah State, Vanderbilt

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

-Atlantic 10

-Big Ten

-Ivy League

-SEC

Bids up for grabs today (all times Eastern)

-Ivy League (Noon; ESPN2):  (1) Yale vs. (2) Princeton

-Atlantic 10 (1 p.m.; CBS):   (1) VCU vs. (2) Dayton

-SEC (1 p.m.; ESPN):  (1) Alabama vs. (2) Texas A&M

-AAC (3:15 p.m.; ESPN):  (1) Houston vs. (2) Memphis

-Big Ten (3:30 p.m.; CBS):  (1) Purdue vs. (10) Penn State

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 12)

-ACC:  Duke (45)

-America East:  Vermont (9)

-Atlantic 10 (March 12)

-Atlantic Sun:  Kennesaw State (1)

-Big 12:  Texas (37)

-Big East:  Marquette (35)

-Big Sky:  Montana State (5)

-Big South:  UNC Asheville (5)

-Big Ten (March 12)

-Big West:  UC Santa Barbara (7)

-Colonial:  Charleston (6)

-Conference:  FAU (2)

-Horizon:  Northern Kentucky (3)

-Ivy League (March 12)

-MAAC:  Iona (16)

-MAC:  Kent State (7)

-MEAC:  Howard (3)

-Missouri Valley:  Drake (6)

-Mountain West;  San Diego State (15)

-Northeast Conference:  Fairleigh Dickinson (7)

-Ohio Valley:  Southeast Missouri State (2)

-Pac-12:  Arizona (36)

-Patriot League:  Colgate (6)

-SEC (March 12)

-Southern Conference:  Furman (7)

-Southland:  Texas A&M Corpus Christi (3)

-Summit:  Oral Roberts (6)

-Sun Belt:  Louisiana (11)

-SWAC:  Texas Southern (11)

-WAC:  Grand Canyon (2)

-West Coast:  Gonzaga (25)

Remaining Tournaments (all times are Eastern)

AAC (March 9-12; Fort Worth)

3/12 – Finals

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

Atlantic 10 (March 7-12; Brooklyn)

3/12 – Finals

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

Big Ten (March 8-12; Chicago)

3/12 – Finals

3:30 p.m. (CBS) (1) Purdue vs. (10) Penn State.  Predicted winner:  Penn State

Ivy League (March 11-12; Princeton, NJ)

3/12 - Finals

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

SEC (March 8-12; Nashville)

3/12 – Finals

1 p.m. (ESPN) (1) Alabama vs. (2) Texas A&M.  Predicted winner:  Alabama