Updated Championship Week Predictions: "When Worlds Collide"

This is my 5000th (!) post on GMYH, and if it wasn't gonna be Hair Band Friday, I'm glad it was a March Madness post.  In honor of this unholiest of milestones, today's song is Poweman 5000's "When Worlds Collide."

Yesterday was another disastrous one for many bubble teams, but I think the biggest news was previously unbeaten and MAC 1-seed Miami (OH)'s inexplicable loss to 8-seed UMass in the MAC Tournament quarterfinals.  How the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee handles the RedHawks will be interesting, but with the number of bubble teams shitting the bed this week, it's quite possible the MAC is a two-bid league this year.

It was also a day filled with a lot of close games.  Out of the 44 games yesterday, 28 were decided by ten points or less, 16 were decided by five points or less, and we had 3 overtime games.

With Miami (OH)'s loss, that means we're up to eleven 1-seeds that have lost in this year's Championship Week:  Belmont (MVC), Bethune-Cookman (SWAC), Central Arkansas (A-Sun), East Tennessee State (SoCon), Liberty (C-USA), Merrimack (MAAC), Miami (OH) (MAC), Navy (Patriot), Portland State (Big Sky), Stephen F. Austin (Southland), UNC Wilmington (CAA).  It should be a fun and competitive NIT.

And today, from tip off of the St. Louis/George Washington game in the A-10 Tournament quarterfinals at 11:30 a.m. ET to the end of the Mountain West semifinal between San Diego State and New Mexico, which is scheduled to tip at 11:59 p.m. ET, we have 34 conference tournament games over about 15 hours.

