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2025-26 Men’s College Basketball Exempt Multi-Team Event (MTE) Tracker

2025-07-26T11:52:38-04:00

Oklahoma won the 2024 Battle 4 Atlantis title, three wins that the Sooners really needed to make the 2025 NCAA Tournament. This year’s event is only half full. That’s a theme with the event tracker on the day after the National Championship game. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

A regularly-updated list of the 2025-26 men’s college basketball season’s exempt multiple-team events (MTEs). If you have any info to add to this page, please email it to mcbb dot mte dot info at gmail dot com.

Unannounced dates are tentative. An asterisk (*) indicates a pending conference move for the 2025-26 season.

Note that while I am no longer active on Twitter, I still regularly check the accounts referenced here. If you have updates, email me at mcbb dot mte dot info at gmail dot com.

Basic Info Links

General Rules: Multiple-Team Events (NCAA.org, PDF)

Multiple-Team Events: Frequently Asked Questions (NCAA.org, PDF)

Blanket Waiver for 2025-26 Q&A (NCAA.org, PDF)

Bracketed MTEs

Shriners Hospitals Charleston Classic (Nov. 21 and 23: Charleston, S.C.: 2 games)
Bracket 1: Clemson (ACC), Georgia (SEC), West Virginia (Big 12), Xavier (Big East)
Bracket 2: Boston College (ACC), Davidson (A 10), Tulane (American), Utah State (MW)

Baha Mar Bahamas Championship (Nov. 20 and 21: Nassau, Bahamas: 2 games)
Memphis (American), Purdue (Big Ten), Texas Tech (Big 12), Wake Forest (ACC)

Hall of Fame Classic (Nov. 20 and 21: Kansas City, 2 games)
Kansas State (Big 12), Mississippi State (SEC), Nebraska (Big Ten), New Mexico (MW)

U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam (Nov. 21–24: Charlotte Amalie, V.I., 3 games)
Akron (MAC), Charleston (CAA), Evansville (MVC), Green Bay (Horizon), Iona (MAAC), Oregon State (WCC, associate), UMass (MAC), Yale (Ivy)

Pensacola Bay Center MTE (Nov. 22 and 23: Pensacola, Fla., 2 games)
North Florida (ASUN), Prairie View A&M (SWAC), Southern Miss. (Sun Belt), UT Martin (OVC) (Rocco Miller)

Sunshine Slam (Nov. 24 and 25: Daytona Beach, Fla.: 2 games)
Beach Bracket: Florida Atlantic (American), George Mason (A 10), Loyola Marymount (WCC), Ohio (MAC)
Ocean Bracket: Bethune-Cookman (SWAC), Jacksonville (ASUN), Pacific (WCC), Stony Brook (CAA)

Southwest Maui Invitational (Nov. 24–26: Lahaina, Hawai‘i, 3 games)
Arizona State (Big 12), Boise State (MW), Chaminade (DII, PacWest), NC State (ACC), Seton Hall (Big East), Texas (SEC), USC (Big Ten), Washington State (WCC, associate)

Players Era Festival (Nov. 24-26: Las Vegas, 2 set games + 1 results-based game)
Alabama (SEC), Auburn (SEC), Baylor (Big 12), Creighton (Big East), Gonzaga (WCC), Houston (Big 12), Iowa State (Big 12), Kansas (Big 12), Maryland (Big Ten), Michigan (Big Ten), Notre Dame (ACC), Oregon (Big Ten), Rutgers (Big Ten), San Diego State (MW), St. John’s (Big East), Syracuse (ACC), Tennessee (SEC), UNLV (MW)

Acrisure Series (Palm Desert, Calif.)
Pod 1 (Nov. 25 and 26, 2 games): Loyola Chicago (A 10), Northern Iowa (MVC), San José State (MW), Tulsa (American)
Pod 2 (Nov. 25 and 26, 2 games): Grand Canyon (MW), Iowa (Big Ten), Mississippi (SEC), Utah (Big 12)
On-campus team: Purdue Fort Wayne (Horizon) (Rocco Miller, The Bracketeer)
Pod 3 (Nov. 27 and 28, 2 games): Colorado (Big 12), Nevada (MW), San Francisco (WCC), Washington (Big Ten)
On-campus team: UC Davis (Big West) (Rocco Miller, The Bracketeer, The D1 Docket)
Pod 4 (Nov. 27 and 28, 2 games + 1 on-campus): Minnesota (Big Ten), Saint Louis (A 10), Santa Clara (WCC), Stanford (ACC)
On-campus team: Chicago State (NEC)

Battle 4 Atlantis (Nov. 26–28: Paradise Island, Bahamas, 3 games)
Colorado State (MW), Saint Mary’s (WCC), South Florida (American), Vanderbilt (SEC), VCU (A 10), Virginia Tech (ACC), Western Kentucky (CUSA), Wichita State (American)

ESPN Events Invitational (Lake Buena Vista, Fla.)
Adventure Bracket (Nov. 24–26, 3 games): Bradley (MVC), Liberty (CUSA), Princeton (Ivy), Rhode Island (A 10), Temple (American), Towson (CAA), UC San Diego (Big West), and Vermont (AE)
Imagination Bracket (Nov. 27 and 28, 2 games): Charlotte (American), Furman (SoCon), Illinois State (MVC), Richmond (A 10)
Magic Bracket (Nov. 27 and 28, 2 games): BYU (Big 12), Dayton (A 10), Georgetown (Big East), Miami (ACC)

Rady Children’s Invitational (Nov. 27 and 28: San Diego, 2 games)
Florida (SEC), Providence (Big East), TCU (Big 12), Wisconsin (Big Ten)

Emerald Coast Classic (Nov. 28 and 29: Niceville, Fla., 2 games)
DePaul (Big East), Drake (MVC), Georgia Tech (ACC), LSU (SEC) (Jon Rothstein, College Hoops Today)

MTEs With Pre-Determined Matchups

Gotham Classic (Nov. 12: campus sites and Nov. 9: Chicago, 2 games)
Indiana (Big Ten), Marquette (Big East), Milwaukee (Horizon) (Anonymous Eagle, Rocco Miller, The Bracketeer)

UConn MTE (Nov. 3–10: campus sites, 3 games)
Columbia (Ivy, 2 home games), New Haven (NEC, reclassifying year 1), UConn (Big East, 3 home games), UMass Lowell (AE, 1 home game) (Rocco Miller)

Field of 68 Tip-Off (Nov. 7–9: Lynchburg, Va., 2 games) (Non-Exempt)
Charleston (CAA), Florida Atlantic (American), Liberty (CUSA) (Charleston)

Villanova MTE (Nov. TBA: campus sites, 3 games)
Duquesne (A 10, 2 home games); Queens (ASUN, 1 home game); Sacred Heart (MAAC); Villanova (Big East, 3 home games) (Rocco Miller)

Boardwalk Battle (Nov. TBA: Daytona Beach, Fla., 3 games)
High Point (Big South), Incarnate Word (Southland), Southern Indiana (OVC), UIC (MVC) (Gazelle Group)

Rainbow Classic (Nov. 12–15: Honolulu, 3 games)
Hawai’i (Big West, host), Manhattan (MAAC), Mississippi Valley State (SWAC), Utah Tech (WAC) (Rocco Miller)

Bulldog Bash (Nov. 13–15: Huntsville, Ala.: 2 games)
Alabama A&M (SWAC, host), Charleston Southern (Big South), Lindenwood (OVC) (Charleston Southern)

Greenbrier Tip-Off River Division (Nov. 14 and 15: White Sulphur Springs, W.V.: 2 games)
Cleveland State (Horizon), others TBA (The D1 Docket)

Fairfield MTE (Nov. 15–17: Fairfield, Conn., 2 games)
Fairfield (MAAC, host), Loyola Maryland (Patriot), Stonehill (NEC, reclassifying) (Loyola MD)

Empire Classic (Nov. 16–21: campus sites and Nov. 26: San Francisco, 3 games)
California (ACC), Presbyterian (Big South), Sacramento State (Big Sky), UCLA (Big Ten)

Missouri MTE (Nov. 17–25: campus sites, 2 games)
Missouri (SEC), South Carolina State (MEAC), South Dakota (Summit) (Rocco Miller, The Bracketeer)

Penn State/Mohegan Sun MTE (Nov. TBA: University Park, Pa. and Nov. 22: Uncasville, Conn., 2 games)
Boston University (Patriot), Harvard (Ivy, will meet at the Mohegan Sun), Penn State (Big Ten, 2 home games) (Rocco Miller)

Heritage Bank Arena MTE (Nov. TBA: campus sites and Nov. 21: Cincinnati, 3 games)
Cincinnati (Big 12), Eastern Michigan (MAC), Louisville (ACC), NJIT (AE) (Rocco Miller, The Bracketeer)

Players Era Showcase (Nov. 20–22: Las Vegas, 2 games, only exempt for Saint Joseph’s)
Saint Joseph’s (A 10), Syracuse (ACC), UNLV (MW)

Ohio State MTE (Nov. 20–25: campus sites, 2 games)
Mount St. Mary’s (MAAC), Ohio State (Big Ten), Western Michigan (MAC)

Greenbrier Tip-Off Mountain Division (Nov. 21–23: White Sulphur Springs, W.V.: 2 games)
Butler (Big East) and Northwestern (Big Ten) vs. South Carolina (SEC) and Virginia (ACC)

Portland Invitational (Nov. 21–23: Portland, Ore., 3 games)
Cal State Fullerton (Big West), Northern Colorado (Big Sky), Portland (WCC, host), St. Thomas (Summit)

Air Force MTE (Nov. 21–23: Colorado Springs, 2 games)
Air Force (MW, host), Alabama State (SWAC), IU Indy (Horizon) (IU Indy, The D1 Docket)

Illinois MTE (Nov. 22 and 24: Champaign, Ill., 2 games)
LIU (NEC) and UTRGV (Southland) vs. Illinois (Big Ten) and Missouri State (CUSA) (LIU, Rocco Miller, The Bracketeer)

Cayman Islands Classic (Nov. 23–25: George Town, Cayman Islands: 3 games)
George Washington (A 10), McNeese (Southland), Middle Tennessee (CUSA), Murray State (MVC)

Arizona MTE (Nov. 24–TBA: campus sites, 2 games)
Arizona (Big 12), Denver (Summit), Norfolk State (MEAC) (Rocco Miller, The Bracketeer)

FDU MTE (Nov. 24–26: Hackensack, N.J., 2 games)
Army West Point (Patriot), East Texas A&M (Southland), Fairleigh Dickinson (NEC, host) (Rocco Miller)

Fort Myers Tip-Off Palms Division (Nov. 24 and 26: Fort Myers, Fla., 2 games)
Bucknell (Patriot) and VMI (SoCon) vs. Bowling Green (MAC) and Buffalo (MAC)

