There are 22 games today. 12 conference tournaments will claim their automatic bid, while 5 conferences will play their semi-finals to play for their title tomorrow in one of the most agonizingly nerve-wracking parts of March. There is enough pressure on these games as it is with an invitation to the tournament on the line, but the Selection Committee has already made most of their decisions by Sunday, so what happens in a conference like the American if a favorite loses. The committee says they create contingency brackets – but the bias involved in that has to be strong. Anyways, lets worry about today. I am going to list out all 22 games – because that is what a Lunatic would do. Not going to comment on them all – but at least you know when and where the games are. Lets start with the power conferences – with the championships coming first.

• Big 12 – 6 pm (ESPN) – #2 Houston vs. Arizona – the Wildcats upset #9 Texas Tech on Friday to get to the championship. The Cougars should be safe as a 1 seed – but obviously, they want to show they are the best team in the Big 12.
• Big East – 6:30 pm (FOX) – #6 St. John’s vs Creighton – the Bluejays knocked off the two time national champions, while the Red Storm ran away from Marquette in the second half. I think St. John’s analytical rankings will hold them back for a chance at the last 1 seed, but I guess there is still a small chance for them to move up.
• ACC – 8:30 pm (ESPN) – #1 Duke vs #13 Louisville – in the first half against UNC, Duke showed they are more than just Cooper Flagg before having to hang on to win by 3. Meanwhile, the Cardinals managed to take a big lead on Clemson and then also hang on by 3. Will be interesting to see how the #1 team in the country does without their star player against a ranked team.

SEC semi-finals (both games on ESPN):

• 1 pm – #8 Tennessee vs. #3 Auburn – do the Volunteers still have an outside chance at a 1 seed – the SEC tournament has set up perfectly for a champion outside of Auburn to claim the other bid. (I suspect Duke, Auburn and Houston are safe).
• 3:30 pm – #4 Florida vs #5 Alabama – the Crimson Tide are asking the same question the Vols are. And obviously the Gators is trying to hang on to the last 1 seed. Both of these games deserve to be a final and might be the best games of the day – the fact that they are semis show how amazing the SEC is this year.

Big 10 semi-finals (both games on CBS / Paramount+)

• 1 pm – #7 Michigan State vs. #18 Wisconsin – it is unclear to me if the Spartans can get to the top line – but they will have to play against a very dangerous Badgers team to try to prove it.
• 3:30 pm – #11 Maryland vs #22 Michigan – can the Wolverines keep defying expectations by winning games. Both the Terps and Wolverines looked unbeatable in their quarterfinals so should be a great game.

NON POWER CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS – in order of when they come on TV. I am not going to comment on every game but will point out a couple interesting ones. I think the teams with asterisks by them are the current teams I have listed as favorites in my bracketology page – things might have changed in some of the semi-finals on Friday.

• 11 am (ESPN2 / ESPN+) – AMERICA EAST – Bryant* (22-11) vs Maine (20-13)
• 1 pm (ESPN2 / ESPN+) – MEAC – Norfolk State* (23-10) vs South Carolina State (20-12)
• 6 pm (CBS) – MOUNTAIN WEST – Colorado State (24-9) vs Boise State (24-9) – What a really big game – because nothing makes sense in the Mountain West. Both Colorado State and Boise State were in the bubble conversation going into the week – so is making the title game enough. The Broncos have beaten both San Diego State and regular-season champion New Mexico to get here. The Rams beat Nevada and upset Utah State based on NET ranking last night. The NET ranking says the favorite should be Boise State (but to be fair, the NET was wrong on both of Friday’s semi-finals). The conference standings say 2nd place Colorado State should be the favorite, as well as the fact that the Rams swept Boise State in both regular season games. Of course, it is hard to beat a good team three times in a season. So glad the games are not played on paper, and that we can simply watch these two really good teams play for a guaranteed spot in the tournament (and of course, the Mountain West championship trophy).
• 7:30 pm (ESPNU / ESPN+)- MAAC – Iona (17-16) vs. Mt St. Mary’s (21-12) – Iona knocked off regular-season Quinnipac and Mt. St. Mary’s responded by taking out 2nd place Merrimack. Will eventually have to update my bracketology.
• 7:40 pm (ESPN2 / ESPN+) – MAC – Akron* (27-6) vs. Miami OH (25-8) – the MAC always puts up dangerous teams in March, so it should be a great game between the conferences’ top two teams.
• 8:30 pm (CBS Sports Network) – CONFERENCE USA – Liberty* (27-6) vs. Jacksonville State (22-11) – The Flames are a top 65 NET ranking team, but have not played a single Quad 1 opponent all season. They will need to beat the Gamecocks to make the tournament.
• 9:30 pm (ESPNU / ESPN+) – SWAC – Jackson State (16-17) vs. Alabama State (18-15)
• 9:30 pm (ESPN2 / ESPN+) – BIG WEST – UC San Diego* (29-4) vs. UC Irvine (28-5) – this is certainly the best game of the day of two teams most people have no heard about. But these are two great basketball teams. UC San Diego has a NET ranking of 35 – and they also have a road victory against Utah State. UC Irvine has a NET ranking of 60 – but their only quad 1 game (and victory) is a road win against the Tritons. Of course, the Tritons got a second Quad 1 win when they returned the favor and beat the Anteaters in Irvine. Whenever you get to watch two teams that have won 28+ games (and have split their regular season games), you know that you are going to get to watch a fantastic game. The only unfortunate reality is that the team who loses tonight likely will miss out on the NCAA Tournament.
• 11:30 pm (ESPN2 / ESPN+) – WAC – Utah Valley* (25-7) vs. Grand Canyon (25-7) – if you do decide to stay up for the last game of the day, it should be a good one. It might not have two 28+ win teams in the top 60 of the NET like the Big West conference before it, but the top two teams from the WAC both being 25 win teams is a pretty appropriate way to finish Championship Saturday.

Atlantic 10 semi-finals (both games on CBS Sports Network)

• 1 pm – VCU* (26-6) vs Loyola-Chicago (22-10) – this is probably the biggest games on the bubble since all the remaining power conference teams have a cemented place in the tournament. The Rams probably need to at a minimum make it to the championship so this is a critical game. Their NET suggests that they are safe. What the committee did to Indiana State last year suggests that they are not safe. Hoping the local Richmond team takes the decision out of the committee’s hands by winning two more games this weekend.
• 3:30 pm – George Mason (25-7) vs. St. Joseph’s (22-11) – the Patriots are co-champions in the Atlantic 10, but their NET ranking doesn’t put them in the same category as VCU. They are very capable of continuing to win and claiming the A-10 title.

American semi-finals (both games on ESPN2 / ESPN+)

• 3 pm – #16 Memphis* (27-5) vs Tulane (19-13) – this is the second biggest bubble game of the day, but for a different reason. The Tigers as the #16 team in the country are safer than VCU. Which means if they get upset by Tulane today (or in the championship Sunday), the bubble will shrink by one to get the Tigers into the field.
• 5 pm – North Texas (24-7) vs UAB (21-11) – North Texas has a decent NET ranking at 59 but no Quad 1 wins, and if they get one this weekend, it will mean they have the automatic bid, so they really need to keep winning.

Ivy semi-finals (11 am on ESPNU, 2 pm on ESPNEWS – both on ESPN+)

• 11 am – Yale* (20-7) vs Princeton (19-11)
• 2 pm – Cornell (17-10) vs Dartmouth (14-13)

22 games to decide 12 automatic bids for the NCAA Tournament – Championship Saturday is here!!!! Enjoy a fantastic day of college hoops!