2017 Championship “Week” Update: March 7

We start, as usual, by congratulating the teams that earned their way into the NCAA tournament last night: Iona, UNC Wilmington, and East Tennessee State. Condolences are in order for UNC Greensboro and South Dakota, as they’re now headed to the NIT with automatic bids thanks to their losses last night.

Speaking of South Dakota, here’s how South Dakota State knocked the top seeded Coyotes out of the Summit League tournament:

We get four more bids handed out tonight, and that’ll be exciting, particularly if UW-Milwaukee cashes in their lottery ticket and becomes a 20 loss team in the NCAA tournament. The ACC spools up today as well, so we’ll get DAYTIME BASKETBALL~! from them. There’s also first day of action in the Big Sky and the SWAC.

NCAA Automatic Bids: East Tennessee State (SoCon), Florida Gulf Coast (Atlantic Sun), Iona (MAAC), Jacksonville State (OVC), UNC Wilmington (CAA), Wichita State (MVC), Winthrop (Big South)

NIT Automatic Bids: Belmont (OVC), Illinois State (MVC), Oakland (Horizon League), UNC Greensboro (SoCon), South Dakota (Summit League)

All times Central

ACC FIRST ROUND

11am: #12 Clemson vs #13 North Carolina State (ESPN2)
1:30pm: #10 Wake Forest vs #15 Boston College (ESPN2)
6pm: #11 Georgia Tech vs #14 Pittsburgh (ESPNU)

BIG SKY FIRST ROUND (Eversport.tv)

4:30pm: #8 Portland State vs #9 Northern Arizona
7:30pm: #7 Sacramento State vs #10 Idaho State
10pm: #6 Montana State vs #11 Southern Utah

HORIZON LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP (ESPN)

6pm: #4 Northern Kentucky vs #10 Milwaukee

MEAC FIRST ROUND (WatchESPN)

3pm: #8 Delaware State vs #9 Bethune-Cookman
5:30pm: #7 South Carolina State vs #10 Florida A&M

NEC CHAMPIONSHIP (ESPN2)

6pm: #4 St. Francis (PA) at #1 Mount St. Mary’s

SWAC QUARTERFINALS

6pm: #7 Mississippi Valley State at #2 Alcorn State
7:30pm: #8 Alabama State at #1 Texas Southern
7:30pm: #6 Jackson State at #3 Southern
8pm: #5 Grambling State at #4 Prairie View A&M

SUMMIT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP (ESPN2)

8pm: #3 Nebraska-Omaha vs #4 South Dakota State

WCC CHAMPIONSHIP (ESPN)

8pm: #1 Gonzaga vs #2 Saint Mary’s