Coconut Classic (Nov. 24 and 26: Fort Myers, Fla., 2 games)
Toledo (MAC), others TBA (Toledo)

Fort Myers Tip-Off Beach Division (Nov. 25 and 27: Fort Myers, Fla., 2 games)
East Carolina (American) and North Carolina (ACC) vs. Michigan State (Big Ten) and St. Bonaventure (A 10)

Acrisure Series (Palm Desert, Calif.)
Pod 5 (Nov. 25): Cal Baptist (WAC), San Diego (WCC)
On-campus team: Grambling (SWAC) (The D1 Docket)
Pod 6 (Nov. 26): Fresno State (MW), Pepperdine (WCC)
On-campus team: New Orleans (Southland) (The D1 Docket)

Live Oak Bank Holiday Classic (Nov. 26, 28, and 29: Wilmington, N.C., 3 games)
Gardner-Webb (Big South), Navy (Patriot), Southeastern Louisiana (Southland), UNCW (CAA, host) (The D1 Docket, UNCW)

Boise MTE (Nov. 26 and 28: Boise, Idaho, 2 games)
CSUN (Big West) and Sam Houston (CUSA) vs. Idaho and Idaho State (Big Sky) (Rocco Miller)

American University MTE (Nov. 28–30: Washington, D.C., 3 games)
American (Patriot, host), Longwood (Big South), Maine (AE), Siena (MAAC) (Rocco Miller)

Cathedral of College Basketball Classic (Nov. 28–30: Philadelphia, 3 games)
Hofstra (CAA), La Salle (A 10), Merrimack (MAAC), Penn (Ivy, host) (Rocco Miller)

Lafayette MTE (Nov. 28–30: Easton, Pa., 3 games)
Ball State (MAC), Lafayette (Patriot, host), Le Moyne (NEC, reclassifying year 3), Monmouth (CAA) (The D1 Docket)

Legends Classic (Nov. TBA: campus sites and Daytona Beach, Fla., 2 or 3 games)
Pittsburgh (ACC), Quinnipiac (MAAC), UCF (Big 12), others TBA (Gazelle Group; Rocco Miller, The Bracketeer)

Tampa MTE (Nov. TBA: campus sites and Nov. 28: Tampa, 3 games)
Cal State Bakersfield (Big West), Florida State (ACC), Mississippi Valley State (SWAC), Texas A&M (SEC) (Rocco Miller)

CBS Thanksgiving Classic (Nov. TBA: campus sites and Nov. 27: Chicago, 2 games)
Arkansas (SEC), Duke (ACC), 1 TBA (Matt Norlander; Rocco Miller, The Bracketeer)

Bedlam Series MTE (Dec. TBA: campus sites and Dec. 13: Oklahoma City, 2 games)
Kansas City (Summit), Oklahoma (SEC), Oklahoma State (Big 12) (Rocco Miller, The Bracketeer)

Kentucky MTE (Nov. TBA: campus sites, 2 games)
Eastern Illinois (OVC), Kentucky (SEC, 2 home games), Valparaiso (MVC, 1 home game) (Rocco Miller)

Robert Morris MTE (Nov. TBA: Moon Township, Pa., 2 or 3 games)
Robert Morris (Horizon, host), 2 or 3 TBA (Rocco Miller)

Western Illinois MTE (Nov. TBA: Macomb, Ill., 2 games)
Coastal Carolina (Sun Belt), North Dakota (Summit), Western Illinois (OVC, host) (The D1 Docket)

Teams Not Yet Attached To An MTE

Conferences Completely Booked (4/31): Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, SEC

ACC (1/18): SMU

American (4/13): North Texas, Rice, UAB, UTSA
Atlantic 10 (1/14): Fordham
MVC (3/11): Belmont, Indiana State, Southern Illinois
MW (1/12): Wyoming
WCC (1/12): Seattle U

America East (5/9): Binghamton, Bryant, New Hampshire, UAlbany, UMBC
ASUN (9/12): Austin Peay, Bellarmine, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, FGCU, Lipscomb, North Alabama, Stetson, West Georgia
Big Sky (6/10): Eastern Washington, Montana, Montana State, Northern Arizona, Portland State, Weber State
Big South (5/9): Charleston Southern, Radford, UNC Asheville, USC Upstate, Winthrop
Big West (5/11): Cal Poly, Long Beach State, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara
CAA (7/13): Campbell, Drexel, Elon, Hampton, North Carolina A&T, Northeastern, William & Mary
CUSA (8/12): Delaware, FIU, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, UTEP
Horizon (5/11): Detroit Mercy, Northern Kentucky, Oakland, Wright State, Youngstown State
Ivy (3/8): Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth
MAAC (5/13): Canisius, Marist, Niagara, Rider, Saint Peter’s
MAC (4/13): Central Michigan, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Northern Illinois
MEAC (6/8): Coppin State, Delaware State, Howard, Maryland-Eastern Shore, Morgan State, North Carolina Central
NEC (5/10): Central Connecticut, LIU, Mercyhurst, Saint Francis, Wagner
OVC (7/11): Lindenwood, Little Rock, Morehead State, SIUE, Southeast Missouri, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech
Patriot (3/10): Colgate, Holy Cross, Lehigh
SoCon (8/10): Chattanooga, ETSU, Mercer, Samford, The Citadel, UNCG, Western Carolina, Wofford
Southland (7/12): Houston Christian, Lamar, Nicholls, Northwestern State, Stephen F. Austin, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, UTRGV
SWAC (7/12): Alabama A&M, Alcorn State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Florida A&M, Jackson State, Southern, Texas Southern
Summit (4/9): North Dakota State, Omaha, Oral Roberts, South Dakota State
Sun Belt (12/14): App State, Arkansas State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison, Louisiana, Marshall, Old Dominion, South Alabama, Texas State, Troy, ULM
WAC (5/7): Abilene Christian, Southern Utah, Tarleton, UT Arlington, Utah Valley

A new look coming for Blogging the Bracket in August

2025-07-24T12:00:00-04:00

Our coverage remains the same but with a new look

In just a couple of weeks, Blogging the Bracket is switching to a new platform as part of SB Nation’s network-wide move to a new publishing platform. This will change the look of the site and also make it faster and more reliable on any device you use. This is an upgrade.

When you land on the site, it will look cleaner – less clunky, with more white space, a better ad experience with faster load times – but will still have all the usual articles, analysis, and news by all the folks you know.

Community discussion and content created by you will be more prominent in the new design. The best comment threads will be easy to find, and staff and commenters alike will be able to start conversations whenever they like with a brand new tool.

We’re planning on an early August reveal, so we wanted to give you a heads up. You’ll hear more from us when it’s almost here. The site will look a little different, feel a little faster, and, most importantly, have a bigger role for you, the community.

So, stick around and check it out!

2025 NCAA Men’s Tournament Picks

2025-03-19T23:32:23-04:00

The alma mater cut the nets down in Nashville on Sunday. Despite their draw in the West region, I’m taking the Gators to win it all. | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

As usual, the longer I do this, the worse my picks get. At least year I got the national champ right for the first time in a few years.

My picks have been on a steady downhill slide since 2018, so seriously, don’t use this post to fill out your bracket.

2018: 40-23 (with 3 Final Four teams)
2019: 39-24 (with no Final Four teams)
2021: 39-24 (with 2 Final Four teams)
2022: 26-37 (with no Final Four teams and 1 Elite Eight team)
2023: 33-30 (again, with no Final Four teams, though at least I wasn’t alone on that front)
2024: 32-31 (with only UConn in the Final Four)

The general awfulness of my picks means this will be a very simple post. I’m not overanalyzing things and not breaking things down. It’s March. Funny things happen.

NOTE: I’m updating my First Round picks after the First Four games, when necessary, along with my McNeese-Clemson pick because of the potential of a coaching change.

(1) South Region

First Four

(16) Alabama State over (16) Saint Francis
~~(11) San Diego State over (11) North Carolina~~

First Round

(1) Auburn over (16) Alabama State
(8) Louisville over (9) Creighton
(12) UC San Diego over (5) Michigan
(13) Yale over (4) Texas A&M
(6) Mississippi over (11) North Carolina
(3) Iowa State over (3) Lipscomb
(10) New Mexico over (7) Marquette
(2) Michigan State over (15) Bryant

Second Round

(1) Auburn over (8) Louisville
(12) UC San Diego over (13) Yale
(3) Iowa State over (6) Mississippi
(2) Michigan State over (10) New Mexico

Sweet 16

(1) Auburn over (12) UC San Diego
(2) Michigan State over (3) Iowa State

Elite 8

(2) Michigan State over (1) Auburn

(4) West Region

First Round

(1) Florida over (16) Norfolk State
(9) Oklahoma over (8) UConn
(12) Colorado State over (5) Memphis
(4) Maryland over (13) Grand Canyon
(11) Drake over (6) Missouri
(3) Texas Tech over (14) UNCW
(10) Arkansas over (7) Kansas
(2) St. John’s over (15) Omaha

Second Round

(1) Florida over (9) Oklahoma
(4) Maryland over (12) Colorado State
(3) Texas Tech over (11) Drake
(2) St. John’s over (10) Arkansas

Sweet 16

(1) Florida over (4) Maryland
(3) Texas Tech over (2) St. John’s

Elite 8

(1) Florida over (3) Texas Tech

(2) East Region

First Four

(16) Mount St. Mary’s over (16) American

First Round

(1) Duke over (16) Mount St. Mary’s
(9) Baylor over (8) Mississippi State
(5) Oregon over (12) Liberty
(4) Arizona over (13) Akron
(11) VCU over (6) BYU
(3) Wisconsin over (14) Montana
(7) Saint Mary’s over (10) Vanderbilt
(2) Alabama over (15) Robert Morris

Second Round

(1) Duke over (9) Baylor
(4) Arizona over (5) Oregon
(3) Wisconsin over (11) VCU
(2) Alabama over (7) Saint Mary’s

Sweet 16

(1) Duke over (4) Arizona
(3) Wisconsin over (2) Alabama

Elite 8

(1) Duke over (3) Wisconsin

(3) Midwest Region

First Four

~~(11) Texas over (11) Xavier~~

First Round

(1) Houston over (16) SIUE
(8) Gonzaga over (9) Georgia
(5) Clemson over (12) McNeese
(13) High Point over (4) Purdue
(11) Xavier over (6) Illinois
(3) Kentucky over (14) Troy
(7) UCLA over (10) Utah State
(2) Tennessee over (15) Wofford

Second Round

(1) Houston over (1) Gonzaga
(5) Clemson over (13) High Point
(3) Kentucky over (11) Texas
(2) Tennessee over (7) UCLA

Sweet 16

(1) Houston over (5) Clemson
(3) Kentucky over (2) Tennessee

Elite 8

(1) Houston over (3) Kentucky

Final Four

(W1) Florida over (S2) Michigan State
(E1) Duke over (M1) Houston

National Championship Game

(W1) Florida over (E1) Duke

Bracketology 2025: This Process Needs Work

2025-03-17T19:52:41-04:00

In the end, losing that game to Colorado on Wednesday afternoon was the worst thing that could have happened to West Virginia’s NCAA hopes. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

I know we say this every year, but 2025’s bracket really illustrated some of the selection, seeding, and bracketing processes biggest flaws.

