The ACC, Big 12 and Big 10 join the mix as their first rounds kick-off. That will include some teams that are technically on the bubble. But first, congratulations are in order for our conference tournament champions.

• Troy defended their regular season championship as they beat a Georgia Southern team who was playing their 6th game in 6 days. Troy jumped out early and didn’t look back on their way to a 77-61 victory in the Sun Belt.
• Furman upset regular season champ East Tennessee State with a 76-61 victory to claim the Southern Conference automatic bid.

And for those of you excited for one last matchup between Gonzaga and St. Mary’s before Gonzaga leaves for the Pac 10 next year, bubble team Santa Clara crashed the party with their 76-71 upset over St. Mary’s. This sets up the biggest game of the day at 9 pm on ESPN. Santa Clara might have already done enough to give the WCC 3 teams in the tournament, but if they can upset Gonzaga in Las Vegas tonight, they will take the decision out of the committee’s hands.

Other than the West Coast Conference championship, we have 4 other tournaments having their final tonight – although one of them doesn’t matter. The NEC will have regular season champion LIU playing transitioning Mercyhurst at 7 pm on ESPN2 – where since Mercyhurst isn’t eligible, LIU is playing tonight for pride knowing their tournament bid is secure. The other three are not so lucky – they need to win tonight to dance.

• Coastal – 3rd seed Hofstra (23-10) plays 4th seed Monmouth (19-14) at 7 pm on CBS Sports Network
• Horizon – 1st seed Wright State (22-11) plays 3rd seed Detroit Mercy (17-14) at 7 pm on ESPN
• MAAC – 1st seed Merrimack (23-10) plays 3rd Siena (22-11)

The Southland semi-finals are also somewhat interesting tonight if you are looking for a team who will likely be a 12-14 seed but might be able to pull an upset in the tournament. NET 86 regular season champion Stephen F Austin (27-4) plays Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on ESPNU at 7 pm followed by NET 62 McNeese St (26-5) plays UT-Rio Grande at 9:30 pm on ESPN+. I don’t think either of them can get an at-large bid, but it should be a great final tomorrow if the two favorites advance.

If you count the bubble as teams in the top 80 of the NET with at least 1 Quad 1 win, the Big 12 (on ESPN+) and the ACC (ACC Network) is where you want to watch.

• 12:30 pm Big 12 – 48 Baylor (16-15) vs 67 Arizona State (16-15). No team has got an at-large bid with 16 losses, so not sure how realistic either teams chances are – but they certainly can’t lose today.
• 2 pm ACC – 59 Stanford (20-11) vs Pitt (12-19). Stanford does have 5 Quad 1 wins but they might still be on the wrong side of the bubble so they can’t afford a loss to Pitt.
• 3 pm Big 12 – 46 Cincinnati (17-14) vs Utah (10-21). The Bearcats had been on a tear lately including victories against Kansas and BYU until their momentum got stopped in their finale against TCU. They need to get a win here.
• 4:30 pm ACC – 39 SMU (19-12) vs Syracuse (15-16). SMU looked like they were locked into the tournament until they finished the season on a 4 game losing streak. Losing to Syracuse will lead to a very long wait for the Mustangs.
• 7 pm ACC – 53 Virginia Tech (19-12) vs 64 Wake Forest (16-15). Both teams are in that horrible place of having lots of chances at Quad 1 wins and only could win 1-2 of them. The Hokies are in a slightly better spot but neither can afford a loss here.
• 7 pm Big 12 – 24 BYU (21-10) vs Kansas State (12-19) – the Cougars are probably playing for seed here, but they certainly don’t want to lose this early in the conference tournament.
• 9:30 pm Big 12 – 71 Colorado (17-14) vs 79 Oklahoma State (18-13). Both teams are on the outside looking in, but the Big 12 tournament will give lots of chances to impress the committee, so if they can advance to get a chance against TCU and Kansas, they could possibly make a run for the tournament.

Enjoy the games!!!