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

• In the ACC quarterfinals, injury-riddled top seed Duke survived a major scare and beat 8-seed Florida State, 80-79, 2-seed Virginia ousted 7-seed NC State, 81-74, 3-seed Miami dropped 6-seed Louisville, 78-73, and 5-seed Clemson early blew a 15-point lead with five minutes left, but held on to beat 4-seed North Carolina, 80-79, to advance to today's semifinals.
• In the Big 12 quarters, 1-seed Arizona dominated 8-seed UCF, 81-59, 2-seed Houston snuck by 10-seed BYU, 73-66, 3-seed Kansas outlasted 6-seed TCU in a back-and-forth 78-73 affair, and 5-seed Iowa State made easy work of 4-seed Texas Tech, 75-53, to advance to today's semifinals.
• In the Big East quarterfinals, top seed St. John's cruised by 9-seed Providence, 85-72, 2-seed UConn crushed 10-seed Xavier, 93-68, 11-seed Georgetown upset 3-seed Villanova, 78-64, and 4-seed Seton Hall topped 5-seed Creighton, 72-61, to advance to today's semifinals.
• In the Big West quarters, 3-seed Cal State Fullerton downed 6-seed UC Davis, 82-70, and 4-seed Cal State Northridge stopped 5-seed UC San Diego, 80-70, to advance to today's semifinals.
• In the second half of the Conference USA quarters, 6-seed Kennesaw State upset 3-seed Western Kentucky, 96-87, and 4-seed Louisiana Tech dropped 5-seed Middle Tennessee State, to advance to today's semifinals.
• In the miggity-miggity-miggity-miggity-miggity-miggity-MAC quarterfinals, as noted above 8-seed UMass upset previously unbeaten 1-seed Miami (OH), 87-83, 2-seed Akron snuck by 7-seed Buffalo, 73-70, 3-seed Kent State handled 6-seed Ohio, 86-75, and 4-seed Toledo made two free throws with 10 seconds left to beat 5-seed Bowling Green, 77-76, to advance to today's semifinals.
• In the second half of the MEAC quarterfinals, 3-seed North Carolina Central needed OT to dispense with 6-seed Maryland Eastern Shore, 83-76, and 5-seed South Carolina State bounced 4-seed Norfolk State, 88-82, to advance to today's semifinals.
• In the Mountain West quarters, top seed Utah State dominated 8-seed UNLV, 80-60, 2-seed San Diego State beat 7-seed Colorado State, 71-62, 3-seed New Mexico toppled 11-seed San Jose State, 93-77, and 5-seed Nevada held off 4-seed Grand Canyon, 84-80, to advance to today's semifinals.
• In the second half of the SWAC quarterfinals, 3-seed Southern survived 6-seed Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 84-81, and 5-seed Alabama A&M beat 4-seed Texas Southern, 85-74, to advance to today's semifinals.
• In the wiggity-wiggity-wiggity-wiggity-wiggity-wiggity-WAC quarterfinals, 3-seed Utah Tech beat 6-seed Abilene Christian, 80-74, and 4-seed UT Arlington topped 5-seed Southern Utah, 69-63, to advance to today's semifinals.
• In the Third Round of the Big Ten, 5-seed Wisconsin squeezed by 12-seed Washington, 72-69, 6-seed UCLA got the first triple-double in Big Ten Tournament history from Donovan Dent to take down 14-seed Rutgers, 72-59, 7-seed Purdue beat 15-seed Northwestern, 81-68, and 8-seed Ohio State outlasted 9-seed Iowa, 72-69, to advance to today's quarterfinals.
• In the Second Round of the AAC, 5-seed Charlotte took down 9-seed Tulane, 74-60, and 6-seed North Texas toughed out a 74-70 win over 7-seed FAU, to advance to today's quarterfinals.
• In the Second Round of the A-10, 13-seed St. Bonaventure upset 5-seed George Mason, 63-57, 6-seed Davidson survived 14-seed Loyola (IL), 64-59 in OT, 7-seed Duquesne topped 10-seed Rhode Island, 67-61, and 9-seed George Washington beat 8-seed Fordham, 66-62, to advance to today's quarterfinals.
• In the Second Round of the SEC, 5-seed Tennessee pulled away late to beat 12-seed Auburn, 72-62, 11-seed Oklahoma significantly helped its NCAA Tournament hopes with a convincing 83-63 win over 6-seed Texas A&M, 15-seed Mississippi upset 7-seed Georgia, 76-72, and 9-seed Kentucky took out 8-seed Missouri, 78-72, to advance to today's quarterfinals.
• No conference tournaments start today, and 14 conference tournaments have games today.
• 4 conference tournaments have quarterfinals today (AAC, A-10, Big Ten, SEC), 10 conference tournaments have semifinals today (ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big West, C-USA, MAC, MEAC, Mountain West, SWAC, WAC), and no conference tournaments have championship games until tomorrow.
• Here are the teams that have never been to the NCAA Tournament (not including teams who are ineligible for this year's NCAA Tournament) that are still alive:
• WAC:  1-seed Utah Valley, 2-seed Cal Baptist, 3-seed Utah Tech
• Bubble teams that won yesterday (in conference tournaments):  New Mexico, Ohio State, Oklahoma, San Diego State, Seton Hall, UCLA
• Bubble teams that lost yesterday (in conference tournaments):  Auburn, Iowa, Miami (OH), Missouri, NC State, Texas A&M, TCU, UCF
• Bubble teams that have not yet started conference tournaments:   South Florida, St. Louis, VCU

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 Ten

-Big West

-Conference USA

-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 15)

-ACC (March 14)

-America East (March 14)

-Atlantic 10 (March 15)

-Atlantic Sun:  Queens (1)

-Big 12 (March 14)

-Big East (March 14)

-Big Sky:  Idaho (5; 1990)

-Big South:  High Point (2; 2025)

-Big Ten (March 15)

-Big West (March 14)

-Coastal:  Hofstra (5; 2001)

-Conference USA (March 14)

-Horizon:  Wright State (5; 2022)

-Ivy League (March 15)

-MAAC:  Siena (7; 2010)

-MAC (March 14)

-MEAC (March 14)

-Missouri Valley:  Northern Iowa (9; 2016)

-Mountain West (March 14)

-Northeast Conference:  LIU (8; 2018)