We begin today’s post with a live look at me at about 5:04 p.m. Central last night when the 8/9 game in Auburn’s pod in Lexington popped up:

Again, since the men’s Selection Committee ditched the S-curve and decided to make the tournament more regional, you get nonsense like this. Yes, protected seeds are only protected from a crowd disadvantage in the first round. But it makes no sense to have your No. 1 overall seed potentially placed at a disadvantage in the second. This is not a way to bracket a tournament if you want to crown the best team possible as national champion. Instead, you crown a contending team that happened to get the best draw.

NEW: T.J. Rives is hosting a Monday afternoon bracket recap show on the CBB Coast to Coast Youtube Channel. I joined earlier to discuss the Committee’s work.

My Results

Surprisingly, a half-hour later, I found that my final projection wasn’t as much of a disaster as I expected.

Two missed at-large teams: Indiana and West Virginia (who I will get to shortly). EVERYONE on the Bracket Matrix had the Mountaineers in, by the way, as of yesterday.
44 teams seeded correctly. (39 in 2024, best number since 2022.)
16 teams seeded within 1 line. (15 in 2024.)
So, 60 teams seeded on or within 1 line. (54 in 2024)
6 teams seeded within 2 lines. (Better than the 11 from 2024.)
20 teams seeded exactly on the Seed List.
18 teams seeded within 1 spot on the Seed List.
8 teams seeded within 2 spots on the Seed List.
2 teams seeded within 3 spots on the Seed List.

Grievances

Let’s go down the bracket and see some of the things that stood out to me.

South

I’ve already mentioned the very first thing, the Louisville-Creighton winner getting Auburn at Rupp Arena, if the Cardinals do advance.
Off topic a bit and very pedantic, but we need commentators to stop saying that Auburn may play Louisville on Kentucky’s home court. No, they will be playing in Kentucky’s home arena, but with standardized, “Stepford” courts, it’s not the same court.
UC San Diego as a 12 seed, as a double conference champion with a top 40 NET.
Michigan ending up as a 5 being sent to Denver for Thursday/Saturday games after winning a late Sunday afternoon Big Ten Tournament title. The seeding was bad, the placement worse, and further proof that that particular timeslot doesn’t help the conference at all. Remember when Michigan won the title in 2017 as the 8 seed and still ended up as 7 national seed (paired in an Indianapolis pod with ... 2 seed Louisville; maybe the Cardinals’ placement this year was payback for that).
North Carolina. Where do I begin here? On the positive side, the Tar Heels’ selection showed how the Committee values metrics now and is something to work with in the future. However, this pick also lays bare one of the biggest issues with the entire process—not that humans are involved, but who the specific people are. Sure, you can say that Committee members recuse themselves when their specific institutions or conferences come up. But are they also recusing themselves when discussing teams that might be in direct competition for an at-large spot with theirs? There is also an element of social politics here—you generally don’t want to disappoint a colleague.

East

This was one of my better regions, so my grievances are few. But sending 3 seed Wisconsin to Denver to play at altitude Thursday after four Big Ten Tournament games is a bracketing mistake on par with Louisville as Auburn’s second-round opponent.
As soon as Vanderbilt popped up as a 10 seed, you should have known the SEC was going to have a great evening and was likely to get 14 teams in.

South

Gonzaga as Houston’s potential second-round opponent is almost as bad as the Auburn-Louisville combo, but better in the sense that there’s no crowd disadvantage issue.
The Big Ten’s seedings made no sense based on what’s been happening lately. Purdue got a higher seed than Michigan based on metrics. The same goes for Illinois being a seed line lower than the Wolverines. While the Fighting Illini have rebounded with three straight wins since losing to Duke at the Garden, the Boilermakers have struggled—3-6 in their last nine.
Texas had a decent case, particularly metrics-wise, but I was really surprised the Longhorns’ non-conference schedule didn’t doom them.

West

The biggest surprise in this region, another I did well in, was Memphis getting a 5 seed despite some really questionable metrics and losses. In this case, a strong non-conference schedule provided a boost. If only there were more consistency elsewhere in the bracket!
When the commercial break for this region came up, it was clear that one of Arkansas, Oklahoma, or West Virginia was going to get left off. In the end, it was the Mountaineers. But, if you included the Sooners based in no small part on a 13-0 non-conference record, you should have included the Mountaineers too. The Sooners had both five-game and four-game losing streaks in SEC play, while West Virginia’s worst span in Big 12 play was a three-game slide. OU was 7-13 after conference play started, while WVU was 10-11. One of the reasons that the Mountaineers were left out was the absence of Tucker DeVries—but they went 13-11 without him, including a home win over Iowa State and the program’s first-ever win at Kansas. This was not a team that gave up when one of its best players became unavailable. At worst, the Committee could have sent them to Dayton.

Solutions

Being an ideas person, I figured I would close this post by sharing some ideas on improving the entire process from selection of the at-larges, to seeding the field, to bracketing, which is still the Committee’s biggest issue.

Selection Process

The NCAA needs to do one of three things:

Take at-large selection out of the Committee’s hands entirely by using a metric, Wins Above Bubble (WAB) would be preferable since that is its whole reason for existing (for the love of Naismith, don’t use the NET), with the top 37 non-auto-qualifiers getting in. Then, let the committee seed and bracket.
Get athletic directors and conference commissioners who have so many other things to do and have so many potential conflicts off the Committee. Yes, you need a Division I Men’s Basketball Committee for administrative reasons, but the Selection Committee should be independent and be composed of people who can focus solely on the work and don’t have employment ties to the teams involved.
If you insist on keeping the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee as the selection committee, you really need to tighten up the rules in terms of discussing not only members’ institutions but also teams that are in direct competition with them, particularly when it comes to the bubble. Tournament shares are at stake!

Team Eligibility and Evaluation

I have never been a fan of the idea that teams with a sub-.500 conference record should be automatically excluded from the tournament, particularly in an era of super-sized leagues with inconsistent schedules. But, this would solve many current selection issues and also reduce the calls for expansion. Here are the at-large teams who would have been left out because of this rule:
SEC (6): Mississippi State, Georgia, Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma, Texas
Big Ten: none
Big 12: none (Baylor finished 11-11 in the Big 12 after departing the tournament in the quarters; however, West Virginia would have finished 10-11, making their case moot.)
Big East: none
ACC: none
MW/WCC: none

In other words, Greg Sankey and Brett Yormark would never let this rule be implemented.

A rule that everyone should be able to agree on is returning to giving the final 10 or 15 games of the season added scrutiny—with so many changes in terms of NIL and, especially, the transfer portal, it can take teams time to gel. Teams change dramatically from November to March, and it’s time to stop living with the fantasy that they don’t. Yes, a team’s entire body of work should matter, but we can’t ignore that team may be different when heading into the NCAAs than they were when they won a Thanksgiving tournament. Amazingly, this seems to be the argument the Committee used to exclude West Virginia, so again, consistency up and down the bracket would help.

Seeding

Again, be consistent! That’s all I’m asking for here. Every year, it looks like the Committee spends its time on the top four and bottom five lines of the bracket, and throws up its hands when it comes to seed lines 5 and 10. You might as well just do a random draw at this point. If you’re valuing teams’ quality wins at the top of the bracket, that should continue all the way down. If it’s wins away from home, great! If it’s metrics, then do that. The hodgepodge that currently results helps no one.
If all games are important, don’t discount Sunday championship games. And this doesn’t apply to just the Big Ten and SEC. I’m specifically thinking of 2018, when 24-9 Penn and 18-14 Harvard were Ivy co-champs, but the Crimson were the 1 seed. While the Quakers’ resume was good enough to end up as a 14, the Crimson were clearly a 16 and in place as the auto qualifier before the early Sunday afternoon final. Guess where Penn ended up? The committee merely swapped out a team that could have won a game (or two) with one destined to likely lose—so the Quakers ended up as a 16 playing Kansas in Wichita—losing 76-60.

Bracketing

This is another “blast from the past.” Go back to focusing on the seed list/S-curve and building a bracket from it rather than trying to make things as regional as possible. If the women’s Selection Committee can do it, there’s no reason for the men’s to not do it, especially since the men’s tournament is the NCAA’s biggest economic engine.
Finally, the Committee may want to let the bracket play out from the first round on, but really, they should focus on it playing out only after the first weekend. If you really want to “protect” your protected top 16 teams, look at those potential round of 32 matchups too, then bracket accordingly.

Implementing those two rules and just taking a little more time and thinking things through would greatly improve the competitive balance of the bracket from top to bottom and across all four regions.

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Bracketology 2025: FINAL

2025-03-16T17:43:26-04:00

A vintage look at the top 16 teams in Blogging the Bracket’s final projection of 2025. | All graphics by Chris Dobbertean using logos primarily from SportsLogos.net. (Alabama is my own work.)

Memphis was down at halftime against UAB in the American Athletic final, but came back to claim the auto bid and spare an at-large.

The Selection Show (6 p.m. ET, CBS) is almost upon us. I did another pass at lines 5 down, so this looks a little different than this morning’s projection.

Up (⬆︎) and down (⬇︎) arrows reflect movement of a seed line (or more) relative to the bracket projection for the morning of Sunday, March 16, 2025, while a star (★) indicates a new entry. Teams that have clinched auto bids (26/31) are in BOLD CAPS.

