College basketball’s regular season and conference championship week is finished, with multiple teams earning automatic bids ahead of the NCAA tournament.
March 13 (UPI) — College basketball’s regular season and conference championship week is finished, with multiple teams earning automatic bids ahead of the NCAA tournament.
On Sunday, Auburn won its first SEC title since 1985, Cincinnati defeated Houston in the AAC championship game and Michigan State captured the Big Ten championship over Michigan. Duke claimed the ACC title Saturday, and Iowa State pulled out a win over Kansas in the Big 12 title game.
Other teams that captured a conference championship and automatic berth were: Buffalo (MAC), Villanova (Big East), Yale (Ivy League), Saint Louis (Atlantic 10), Georgia State (Sun Belt), Vermont (America East), NC Central (MEAC), Utah State (MWC), Prairie View (SWAC), Montana (Big Sky), Old Dominion (C-USA), Abilene Christian (Southland), New Mexico State (WAC), Oregon (Pac-12) and UC Irvine (Big West), among others.
The rest of the tournament’s field was rounded out Sunday during the annual Selection Show, as Duke, North Carolina, Virginia and Gonzaga earned No. 1 seeds.
Belmont, Temple, Arizona State and St. John’s were the Last Four In. The First Four Out were UNC-Greensboro, Alabama, TCU and Indiana.
This year’s NCAA tournament schedule begins with the First Four on March 19. The tournament’s first full day of action arrives March 21.
Below is the full March Madness bracket for each region, along with the tournament’s schedule and game locations. Game times have yet to be announced.
East Region (First and Second Rounds):
No. 1 Duke (29-5) vs. No. 16 NC Central/North Dakota State, Friday, Columbia, South Carolina
No. 8 VCU (25-7) vs. No. 9 UCF (23-8), Friday, Columbia, South Carolina
No.
