Selection Sunday is here, but five more automatic bids remained up for grabs in the NCAA tournament. The SEC, Big Ten, A-10, American and Ivy League all waited until the final day to crown their conference champions. Let’s take a look at the final five automatic bids for the Big Dance.
Big Ten Championship: Wisconsin vs. Illinois
The Big Ten locked up the final automatic bid of March Madness. Illinois took on Wisconsin in Minneapolis. The Badgers jumped out to an early lead and looked to be pulling their second straight major upset of the tournament. But the number 13 team in the country came storming back for the second straight game giving the Fighting Illini the Big Ten’s automatic bid. This was the last championship for the Big Ten under the current format as they are adding some Pac-12 schools next season.
SEC Championship: Florida vs. Auburn
Auburn entered the SEC tournament ranked number four in the conference and looking for a possible number three bid. Meanwhile, Florida just reached a contract extension with their head coach as they made a run from the number six seed. Auburn was the only one of the top four seeds to make it out of the quarterfinals after receiving the double bye. The Tigers avenged their worst loss in conference play as they crushed the Gators 86-67. Auburn is hopeful its performance was impressive enough to move them up to a number two seed.
American Athletic Conference Championship: Temple vs. UAB
The UAB Blazers make history by winning the American Athletic Conference in their first year. UAB went undefeated in the tournament to cash a conference title in their first ever opportunity. It’s the third straight conference title for UAB who won the Conference USA title each of the past two seasons.
Ivy League Championship: Brown vs. Yale
The clock struck Midnight on Brown’s Cinderella Ivy League tournament run one second too early. The Bears snuck into the Ivy League tournament as the four seed despite a losing record this season. After stunning top seeded Princeton Saturday, Brown led the majority of the game Sunday. However, Yale drained a jumper with one second left in the game to seal the 62-61 win in one of the best conference tournament championship games this March. Yale advances to the NCAA tournament while Brown’s dreams came up just short.
Atlantic 10 Championship: Duquesne vs. VCU
A first in my lifetime as Duquesne is headed to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 47 years. The sixth-seeded Dukes went on a run through the A-10 tournament before toppling fifth-seeded VCU 57-51 Sunday. It’s Duquesne’s first A-10 Championship and NCAA tournament appearance since 1977.
Selection Sunday
Just like every year, Selection Sunday is expected to be wild. Some teams made unlikely runs in their conference tournaments to ensure a tournament bid. Some teams that were likely making the tournament before the conference tourneys began are now out because of poor showings while other bubble teams made deep runs. It’ll be interesting to see who the final 68 teams are standing as March Madness truly gets into full swing.
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