Top Left: (1) South (Atlanta)

Lexington (Thursday and Saturday)
(1) Auburn
(16) ALABAMA STATE (SWAC)/SAINT FRANCIS (NEC)

(8) UConn
(9) Mississippi State

Seattle (Friday and Sunday)
⬆︎(5) Oregon
(12) COLORADO STATE (MW)

(4) Arizona
(13) HIGH POINT (Big South)

Providence (Thursday and Saturday)
(6) Saint Mary’s
⬆︎(11) VCU (A 10)

(3) Kentucky
(14) UNCW (CAA)

Cleveland (Friday and Sunday)
(7) Marquette
(10) Utah State

(2) Michigan State
(15) ROBERT MORRIS (Horizon)

Top Right: (2) East (Newark)

Raleigh (Friday and Sunday)
(1) DUKE (ACC)
(16) SIUE (OVC)/MOUNT ST. MARY’S (MAAC)

(8) Kansas
(9) Oklahoma

Seattle (Friday and Sunday)
(5) Mississippi
(12) LIBERTY (CUSA)

(4) Maryland
(13) AKRON (MAC)

Milwaukee (Friday and Sunday)
(6) Purdue
(11) San Diego State/Vanderbilt

(3) Iowa State
(14) TROY (Sun Belt)

Cleveland (Friday and Sunday)
⬆︎(7) UCLA
(10) UC SAN DIEGO (Big West)

(2) Alabama
(15) BRYANT (AE)

Bottom Right: (3) Midwest (Indianapolis)

Wichita (Thursday and Saturday)
(1) HOUSTON (Big 12)
(16) AMERICAN (Patriot)

⬇︎(8) Creighton
(9) DRAKE (MVC)

Denver (Thursday and Saturday)
(5) Clemson
⬇︎/⬇︎(12) Indiana/Xavier

(4) Texas A&M
(13) MCNEESE (Southland)

Milwaukee (Friday and Sunday)
(6) Missouri
(11) West Virginia

(3) Wisconsin
(14) MONTANA (Big Sky)

Lexington (Thursday and Saturday)
(7) MEMPHIS (American)
(10) Baylor

(2) Tennessee
(15) WOFFORD (SoCon)

Bottom Left: (4) West (San Francisco)

Raleigh (Friday and Sunday)
(1) FLORIDA (SEC)
(16) NORFOLK STATE (MEAC)

(8) Illinois
(9) New Mexico

Denver (Thursday and Saturday)
(5) BYU
(12) GRAND CANYON (WAC)

(4) MICHIGAN (Big Ten)
(13) YALE (Ivy)

Wichita (Thursday and Saturday)
⬇︎(6) Louisville
(11) Arkansas

(3) Texas Tech
(14) LIPSCOMB (ASUN)

Providence (Thursday and Saturday)
(7) GONZAGA (WCC)
(10) Georgia

(2) ST. JOHN’S (Big East)
(15) OMAHA (Summit)

Rundown

Ins and Outs (0)

Cut Line

Last 4 Byes: Georgia, Utah State, West Virginia, Arkansas
Last 4 In: San Diego State, Vanderbilt, Indiana, Xavier
First 4 Out: Texas, Boise State, Ohio State, North Carolina
Next 4 Out: UC Irvine, Wake Forest, Nebraska, George Mason

As I wrote yesterday, the choice of the final one or two teams is going to come down to what the Committee thinks is most important. If it’s metrics, North Carolina will be in with room to spare. If it’s results, particularly against good competition away from home, Indiana sneaks in. Xavier still stays in because of a slightly better record against Quads 1 and 2 even if they don’t have the Quad 1 wins Texas and Ohio State has. Boise State got dumped because of a poor final impression against Colorado State—which gives the Committee an excuse to leave out a Bronco team that has a couple of bad losses.

Highest-ranked NET exclusion: North Carolina (36)
Highest-ranked KenPom exclusion: North Carolina (33)
Highest-ranked WAB (Torvik) exclusion: North Carolina (42, -+1.4 WAB)

Lowest-ranked NET inclusion: Indiana (54)
Lowest-ranked KenPom inclusion: West Virginia (53)
Lowest-ranked WAB inclusion: Indiana (50, -+0.31 WAB)

Bids By Conference

24 single-bid conferences

SEC (13): Auburn, Florida (auto), Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Mississippi, Missouri, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Georgia, Arkansas, Vanderbilt (First Four)
Big Ten (9): Michigan State, Wisconsin, Michigan (auto), Maryland, Purdue, Oregon, UCLA, Illinois, Indiana (First Four)
Big 12 (8): Houston (auto), Texas Tech, Iowa State, Arizona, BYU, Kansas, Baylor, West Virginia
Big East (5): St John’s (auto), Marquette, UConn, Creighton, Xavier (First Four)
Mountain West (4): New Mexico, Utah State, San Diego State (First Four), Colorado State (auto)
ACC (3): Duke (auto), Clemson, Louisville
WCC (2): Saint Mary’s, Gonzaga (auto)

Seed List

* indicates auto bid holder
^ indicates team was shifted up or down one seed line for bracketing purposes

(1) Auburn, DUKE*, HOUSTON*, FLORIDA*
(2) Tennessee, Alabama, Michigan State, ST. JOHN’S*
(3) Texas Tech, Wisconsin, Iowa State, Kentucky
(4) Texas A&M, MICHIGAN*, Arizona, Maryland
(5) BYU, Oregon, Mississippi, Clemson
(6) Purdue, Missouri, Louisville, Saint Mary’s
(7) MEMPHIS*, GONZAGA*, Marquette, UCLA
(8) Illinois, UConn, Creighton, Kansas
(9) DRAKE*, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, New Mexico
(10) Baylor, Georgia, UC SAN DIEGO*, Utah State
(11) VCU*, West Virginia, Arkansas, San Diego State (First Four), Vanderbilt (First Four)
(12) COLORADO STATE*, Indiana (First Four), Xavier (First Four), GRAND CANYON*, LIBERTY*
(13) MCNEESE*, YALE*, HIGH POINT*, AKRON*
(14) LIPSCOMB*, UNCW*, TROY*, MONTANA*
(15) ROBERT MORRIS*, WOFFORD*, BRYANT*, OMAHA*
(16) NORFOLK STATE*, AMERICAN*, SIUE* (First Four), MOUNT ST. MARY’S* (First Four), ALABAMA STATE* (First Four), SAINT FRANCIS* (First Four)

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Men’s Division I College Basketball Conference Tournament Central 2025

2025-03-16T17:42:39-04:00

The 31 conference championship games presented in order of tip time in logo form. | Graphic by Chris Dobbertean using logos from SportsLogos.net

Your one-stop shop for 2025 NCAA Division I men’s basketball conference tournament brackets, schedules, TV/streaming info, and final scores.

Prior seasons: 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015

All times are p.m. Eastern unless noted. Games marked with an asterisk (*) will start after the previous game, so tip time is approximate. All TV info courtesy of the conference’s official websites or Matt’s College Sports on TV site.

Graphics by Chris Dobbertean using logos from SportsLogos.net and Wikipedia.

Daily Chronological Schedule

Championship Games On 03/15 Or 03/16

America East

Sat., March 8; Tues., March 11; and Sat., March 15: Higher seeds host (BtB Primer)
Champion: Bryant

Did not qualify: NJIT (5-25, 3-13, 9th)

Quarterfinals (Sat., March 8)

Game 1: (8) UMBC (13-19, 5-11) 74, (1) Bryant 85
Game 2: (7) New Hampshire (8-24, 6-10) 57, (2) Vermont 64
Game 3: (6) UMass Lowell (17-15, 6-10) 64, (3) Maine 72
Game 4: (5) Binghamton (15-17, 7-9) 66, (4) UAlbany 69

Semifinals (Tues., March 11)

Game 5: (4) UAlbany (17-16, 8-8) 78, (1) Bryant 91
Game 6: (3) Maine (20-13, 10-6) 57, (2) Vermont (21-12, 13-3) 42

Championship (Sat., March 15)

Game 7: (3) Maine (20-14, 10-6) 59, (1) BRYANT (23-11, 14-2) 77

American Athletic

Wed., March 12: Denton, Texas
Thurs.–Sun., March 13–16: Fort Worth, Texas (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
2024 Champion: UAB

First Round (Wed., March 12)

Game 1: (13) Charlotte 64, (12) Rice (13-19, 4-14) 61

Second Round (Thurs., March 13)

Game 2: (9) South Florida (13-19, 6-12) 68, (8) Wichita State 73
Game 3: (13) Charlotte (11-22, 3-15) 59, (5) Florida Atlantic 64
Game 4: (10) Tulsa 75, (7) Temple (17-15, 9-9) 71
Game 5: (11) UTSA (12-19, 6-12) 65, (6) East Carolina 70

Quarterfinals (Fri., March 14)

Game 6: (8) Wichita State (19-14, 8-10) 80, (1) Memphis 83
Game 7: (5) Florida Atlantic (18-15, 10-8) 76, (4) Tulane 83
Game 8: (10) Tulsa (13-20, 6-12) 59, (2) North Texas 77
Game 9: (6) East Carolina (19-14 10-8) 77, (3) UAB 94

Semifinals (Sat., March 15)

Game 10: (4) Tulane (19-14, 12-6) 77, (1) Memphis 78
Game 11: (3) UAB 66, (2) North Texas (24-8, 14-4) 56

Championship (Sun., March 16)

Game 12: (3) UAB (22-12, 13-5) 72, (1) MEMPHIS (29-5, 16-2) 84

Atlantic 10

Wed.–Sun., March 12–16: Washington, D.C. (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
2024 Champion: Duquesne

First Round (Wed., March 12)

Game 1: (13) Richmond (10-22, 5-13) 65, (12) Davidson 69
Game 2: (15) Fordham 88, (10) Rhode Island (18-13, 7-11) 71
Game 3: (14) La Salle 78, (11) UMass (12-19, 7-11) 71

Second Round (Thurs., March 13)

Game 4: (9) Duquesne (13-19, 8-10) 59, (8) St. Bonaventure 64
Game 5: (12) Davidson (17-16, 6-12) 75, (5) Saint Louis 83
Game 6: (15) Fordham (12-21, 3-15) 81, (7) George Washington 88
Game 7: (14) La Salle (14-19, 5-13) 70, (6) Saint Joseph’s 75

Quarterfinals (Fri., March 14)

Game 8: (8) St. Bonaventure (22-11, 9-9) 59, (1) VCU 76
Game 9: (5) Saint Louis (19-14, 11-7) 64, (4) Loyola Chicago 72
Game 10: (7) George Washington (21-11, 9-9) 65, (2) George Mason 80
Game 11: (6) Saint Joseph’s 73, (3) Dayton (23-9, 12-6) 68 (OT)

Semifinals (Sat., March 16)

Game 12: (4) Loyola Chicago (22-11, 12-6) 55, (1) VCU 62
Game 13: (6) Saint Joseph’s (22-12, 11-7) 64, (2) George Mason 74

Championship (Sun., March 16)

Game 14: (2) George Mason (26-8, 15-3) 63, (1) VCU (28-6, 15-3) 68

ACC

Tues.–Sat., March 11–15: Washington, D.C. (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
Champion: Duke

Did not qualify: NC State (12-19, 4-16, 16th); Boston College (12-19, 4-16, 17th); and Miami (7-24, 3-17, 18th)

First Round (Tues., March 11)

Game 1: (13) Pitt (17-15, 8-12) 54, (12) Notre Dame 55
Game 2: (15) California 82, (10) Virginia Tech (13-19, 8-12) 73 (OT)
Game 3: (14) Syracuse 66, (11) Florida State (17-15, 8-12) 62

Second Round (Wed., March 12)

Game 4: (9) Virginia (15-17, 8-12) 60, (8) Georgia Tech 66
Game 5: (12) Notre Dame (15-18, 8-12) 56, (5) North Carolina 76
Game 6: (15) California (14-19, 6-14) 73, (7) Stanford 78
Game 7: (14) Syracuse (14-19, 7-13) 53, (6) SMU 73

