Sunday's selection is coming up and the bid is on for a conference championship run.
Before Madness began, Saturday was packed with action as each team punched their ticket to the dance.
With 13 conference finals and plenty of implications for the NCAA Tournament, there's a lot to monitor. Wisconsin advanced to the Big Ten finals with a thrilling victory over Purdue. In the Big East tournament finals, the No. 2 seed asserted himself as the No. 1 overall seed as UConn defeated No. 10 Marquette. No. 7 Iowa State delivered perhaps the most shocking result of the day, defeating No. 1 Houston 69-41 in the Big 12 title game.
Here is the full schedule for today's conference tournament finals:
Eastern US: Vermont 66, Massachusetts Lowell 61 MEAC: Howard 70, Delaware 67 Big 12: Iowa State 69, Houston 41 Mountain West: New Mexico State 68, SDSU 61 Big East: UConn 73, Marquette 57 MAAC: St. Peter's 68, Fairfield 63 MAC: Akron 62, Kent State 61 ACC: NC State 84, UNC 76 US Conference: Western Kentucky 78, UTEP 71 Pac-12: Oregon 75, Colorado 68 Big West: Long Beach State 74, UC Davis 70 SWAC: Grambling State 75, South Texas 66
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Final: Grambling State 75, Texas Southern 66
Grambling State won the SWAC Tournament and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
Finals: Long Beach State University 74, UC Davis 70
The Beach won the Big West title and earned the automatic bid. This is especially interesting since Long Beach head coach Dan Monson was said to be leaving his coaching position at the end of this season.Not Don
Final: Oregon 75, Colorado 68
Oregon State will be in the NCAA Tournament! The Ducks will likely win an unlikely Pac-12 Tournament title and earn a bid.
Nfalee Dante was the hero for the Ducks, scoring 25 points (!!!) on 12-of-12 shooting, nine rebounds, three steals, and one block.
Nfalee Dante led Oregon State with 23 points. For now, these he doesn't have anything bigger than two.
Ducks and buffs come and go. Oregon State led 66-62 with 2:42 left. Can the Ducks get a shutout? I got a lot of phone calls in Las Vegas.
All games in the Pac-12 finals were close. Oregon State is a bubble team and may need this win to advance to the Big Dance.
Finals: NC State 84, UNC 76
The Wolfpack won in overtime. DJ Horn was the hero with 29 points, but tonight DJ Burns made his name known. The big man had 20 points and seven assists.
UNC had a chance to cut the lead to four points earlier, but multiple 3-point shots missed the target. There are 91 seconds left in this game.
With minutes left, NC State increased its lead to double digits. The Wolfpack here is a lot like the Bid Thief.
The Wolfpack is holding down in Washington, DC.
Halftime: Oregon 33, Colorado 30
It's been a back-and-forth game so far as they aim for the Pac-12 title. The Ducks finished the first half with a strong run and took the lead.
With less than 10 minutes left in the ACC title game, the Wolfpack still leads by five points.
Final: St. Peter’s 68, Fairfield 63
The Peacocks won the MAAC finals and earned a ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
Final: Akron 62, Ken State 61
Kent State's MAC final came to a brutal end as they took a one-point lead with six seconds left, but then Julius Rollins fouled Akron and made a huge mental mistake. The Zips made both free throws for the win.
Akron is headed to the NCAA Tournament, while Kent State is frustrated by falling just short.
(8) Kent State's Julius Rollins forgets the situation and fouls up a 1 with 4.8 left, giving Akron the lead back in the MAC Championship. what are you doing? ! ! ! (via video @cjzero) pic.twitter.com/sJmVgJRL8u
— NCAA Buzzer Beaters & Game Winners (@NCAABuzzerBters) March 17, 2024
Meanwhile, Buff is slowly building up a good attack.
The Wolfpack quickly found their groove in the second half, getting closer to the rim at will. They are shooting over 60 percent from the field in this game.
Halftime: UNC 40, NC State 39
The Tar Heels continued to fight back and tied the game minutes before halftime. However, North Carolina State's DJ Barnes Jr. hit his first career 3-pointer from deep to give the Wolfpack the lead again.
NC State got off to a strong start in the ACC title game, leading UNC 14-4 at the first media timeout.
In news other than the tournament…
BREAKING: Ohio State is looking to give Jake Diebler the full-time job, sources say. @aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
Diebler replaced Chris Holtmann following his departure and did a great job leading the Buckeyes to a 6-2 record.