-Ohio Valley:  Tennessee State (3; 1994)

-Patriot League:  Lehigh (6; 2012)

-SEC (March 15)

-Southern Conference:  Furman (8; 2023)

-Southland:  McNeese (5; 2025)

-Summit:  North Dakota State (5; 2019)

-Sun Belt:  Troy (4; 2025)

-SWAC (March 14)

-WAC (March 14)

-West Coast:  Gonzaga (28; 2025)

Remaining Tournaments (all times are Eastern)

AAC (March 11-15; Birmingham)

3/13 – Quarterfinals

1 p.m. (ESPN2) (4) UAB vs. (5) Charlotte.  Predicted winner:  UAB

9 p.m. (ESPN2) (3) Tulsa vs. (6) North Texas.  Predicted winner:  Tulsa

3/14 – Semifinals

3 p.m. (ESPN2) (1) South Florida vs. (4) UAB.  Predicted winner:  South Florida

5:30 p.m. (ESPN2) (2) Wichita State vs. (3) Tulsa.  Predicted winner:  Wichita State

3/15 – Finals

3:15 p.m. (ESPN) (1) South Florida vs. (2) Wichita State.  Predicted winner:  Wichita State

ACC (March 10-14; Charlotte)

3/13 – Semifinals

7 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2) (2) Virginia vs. (3) Miami (FL).  Predicted winner:  Virginia

9:30 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2) (1) Duke vs. (5) Clemson.  Predicted winner:  Duke

3/14 – Finals

8:30 p.m. (ESPN) (1) Duke vs. (2) Virginia.  Predicted winner:  Duke

America East (March 7, 10, 14; campus of higher seed)

3/14 – Finals

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

Atlantic 10 (March 11-15; Pittsburgh)

3/13 – Quarterfinals

11:30 a.m. (USA) (1) St. Louis vs. (9) George Washington.  Predicted winner:  St. Louis

2 p.m. (USA) (4) Dayton vs. (13) St. Bonaventure.  Predicted winner:  Dayton

5 p.m. (USA) (2) VCU vs. (7) Duquesne.  Predicted winner:  VCU

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

3/14 – Semifinals

1 p.m. (CBSSN) (1) St. Louis vs. (4) Dayton.  Predicted winner:  St. Louis

3:30 p.m. (CBSSN) (2) VCU vs. (3) St. Joseph's.  Predicted winner:  VCU

3/15 – Finals

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

Big 12 (March 10-14; Kansas City)

3/13 – Semifinals

7 p.m. (ESPN2) (1) Arizona vs. (5) Iowa State.  Predicted winner:  Iowa State

9:30 p.m. (ESPN2) (2) Houston vs. (3) Kansas.  Predicted winner:  Houston

3/14 – Finals

6 p.m. (ESPN) (2) Houston vs. (5) Iowa State.  Predicted winner:  Houston

Big East (March 11-14; New York)

3/13 – Semifinals

5:30 p.m. (Fox) (1) St. John's vs. (4) Seton Hall.  Predicted winner:  St. John's

8 p.m. (FS1) (2) UConn vs. (11) Georgetown.  Predicted winner:  UConn

3/14 – Finals

6:30 p.m. (Fox) (1) St. John's v. (2) UConn.  Predicted winner:  UConn

Big Ten (March 10-15; Chicago)

3/13 – Quarterfinals

12 p.m. (BTN) (1) Michigan vs. (8) Ohio State.  Predicted winner:  Michigan

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

6:30 p.m. (BTN) (2) Nebraska vs. (7) Purdue.  Predicted winner:  Nebraska

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

3/14 – Semifinals

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

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

3/15 – Finals

3:30 p.m. (CBS) (3) Michigan State vs. (4) Illinois.  Predicted winner:  Michigan State

Big West (March 11-14; Henderson, NV)

3/13 – Semifinals

9 p.m. (ESPNU) (1) UC Irvine vs. (4) Cal State Northridge.  Predicted winner:  UC Irvine