Quarterfinals (Thurs., March 13)

Game 8: (8) Georgia Tech (17-16, 10-10) 70, (1) Duke 78
Game 9: (5) North Carolina 68, (4) Wake Forest (21-11, 13-7) 59
Game 10: (7) Stanford (20-13, 11-9) 73, (2) Louisville 75
Game 11: (6) SMU (23-10, 13-7) 54, (3) Clemson 57

Semifinals (Fri., March 14)

Game 12: (5) North Carolina (22-13, 13-7) 71, (1) Duke 74
Game 13: (3) Clemson (27-6, 18-2) 73, (2) Louisville 76

Championship (Sat., March 15)

Game 14: (2) Louisville (27-7, 18-2) 62, (1) DUKE (31-3, 19-1) 73

Big 12

Tues.–Sat., March 11–15: Kansas City, Mo. (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
Champion: Houston

First Round (Tues., March 11)

Game 1: (13) Cincinnati 87, (12) Oklahoma State (15-17, 7-13) 68
Game 2: (16) Colorado 69, (9) TCU (16-16, 9-11) 67
Game 3: (15) Arizona State (13-19, 4-16) 66, (10) Kansas State 71
Game 4: (14) UCF 87, (11) Utah (16-16, 8-12) 72

Second Round (Wed., March 12)

Game 5: (13) Cincinnati (18-15, 7-13) 56, (5) Iowa State 76
Game 6: (16) Colorado 67, (8) West Virginia (19-13, 10-10) 60
Game 7: (10) Kansas State (16-17, 9-11) 56, (7) Baylor 70
Game 8: (14) UCF (17-16, 7-13) 94, (6) Kansas 98 (OT)

Quarterfinals (Thurs., March 13)

Game 9: (5) Iowa State (24-9, 13-7) 92, (4) BYU 96
Game 10: (16) Colorado (14-20, 3-17) 68, (1) Houston 77
Game 11: (7) Baylor (19-14, 10-10) 74, (2) Texas Tech 76
Game 12: (6) Kansas (21-12, 11-9) 77, (3) Arizona 88

Semifinals (Fri., March 14)

Game 13: (4) BYU (24-9, 14-6) 54, (1) Houston 74
Game 14: (3) Arizona 86, (2) Texas Tech (25-8, 15-5) 80

Championship (Sat., March 15)

Game 15: (3) Arizona (22-12, 14-6) 64, (1) HOUSTON (30-4, 19-1) 72

Big East

Wed.–Sat., March 12–15: New York (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
Champion: St. John’s

First Round (Wed., March 12)

Game 1: (9) Butler 75, (8) Providence (12-20, 6-14) 69
Game 2: (10) DePaul 71, (7) Georgetown (17-15, 8-12) 67
Game 3: (11) Seton Hall (7-25, 2-18) 55, (6) Villanova 67

Quarterfinals (Thurs., March 13)

Game 4: (9) Butler (14-19, 6-14) 57, (1) St. John’s 78
Game 5: (5) Marquette 89, (4) Xavier (21-11, 13-7) 87
Game 6: (10) DePaul (14-19, 4-16) 81, (2) Creighton 85 (OT)
Game 7: (6) Villanova (19-14, 11-9) 56, (3) UConn 73

Semifinals (Fri., March 14)

Game 8: (5) Marquette (23-10, 13-7) 63, (1) St. John’s 79
Game 9: (3) UConn (23-10, 14-6) 62, (2) Creighton 71

Championship (Sat., March 15)

Game 10: (2) Creighton (24-10, 15-5) 66, (1) ST. JOHN’S (30-4, 18-2) 82

Big Ten

Wed.–Sun., March 12–16: Indianapolis (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
Champion: Michigan

Did not qualify: Nebraska (17-14, 7-13, t12); Penn State (16-15, 6-14, 17th); Washington (13-18, 4-16, 18th)

First Round (Wed., March 12)

Game 1: (13) Northwestern 72, (12) Minnesota (15-17, 7-13) 64
Game 2: (15) Iowa 77, (10) Ohio State (17-15, 9-11) 70
Game 3: (14) USC 97, (11) Rutgers (15-17, 8-12) 89 (2OT)

Second Round (Thurs., March 13)

Game 4: (9) Indiana (19-13, 10-10) 59, (8) Oregon 72
Game 5: (13) Northwestern (17-16, 7-13) 63, (5) Wisconsin 70
Game 6: (15) Iowa (17-16, 7-13) 94, (7) Illinois 106
Game 7: (14) USC (16-17, 7-13) 71, (6) Purdue 76

Quarterfinals (Fri., March 14)

Game 8: (8) Oregon (24-9, 12-8) 64, (1) Michigan State 74
Game 9: (5) Wisconsin 86, (4) UCLA (22-10, 13-7) 70
Game 10: (7) Illinois (21-12, 12-8) 65, (2) Maryland 88
Game 11: (6) Purdue (22-11, 13-7) 68, (3) Michigan 86

Semifinals (Sat., March 16)

Game 12: (5) Wisconsin 77, (1) Michigan State (27-6, 17-3) 74
Game 13: (3) Michigan 81, (2) Maryland (25-8, 14-6) 80

Championship (Sun., March 17)

Game 14: (5) Wisconsin (26-9, 13-7) 53, (3) MICHIGAN (25-9, 14-6) 59

Big West

Wed.–Sat., March 12–15: Henderson, Nev. (Interactive Bracket; BtB Primer)
Champion: UC San Diego (First D1 NCAA bid)

Did not qualify: Hawai’i (15-16, 7-13, 9th); Long Beach State (7-25, 3-17, 10th); and Cal State Fullerton (6-26, 1-19, 11th)

First Round (Wed., March 12)

Game 1: (8) Cal State Bakersfield (14-19, 8-12) 66, (5) UC Santa Barbara 71
Game 2: (7) Cal Poly 86, (6) UC Davis (15-17, 9-11) 76

Quarterfinals (Thurs., March 13)

Game 3: (5) UC Santa Barbara 78, (4) CSUN (22-10, 14-6) 72
Game 4: (7) Cal Poly 96, (3) UC Riverside (21-12, 14-6) 83

Semifinals (Fri., March 14)

Game 5: (5) UC Santa Barbara (21-13, 11-9) 51, (1) UC San Diego 69
Game 6: (7) Cal Poly (16-19, 8-12) 78, (2) UC Irvine 96

Championship (Sat., March 15)

Game 7: (2) UC Irvine (28-6, 17-3) 61, (1) UC SAN DIEGO (30-4, 18-2) 75

CUSA

Tues.–Sat., March 11–15: Huntsville, Ala. (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
2024 Champion: Western Kentucky

First Round (Tues., March 11)

Game 1: (9) Sam Houston (13-19, 6-12) 65, (8) UTEP 79
Game 2: (10) FIU 64, (7) Western Kentucky (17-15, 8-10) 61

Quarterfinals (Wed., March 12)

Game 2: (8) UTEP (18-15, 7-11) 60, (1) Liberty 81
Game 3: (10) FIU (10-23, 3-15) 56, (2) Jacksonville State 65

Quarterfinals (Thurs., March 13)

Game 4: (5) New Mexico State (17-15, 10-8) 77, (4) Kennesaw State 80
Game 5: (6) Louisiana Tech (20-12, 9-9) 75, (3) Middle Tennessee 77 (2OT)

Semifinals (Fri., March 14)

Game 6: (4) Kennesaw State (19-14, 10-8) 79, (1) Liberty 81
Game 7: (3) Middle Tennessee (22-11, 12-6) 68, (2) Jacksonville State 70

Championship (Sat., March 15)

Game 8: (2) Jacksonville State (22-12, 12-6) 67, (1) LIBERTY (28-6, 13-5) 79

Ivy League

Sat. and Sun., March 15 and 16: Providence, R.I. (BtB Primer)
Champion: Yale

Did not qualify: Harvard (12-15, 7-7; 5th); Brown (14-13, 6-8, 6th); Penn (8-19, 4-10, 7th); and Columbia (12-15, 1-13, 8th)

Semifinals (Sat., March 15)

Game 1: (4) Princeton (19-11, 8-6) 57, (1) Yale 59
Game 2: (3) Dartmouth (14-14, 8-6) 71, (2) Cornell 87

Championship (Sun., March 16)

Game 3: (2) Cornell (18-11, 9-5) 84, (1) YALE (22-7, 13-1) 90

MAAC

Tues.–Sat., March 11–15: Atlantic City, N.J. (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
Champion: Mount St. Mary’s

Did not qualify: Saint Peter’s (12-16, 7-13, 11th); Niagara (11-20, 6-14; 12th); and Canisius (3-28, 1-17, 13th)

First Round (Tues., March 11)

Game 1: (9) Siena (14-18, 9-11) 76, (8) Rider 78
Game 2: (10) Fairfield (12-20, 8-12) 58, (7) Sacred Heart 71

Quarterfinals (Wed., March 12)

Game 3: (8) Rider (14-19, 9-11) 64, (1) Quinnipiac 78
Game 4: (7) Sacred Heart (15-18, 10-10) 62, (2) Merrimack 66 (OT)

Quarterfinals (Thurs., March 13)

Game 5: (5) Manhattan (17-13, 12-8) 65, (4) Iona 77
Game 6: (6) Mount St. Mary’s 62, (3) Marist (20-10, 13-7) 58

Semifinals (Fri., March 14)

Game 7: (4) Iona 81, (1) Quinnipiac (20-13, 15-5) 73
Game 8: (6) Mount St. Mary’s 57, (2) Merrimack (18-15, 14-6) 55

Championship (Sat., March 15)

Game 9: (6) MOUNT ST. MARY’S (22-12, 12-8) 63, (4) Iona (17-17, 12-8) 49

MAC

Thurs.–Sat., March 13–15: Cleveland (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
Champion: Akron

Did not qualify: Central Michigan (14-17, 7-11, t9th); Ball State (14-17, 7-11, t9th); Buffalo (9-22, 4-14, 11th); and Northern Illinois (6-25, 2-16, 12th)

Quarterfinals (Thurs., March 13)

Game 1: (8) Bowling Green (14-18, 8-10) 67, (1) Akron 96
Game 2: (5) Ohio (16-16, 10-8) 85, (4) Toledo 90
Game 3: (7) Eastern Michigan (16-16, 9-9) 75, (2) Miami (Ohio) 81
Game 4: (6) Western Michigan (12-20, 9-9) 66, (3) Kent State 73

Semifinals (Fri., March 14)

Game 5: (4) Toledo (18-15, 10-8) 90, (1) Akron 100
Game 6: (3) Kent State (22-11, 11-7) 64, (2) Miami 72

Championship (Sat., March 15)

Game 7: (2) Miami (25-9, 14-4) 74, (1) AKRON (28-6, 17-1) 76

MEAC

Wed.–Sat., March 12–15: Norfolk, Va. (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
Champion: Norfolk State

Note: Game numbering includes women’s tournament.

Quarterfinals (Wed., March 12)

Game 3: (8) Maryland-Eastern Shore (6-25, 2-12) 70, (1) Norfolk State 77
Game 4: (7) Coppin State (6-24, 4-10) 63, (2) South Carolina State 68

Quarterfinals (Thurs., March 13)

Game 7: (5) Morgan State 91, (4) Howard (12-20, 7-7) 90
Game 8: (6) North Carolina Central 79, (3) Delaware State (16-14, 8-6) 77

Semifinals (Fri., March 14)

Game 11: (5) Morgan State (14-18, 7-7) 55, (1) Norfolk State 58
Game 12: (6) North Carolina Central (14-19, 6-9) 67, (2) South Carolina State 88

Championship (Sat., March 15)

Game 13: (2) South Carolina State (20-13, 11-3) 65, (1) NORFOLK STATE (24-10, 11-3) 66

MW

Wed.–Sat., March 12–15: Las Vegas (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
Champion: Colorado State

First Round (Wed., March 12)

Game 1: (9) Wyoming (12-20, 5-15) 61, (8) San José State 66
Game 2: (10) Fresno State (6-26, 2-18) 71, (7) Nevada 86
Game 3: (11) Air Force (4-28, 1-19) 49, (6) UNLV 68

Quarterfinals (Thurs., March 13)

Game 4: (8) San José State (15-19, 7-13) 52, (1) New Mexico 63
Game 5: (5) Boise State 62, (4) San Diego State (21-9, 14-6) 52
Game 6: (7) Nevada (17-16, 8-12) 59, (2) Colorado State 67
Game 7: (6) UNLV (18-15, 11-9) 58, (3) Utah State 70

Semifinals (Fri., March 14)

Game 8: (5) Boise State 72, (1) New Mexico (26-7, 17-3) 69
Game 9: (3) Utah State (26-7, 15-5) 72, (2) Colorado State 83

Championship (Sat., March 15)

Game 10: (5) Boise State (24-10, 14-6) 56, (2) COLORADO STATE (25-9, 16-4) 69

SEC

Wed.–Sun., March 12–16: Nashville, Tenn. (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
Champion: Florida

First Round (Wed., March 12)

Game 1: (16) South Carolina (12-20, 2-16) 68, (9) Arkansas 72
Game 2: (13) Texas 79, (12) Vanderbilt (20-12, 8-10) 72
Game 3: (15) LSU (14-18, 3-15) 62, (10) Mississippi State 91
Game 4: (14) Oklahoma 81, (11) Georgia (20-12, 8-10) 75

Second Round (Thurs., March 13)

Game 5: (9) Arkansas (20-13, 8-10) 80, (8) Mississippi 83
Game 6: (13) Texas 94, (5) Texas A&M (22-10, 11-7) 89 (2OT)
Game 7: (10) Mississippi State (21-12, 8-10) 73, (7) Missouri 85
Game 8: (14) Oklahoma (20-13, 6-12) 84, (6) Kentucky 85

Quarterfinals (Fri., March 14)

Game 9: (8) Mississippi (22-11, 10-8) 57, (1) Auburn 62
Game 10: (13) Texas (19-15, 6-12) 72, (4) Tennessee 83
Game 11: (7) Missouri (22-11, 10-8) 81, (2) Florida 95
Game 12: (6) Kentucky (22-11, 10-8) 70, (3) Alabama 99

Semifinals (Sat., March 15)

Game 13: (4) Tennessee 70, (1) Auburn (28-5, 15-3) 65
Game 14: (3) Alabama (25-8, 13-5) 82, (2) Florida 104

Championship (Sun., March 16)

Game 15: (4) Tennessee (27-7, 12-6) 77, (2) FLORIDA (30-4, 14-4) 86

SWAC

Wed.–Sat., March 11–15: Atlanta (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
2024 Champion: Grambling

Did not qualify: Arkansas-Pine Bluff (6-25, 3-15, 11th) and Mississippi Valley State (3-28, 1-17, 12th)

First Round (Tues., March 11)

Game 2: (9) Alabama A&M (10-22, 6-12) 56, (8) Grambling State 73
Game 1: (10) Prairie View A&M (5-27, 4-14) 66, (7) Florida A&M 75

Quarterfinals (Wed., March 12)

Game 4: (8) Grambling State 65, (1) Southern (20-12, 15-3) 62 (OT)
Game 3: (7) Florida A&M (14-17, 10-8) 76, (2) Jackson State 91

Quarterfinals (Thurs., March 13)

Game 6: (5) Alabama State 84, (4) Texas Southern (15-17, 12-6) 79
Game 5: (6) Alcorn State (11-21, 11-7) 60, (3) Bethune-Cookman 69

Semifinals (Fri., March 14)

Game 8: (8) Grambling State (12-22, 7-11) 62, (5) Alabama State 64
Game 7: (3) Bethune-Cookman (17-16, 13-5) 50, (2) Jackson State 71*

Championship (Sat., March 16)

Game 9: (5) ALABAMA STATE (19-15, 12-6) 60, (2) Jackson State (16-18, 14-4) 56

WAC

Tues., March 11: St. George, Utah
Wed.–Sat., March 12–15: Las Vegas (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
Champion: Grand Canyon

First Round (Tues., March 11)

Game 1: (9) Utah Tech 72, (8) Southern Utah (12-19, 4-12) 65

Quarterfinals (Wed., March 12)

Game 2: (9) Utah Tech (7-26, 2-14) 57, (1) Utah Valley 74
Game 3: (7) UT Arlington (13-18, 6-10) 75, (2) Grand Canyon 98

Quarterfinals (Thurs., March 13)

Game 4: (5) Seattle U 69, (4) Abilene Christian (16-16, 8-8) 63
Game 5: (6) Tarleton State (12-20, 7-9) 51, (3) Cal Baptist 55

Semifinals (Fri., March 14)

Game 6: (5) Seattle U (14-18, 8-8) 55, (1) Utah Valley 68
Game 7: (3) Cal Baptist (17-15, 9-7) 66, (2) Grand Canyon 75

Championship (Sat., March 15)

Game 11: (2) GRAND CANYON (26-7, 13-3) 89, (1) Utah Valley (25-8, 15-1) 82

Championship Games On or Before Wednesday, 03/12

ASUN

Sun. and Mon., March 2 and 3; Thurs., March 6; and Sun., March 9: Campus sites (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
Champion: Lipscomb

Did not qualify: West Georgia (6-25, 4-14, 11th place, reclassifying, year 1 of 4) and Bellarmine (5-26, 2-16, 12th place)

Participating, but ineligible for the NCAA/NIT: Queens (reclassifying to Division I, year 3 of 4)

First Round (Sun., March 2)

Game 1: (10) Central Arkansas 77, (9) Stetson (8-24, 6-12) 72
Game 2: (8) North Florida (15-17, 8-10) 69, (7) Austin Peay 90

Quarterfinals (Mon., March 3)

Game 3: (10) Central Arkansas (9-24, 4-14) 66, (1) Lipscomb 84
Game 4: (5) Eastern Kentucky (18-14, 12-6) 67, (4) Jacksonville 78
Game 5: (7) Austin Peay (14-19, 8-10) 64, (2) North Alabama 90
Game 6: (6) Queens 71, (3) FGCU (18-14, 13-5) 65

Semifinals (Thurs., March 6)

Game 7: (6) Queens (19-14, 11-8) 75, (1) Lipscomb (24-9, 14-4), 81 (OT)
Game 8: (4) Jacksonville (19-13, 12-6) 63, (2) North Alabama 78

Championship (Sun., March 9)

Game 9: (2) North Alabama (24-10, 14-4) 65, (1) LIPSCOMB (25-9, 14-4) 76

Big Sky

Sat.–Wed., March 8–12: Boise, Idaho (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
Champion: Montana

First Round (Sat., March 8)

Game 1: (10) Sacramento State (7-25, 3-15) 70, (9) Weber State 83
Game 2: (8) Eastern Washington (10-22, 6-12) 53, (7) Northern Arizona 66

Quarterfinals (Sun., March 9)

Game 3: (9) Weber State (12-22, 5-13) 52, (1) Northern Colorado 76
Game 4: (7) Northern Arizona (18-15, 8-10) 65, (2) Montana 74

Quarterfinals (Mon., March 10)

Game 5: (5) Montana State 80, (4) Idaho State (15-15, 10-8) 60
Game 6: (6) Idaho 80, (3) Portland State (19-13, 11-7) 70

Semifinals (Tues., March 11)

Game 7: (5) Montana State (15-18, 9-9) 45, (1) Northern Colorado 72
Game 8: (6) Idaho (14-19, 8-10) 55, (2) Montana 78

Championship (Wed., March 12)

Game 9: (2) MONTANA (25-9, 15-3) 91, (1) Northern Colorado (24-10, 15-3) 83

Big South

Wed., March 5 and Fri.–Sun., March 7–9: Johnson City, Tenn. (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
Champion: High Point (First D1 NCAA bid)

First Round (Wed., March 5)

Game 1: (9) USC Upstate (6-26, 2-14) 63, (8) Gardner-Webb 83

Quarterfinals (Fri., March 7)

Game 2: (8) Gardner-Webb (11-20, 5-11) 64, (1) High Point 85
Game 3: (5) Presbyterian (14-18, 7-9) 69, (4) Radford 74
Game 4: (7) Charleston Southern (10-22, 6-10) 60, (2) UNC Asheville 80
Game 5: (6) Longwood (18-14, 7-9) 79, (3) Winthrop 88

Semifinals (Sat., March 8)

Game 6: (4) Radford (20-13, 9-7) 73, (1) High Point 76
Game 7: (3) Winthrop 86, (2) UNC Asheville (21-11, 11-5) 67

Championship (Sun., March 9)

Game 8: (3) Winthrop (23-11, 11-5) 69, (1) HIGH POINT (29-5, 14-2) 81

CAA

Fri.–Tues., March 7–11: Washington, D.C. (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
Champion: UNCW

First Round (Fri., March 7)

Game 1: (13) Stony Brook (8-29, 4-14) 76, (12) Delaware 80
Game 2: (14) North Carolina A&T (7-25, 3-15) 55, (11) Hofstra 77

Second Round (Sat., March 8)

Game 3: (9) Elon (17-15, 8-10) 74, (8) Drexel 91
Game 4: (12) Delaware 79, (5) Campbell (15-17, 10-8) 62
Game 5: (10) Hampton 70, (7) Northeastern (17-15, 9-9) 65
Game 6: (11) Hofstra (15-18, 6-12) 60, (6) Monmouth 65

Quarterfinals (Sun., March 9)