11:30 p.m. (ESPN2) (2) Hawaii vs. (3) Cal State Fullerton.  Predicted winner:  Hawaii

3/14 – Finals

10 p.m. (ESPN2) (1) UC Irvine vs. (2) Hawaii.  Predicted winner:  UC Irvine

Conference USA (March 10-14; Huntsville, AL)

3/13 – Semifinals

12:30 p.m. (CBSSN) (4) Louisiana Tech vs. (9) Missouri State.  Predicted winner:  Louisiana Tech

3 p.m. (CBSSN) (2) Sam Houston vs. (6) Kennesaw State.  Predicted winner:  Sam Houston

3/14 – Finals

8:30 p.m. (CBSSN) (2) Sam Houston vs. (4) Louisiana Tech.  Predicted winner:  Sam Houston

Ivy League (March 14-15; Ithaca, NY)

3/14 - Semifinals

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

2 p.m. (ESPNews) (2) Harvard vs. (3) Penn.  Predicted winner:  Harvard

3/15 - Finals

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

MAC (March 12-14; Cleveland)

3/13 – Semifinals

5 p.m. (CBSSN) (4) Toledo vs. (8) UMass.  Predicted winner:  Toledo

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

3/14 – Finals

8 p.m. (ESPN2) (2) Akron vs. (4) Toledo.  Predicted winner:  Akron

MEAC (March 11-14; Norfolk, VA)

3/13 – Semifinals

6 p.m. (ESPN+) (1) Howard vs. (5) South Carolina State.  Predicted winner:  Howard

8 p.m. (ESPN+) (3) North Carolina Central vs. (7) Delaware State.  Predicted winner:  North Carolina Central

3/14 – Final

1:00 p.m. (TBD) (1) Howard vs. (3) North Carolina Central.  Predicted winner:  Howard

Mountain West (March 11-14; Paradise, NV)

3/13 – Semifinals

9:30 p.m. (CBSSN) (1) Utah State vs. (5) Nevada.  Predicted winner:  Utah State

11:59 p.m. (CBSSN) (2) San Diego State vs. (3) New Mexico.  Predicted winner:  San Diego State

3/14 – Finals

6 p.m. (CBS) (1) Utah State vs. (2) San Diego State.  Predicted winner:  Utah State

SEC (March 11-15; Nashville)

3/13 – Quarterfinals

1 p.m. (ESPN) (1) Florida vs. (9) Kentucky.  Predicted winner:  Florida

3:30 p.m. (ESPN) (4) Vanderbilt vs. (5) Tennessee.  Predicted winner:  Tennessee

7 p.m. (SEC Network) (2) Alabama vs. (15) Mississippi.  Predicted winner:  Alabama

9:30 p.m. (SEC Network) (3) Arkansas vs. (11) Oklahoma.  Predicted winner:  Arkansas

3/14 – Semifinals

1 p.m. (ESPN) (1) Florida vs. (5) Tennessee.  Predicted winner:  Tennessee

3:30 p.m. (ESPN) (2) Alabama vs. (3) Arkansas.  Predicted winner:  Alabama

3/15 – Finals

1 p.m. (ESPN) (2) Alabama vs. (5) Tennessee.  Predicted winner:  Alabama

SWAC (March 9-14; Atlanta)

3/13 – Semifinals

2 p.m. (ESPN+) (5) Alabama A&M vs. (8) Prairie View A&M.  Predicted winner:  Texas Southern

8:30 p.m. (ESPN+) (2) Florida A&M vs. (3) Southern.  Predicted winner:  Florida A&M

3/14 – Finals

7:30 p.m. (TBD) (2) Florida A&M vs. (5) Alabama A&M.  Predicted winner:  Florida A&M

WAC (March 11-14; Paradise, NV)

3/13 – Semifinals

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

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

3/14 – Finals

11:59 p.m. (ESPN2) (1) Utah Valley vs. (2) Cal Baptist.  Predicted winner:  Utah Valley