Game 7: (8) Drexel (18-15, 9-9) 76, (1) Towson 82
Game 8: (12) Delaware 100, (4) William & Mary (17-15, 11-7) 78
Game 9: (10) Hampton (17-16, 8-10) 65, (2) UNCW 79
Game 10: (6) Monmouth (13-20, 10-8) 78, (3) Charleston 79 (OT)

Semifinals (Mon., March 10)

Game 11: (12) Delaware 82, (1) Towson (22-11, 16-2) 72
Game 12: (3) Charleston (24-9, 13-5) 67, (2) UNCW 68

Championship (Tues., March 11)

Game 13: (12) Delaware (16-20, 5-13) 72, (2) UNCW (27-7, 14-4) 76

Horizon League

Tues. and Thurs., March 4 and 6: Campus sites
Mon. and Tues., March 10 and 11: Indianapolis (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
Champion: Robert Morris

First Round (Tues., March 4)

Game 1: (11) Green Bay (4-28, 2-18) 72, (6) Oakland 96
Game 2: (10) Detroit Mercy (8-24, 4-16) 75, (7) Northern Kentucky 99
Game 3: (9) IU Indianapolis (10-22, 6-14) 85, (8) Wright State 98

Quarterfinals (Thurs., March 6)

Game 4: (8) Wright State (15-18, 8-12) 62, (1) Robert Morris 83
Game 5: (7) Northern Kentucky (17-15, 11-9) 63, (2) Cleveland State 68
Game 6: (6) Oakland 72, (3) Milwaukee (21-11, 14-6) 64
Game 7: (5) Purdue Fort Wayne (19-13, 12-8) 67, (4) Youngstown State 72

Semifinals (Mon., March 10)

Teams were reseeded.

Game 8: (6) Oakland (16-18, 11-9) 76, (1) Robert Morris 79 (OT)
Game 9: (4) Youngstown State 56, (2) Cleveland State (21-11, 14-6) 54

Championship (Tues., March 11)

Game 10: (4) Youngstown State (21-13, 13-7) 78, (1) ROBERT MORRIS (27-8, 15-5) 89

MVC

Thurs.–Sun., March 6–9: St. Louis, Mo. (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
Champion: Drake

First Round (Thurs., March 6)

Game 1: (9) Indiana State (14-18, 8-12) 85, (8) Southern Illinois 86
Game 2: (12) Missouri State (9-23, 2-18) 54, (5) Illinois State 70
Game 3: (10) Evansville (11-21, 8-12) 53, (7) Murray State 74
Game 4: (11) Valparaiso 67, (6) UIC (17-14, 10-10) 50

Quarterfinals (Fri., March 7)

Game 5: (8) Southern Illinois (14-19, 8-12) 53, (1) Drake 70
Game 6: (5) Illinois State (19-14, 10-10) 63, (4) Belmont 76
Game 7: (7) Murray State (16-17, 9-11) 62, (2) Bradley 70
Game 8: (11) Valparaiso 64, (3) Northern Iowa (20-12, 14-6) 63

Semifinals (Sat., March 8)

Game 9: (4) Belmont (22-11, 13-7) 50, (1) Drake 57
Game 10: (11) Valparaiso (15-19, 6-14) 65, (2) Bradley 70

Championship (Sun., March 10)

Game 11: (2) Bradley (26-8, 15-5) 48, (1) DRAKE (30-3, 17-3) 63

NEC

Wed., March 5; Sat., March 8; and Tues., March 11: Higher seeds host (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
Champion: Saint Francis

Will not participate: Mercyhurst (15-16, 9-7, 3rd, reclassifying to Division I, year 1 of 4)
Participating but ineligible for the NCAA/NIT: Le Moyne (reclassifying to Division I, year 2 of 4) and Stonehill (reclassifying to Division I, year 3 of 4)

Quarterfinals (Wed., March 5)

NEC Front Row will stream all four games.

Game 1: (8) Le Moyne (9-23, 4-12) 67, (1) Central Connecticut 86
Game 2: (7) Chicago State (4-28, 4-12) 57, (2) LIU 68
Game 3: (6) Wagner (14-16, 6-10) 55, (3) St. Francis 58
Game 4: (5) Stonehill (15-17, 7-9) 56, (4) Fairleigh Dickinson 71

Semifinals (Sat., March 9)

Game 5: (4) Fairleigh Dickinson (13-20, 8-8) 72, (1) Central Connecticut 76 (OT)
Game 6: (3) Saint Francis 71, (2) LIU (17-16, 12-4) 68

Championship (Tues., March 11)

Game 7: (3) SAINT FRANCIS (16-17, 8-8) 46, (1) Central Connecticut (25-7, 14-2) 43

OVC

Wed.–Sat., March 5–8: Evansville, Ind. (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
Champion: SIUE (First D1 NCAA bid)

Did not qualify: Eastern Illinois (12-19, 8-12, 9th), Western Illinois (12-19, 6-14, 10th), and Southern Indiana (10-20, 5-15, 11th, reclassifying to Division I, year 3 of 4)

Participating but ineligible for the NCAA/NIT: Lindenwood (reclassifying to Division I, year 3 of 4)

First Round (Wed., March 5)

Game 1: (8) UT Martin 70, (5) Tennessee Tech (15-17, 10-10) 67
Game 2: (7) Morehead State (15-17, 10-10) 65, (6) Lindenwood 73

Quarterfinals (Thurs., March 6)

Game 3: (8) UT Martin (14-19, 9-11) 77, (4) Little Rock 82
Game 4: (6) Lindenwood (16-17, 10-10) 55, (3) Tennessee State 69

Semifinals (Fri., March 7)

Game 5: (4) Little Rock (19-14, 12-8) 59, (1) Southeast Missouri 78
Game 6: (3) Tennessee State (17-16, 12-8) 62, (2) SIUE 71

Championship (Sat., March 9)

Game 7: (2) SIUE (22-11, 13-7) 69, (1) Southeast Missouri (21-12, 15-5) 48

Patriot League

Tues., March 4; Thurs., March 6; Sun., March 9; and Wed., March 12: Higher seeds host (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
Champion: American

First Round (Tues., March 4)

Game 1: (9) Lehigh (11-19, 6-12) 73, (8) Loyola Maryland 77
Game 2: (10) Holy Cross (13-19, 5-13) 68, (7) Lafayette 69

Quarterfinals (Thurs., March 6)

Game 3: (8) Loyola Maryland (12-19, 6-12) 72, (1) Bucknell 76 (OT)
Game 4: (5) Navy 86, (4) Boston University (16-16, 10-8) 78
Game 5: (7) Lafayette (13-20, 7-11) 69, (2) American 71
Game 6: (6) Army West Point (16-15, 10-8) 55, (3) Colgate 84

Semifinals (Sun., March 9)

Game 7: (5) Navy 83, (1) Bucknell (18-15, 13-5) 77
Game 8: (3) Colgate (14-19, 10-8) 62, (2) American 72

Championship (Wed., March 12)

Game 9: (5) Navy (15-19, 10-8) 52, (2) AMERICAN (22-12, 15-3) 74

SoCon

Fri.–Mon., March 7–10: Asheville, N.C. (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
Champion: Wofford

First Round (Fri., March 7).

Game 1: (9) Western Carolina (8-22, 4-14) 66, (8) Mercer 67
Game 2: (10) The Citadel (5-25, 0-18) 62, (7) VMI 73

Quarterfinals (Sat., March 8)

Game 3: (8) Mercer (14-19, 6-12) 61, (1) Chattanooga 76
Game 4: (7) VMI 64, (2) UNCG (20-12, 13-5) 57
Game 5: (6) Wofford 72, (3) ETSU (19-13, 12-6) 60
Game 6: (5) Furman 95, (4) Samford (22-10, 12-6) 78

Semifinals (Sun., March 9)

Game 7: (5) Furman 80, (1) Chattanooga (24-9, 15-3) 77 (OT)
Game 8: (7) VMI (15-19, 7-11) 65, (6) Wofford 85

Championship (Mon., March 10)

Game 9: (6) WOFFORD (19-15, 10-8) 92, (5) Furman (25-9, 11-7) 85

Southland

Sun.–Wed., March 9–12: Lake Charles, La. (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
Champion: McNeese

Did not qualify: UTRGV (16-15, 8-12, 9th); Stephen F. Austin (14-17, 7-13, 10th); East Texas A&M (5-26, 3-17, 11th, reclassifying to Division I, year 3 of 4); New Orleans (4-27, 2-18, 12th)

First Round (Sun., March 9)

Game 1: (8) Houston Christian (12-20, 9-11) 48, (5) Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 62
Game 2: (7) Incarnate Word 71, (6) Southeastern Louisiana (18-14, 12-8) 67

Quarterfinals (Mon., March 10)

Game 3: (5) Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (20-14, 12-8) 63, (4) Northwestern State 66
Game 4: (7) Incarnate Word (17-16, 9-11) 70, (3) Nicholls 74 (OT)

Semifinals (Tues., March 11)

Game 5: (4) Northwestern State (16-16, 12-8) 64, (1) McNeese 83
Game 6: (3) Nicholls (20-13, 13-7) 55, (2) Lamar 58

Championship (Wed., March 12)

Game 7: (2) Lamar (20-13, 14-6) 54, (1) MCNEESE (27-6, 19-1) 63

Summit League

Wed.–Sun., March 5–9: Sioux Falls, S.D. (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
Champion: Omaha (First D1 NCAA bid)

Participating but ineligible for the NCAA/NIT: St. Thomas (reclassifying to Division I, year 4 of 5)

First Round (Wed., March 5)

Game 1: (9) Oral Roberts (7-23, 3-13) 56, (8) Kansas City 73

Quarterfinals (Thurs., March 6)

Game 2: (8) Kansas City (13-20, 4-12) 61, (1) Omaha 70
Game 3: (7) Denver (11-21, 5-11) 62, (2) St. Thomas 80

Quarterfinals (Fri., March 7)

Game 4: (5) South Dakota 85, (4) North Dakota State (21-11, 10-6) 84
Game 5: (6) North Dakota 85, (3) South Dakota State (20-12, 11-5) 69

Semifinals (Sat., March 8)

Game 6: (5) South Dakota (19-14, 9-7) 75, (1) Omaha 100
Game 7: (6) North Dakota (12-21, 5-11) 69, (2) St. Thomas 85

Championship (Sun., March 9)

Game 8: (2) St. Thomas (24-10, 12-4) 75, (1) OMAHA (22-12, 13-3) 85

Sun Belt

Tues. through Mon., March 4–10: Pensacola, Fla. (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
Champion: Troy

First Round (Tues., March 4)

Game 1: (13) Coastal Carolina (10-22, 3-15) 63, (12) Southern Miss. 66
Game 2: (14) ULM (7-25, 3-15) 69, (11) Louisiana 73 (OT)

Second Round (Wed., March 5)

Game 3: (12) Southern Miss. (11-22, 5-13) 64, (9) Georgia Southern 78
Game 4: (11) Louisiana (12-21, 8-10) 49, (10) Old Dominion 67

Third Round (Thurs., March 6)

Game 5: (9) Georgia Southern (17-16, 8-10) 71, (8) Georgia State 80
Game 6: (10) Old Dominion 64, (7) Texas State (16-16, 9-9) 61

Fourth Round (Fri., March 7)

Game 7: (8) Georgia State (14-19, 8-10) 76, (5) Marshall 79
Game 8: (10) Old Dominion 61, (6) App State (17-14, 10-8) 56

Quarterfinals (Sat., March 8)

Game 9: (5) Marshall (20-13, 12-6) 74, (4) Arkansas State 77
Game 10: (10) Old Dominion (15-20, 8-10) 59, (3) Troy 75

Semifinals (Sun., March 9)

Game 11: (4) Arkansas State 74, (1) South Alabama (21-11, 13-5) 71
Game 12: (3) Troy 79, (2) James Madison (20-12, 13-5) 60

Championship (Mon., March 11)

Game 13: (4) Arkansas State (24-10, 13-5) 81, (3) TROY (23-10, 13-5) 94

WCC

Thurs.–Tues., March 6–11: Las Vegas (PDF Bracket; BtB Primer)
Champion: Gonzaga

First Round (Thurs., March 7)

Game 1: (11) San Diego 81, (10) Pacific (9-24, 4-14) 77

Second Round (Fri., March 7)

Game 2: (9) Pepperdine 86, (8) Portland (12-20, 7-11) 73
Game 3: (11) San Diego (6-27, 2-16) 74, (7) Loyola Marymount 100

Third Round (Sat., March 8)

Game 4: (9) Pepperdine 77, (5) Oregon State (20-12, 10-8) 73
Game 5: (7) Loyola Marymount (17-15, 8-10) 77, (6) Washington State 94

Quarterfinals (Sun., March 9)

Game 6: (9) Pepperdine 78, (4) Santa Clara (20-12, 12-6) 76
Game 7: (6) Washington State (19-14, 8-10) 75, (3) San Francisco 86

Semifinals (Mon., March 10)

Game 8: (9) Pepperdine (12-22, 4-14) 59, (1) Saint Mary’s 74
Game 9: (3) San Francisco (24-9, 13-5) 76, (2) Gonzaga 85

Championship (Tues., March 11)

Game 8: (2) GONZAGA (25-8, 14-4) 58, (1) Saint Mary’s (28-5, 17-1) 51

2025 Big Ten Conference Tournament: Schedule, Bracket, Recent History, TV/Streaming Info

2025-03-16T17:42:11-04:00

The final 2025 Big Ten men’s tournament logo bracket. | Graphic by Chris Dobbertean using logos from SportsLogos.net.

While the conference expanded from 14 to 18, it only expanded the tournament field to 15. I explained why in the ACC Tournament Primer. Michigan came away with the title.

2025 Big Ten Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament Basics

The final 2025 Big Ten men’s tournament logo bracket.

Format

Traditional bracket

Site

The Big Ten Tournament is back at the Gainsbridge Fieldhouse in Downtown Indianapolis after spending last year at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

There is one TV/streaming change for 2025, with Peacock taking Wednesday’s first-round tripleheader from the Big Ten Network. (I’m still abbreviating it as BTN, dammit.)

Participants

As noted in the ACC Tournament Primer, the easiest way to ensure the top half of an 18-team conference earns at least a bye, you have to drop three teams. This year, that means Nebraska (17-14, 7-13, t12); Penn State (16-15, 6-14, 17th); Washington (13-18, 4-16, 18th). The Cornhuskers’ at-large hopes are basically toast after they lost at home to Iowa on Sunday and ended up as the fifth team in a five-way tie for 12th. That’s 16th overall and not good enough to make it to Indy.

Schedule

All times are p.m. Eastern unless noted. Games marked with an asterisk (*) are the second of a doubleheader, so the tip time is approximate.

Downloadable PDF Bra cket

First Round (Wed., March 12)

Game 1: (13) Northwestern 72, (12) Minnesota (15-17, 7-13) 64
Game 2: (15) Iowa 77, (10) Ohio State (17-15, 9-11) 70
Game 3: (14) USC 97, (11) Rutgers (15-17, 8-12) 89 (2OT)

Second Round (Thurs., March 13)

Quarterfinals (Fri., March 14)

Semifinals (Sat., March 16)

Game 12: (5) Wisconsin 77, (1) Michigan State (27-6, 17-3) 74
Game 13: (3) Michigan 81, (2) Maryland (25-8, 14-6) 80

Championship (Sun., March 17)

Game 14: (5) Wisconsin (26-9, 13-7) 53, (3) MICHIGAN (25-9, 14-6) 59

Mayhem Potential

Data originally posted by Bob Vetrone Jr. on Twitter in 2020 with my own additions for the seasons beyond.

Nine of the last 14 Big Ten Tournaments have been won by either the 1 or 2 seed, with the 4, 6, 7, and all seeds from 9 down being shut out.

1 seed (5): 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2023
2 seed (4): 2013, 2016, 2021, 2024
5 seed (2): 2018, 2022
3 seed (1); 2014
8 seed (1): 2017

NCAA Bid Totals Since 2011

9 Bids (2): 2021 (8-9 record, 14 teams), 2022 (9-9, 14)
8 bids (1): 2019 (13-8 record, 14 teams), 2023 (6-8, 14)
7 bids (5): 2011 (7-7 record, 11 teams), 2013 (14-7, 12), 2015 (12-7, 14), 2016 (8-7, 14), 2017 (8-7, 14)
6 bids (3): 2012 (11-6 record, 12 teams), 2014 (10-6, 12), 2024 (10-6, 14)
4 bids (1): 2018 (3-9 record, 14 teams)

Surprisingly, the Big Ten’s NCAA winning percentage was better with six reps in 2024 than with eight or nine between 2021 and 2023. There’s a really good chance that the conference hits double-figures in 2025, though Nebraska’s inability to qualify hurt that quest slightly.

Last Conference Tournament Championships

Illinois: 2024 (2 seed)
Oregon: 2024 (4 seed, Pac-12)
Purdue: 2023 (1 seed)
Iowa: 2022 (5 seed)
Michigan State: 2019 (1 seed)
Michigan: 2018 (5 seed)
Wisconsin: 2015 (1 seed)
UCLA: 2014 (2 seed, Pac-12)
Ohio State: 2013 (2 seed)
Washington: 2011 (3 seed, Pac-12)
USC: 2009 (6 seed, Pac-12)
Maryland: 2004 (6 seed, ACC)
Nebraska: 1994 (4 seed, Big Eight)
Penn State: 1991 (3 seed, Atlantic 10)
Rutgers: 1989 (3 seed, Atlantic 10)

Remember the Big Ten Tournament only started in 1998, so it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that long-term members Indiana, Minnesota, and Northwestern haven’t picked up a single conference tournament title (though it is a mild shock in the Hoosiers’ case). Maryland, Nebraska, Penn State, and Rutgers all won titles in previous conferences. This year’s tournament features two defending conference tournament champs in Illinois and Oregon, the final Pac-12 champ before the league entered a two-year hiatus.

2025 American Athletic Conference Tournament: Schedule, Bracket, Recent History, TV/Streaming Info

2025-03-16T17:42:07-04:00

The final 2025 American Athletic men’s tournament logo bracket. | Graphic by Chris Dobbertean using logos from SportsLogos.net.

Memphis, the favorite and the conference’s only true at-large threat, won the title by defeating UAB.

2025 American Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament Basics

The final 2025 American Athletic men’s tournament logo bracket.

Format

Traditional bracket with one fewer opening-round game than in previous years, thanks to SMU’s departure to the ACC.

Site

For the fifth season in a row, the majority of the American Athletic Conference Tournament is set for Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, which was also scheduled to host the canceled 2020 edition. However, the first round game will be played at the Super Pit in Denton, home of North Texas. (With free admission, as advertised on the American’s Championship hub.)

Schedule

All times are p.m. Eastern unless noted. Games marked with an asterisk (*) are the second of a doubleheader, so the tip time is approximate.

Downloadable PDF Bra cket

First Round (Wed., March 12)

Game 1: (13) Charlotte 64, (12) Rice (13-19, 4-14) 61

Second Round (Thurs., March 13)

Quarterfinals (Fri., March 14)

Semifinals (Sat., March 15)

Game 10: (4) Tulane (19-14, 12-6) 77, (1) Memphis 78
Game 11: (3) UAB 66, (2) North Texas (24-8, 14-4) 56

Championship (Sun., March 16)

Game 12: (3) UAB (22-12, 13-5) 72, (1) MEMPHIS (29-5, 16-2) 84

Mayhem Potential

Data originally posted by Bob Vetrone Jr. on Twitter in 2020 with my own additions for the seasons beyond.

The top two seeds have combined to win eight of the 10 American Athletic Tournaments held so far. The exceptions were 2016’s fifth-seeded UConn team and last year’s UAB squad.

1 seed (4): 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022
2 seed (4): 2014, 2019, 2021, 2023
4 seed (1): 2024
5 seed (1): 2016

NCAA Bid Totals Since 2014

4 bids (3): 2014 (9-3 record, 10 teams, UConn national champion), 2016 (1-4 record, 11 teams), 2019 (3-4 record, 12 teams)
3 bids (1): 2018 (2-3 record, 12 teams)
2 bids (6): 2015 (1-2 record, 11 teams), 2017 (1-2 record, 11 teams), 2021 (4-2 record, 11 teams), 2022 (4-2 record, 11 teams), 2023 (2-2, 11 teams), 2024 (0-2 record, 14 teams)

The only current conference member that has won an NCAA game while in the league is Memphis, who defeated Boise State in the 2022 Tournament before losing to Gonzaga. In 2023, the Tigers lost in the first round to Final Four-bound Florida Atlantic, which was a Conference USA member at the time.

Last Conference Tournament Championships

Memphis: 2025 (1 seed)
UAB: 2024 (4 seed)
Florida Atlantic: 2023 (1 seed, CUSA)
North Texas: 2021 (W3 seed, CUSA)
Wichita State: 2017 (2 seed, MVC)
Tulsa: 2014 (2 seed, CUSA)
UTSA: 2011 (7 seed, Southland)
Temple: 2010 (1 seed, Atlantic 10)
Charlotte: 2001 (3 seed, CUSA)
East Carolina: 1993 (7 seed, CAA)
South Florida: 1990 (2 seed, Sun Belt)

Just six teams have won the American Athletic tournament title over its short lifespan, and four of them (Cincinnati, UConn, Houston, and SMU) have moved to other conferences. On the other hand, Rice and Tulane are the only league members that have never won a tournament championship in any conference.