March Madness is arising quick. Here is what to know together with some key video games to watch and who’s on the bubble forward of Selection Sunday for the NCAA Tournament:
KEY DATES
The basketball calendar is getting crowded. Up first are the convention tournaments:
— The ACC Tournament start things off March 7-11 in Greensboro, North Carolina.
— The Big 12 Tournament will be March 8-11 in Kansas City, Missouri.
— The Big Ten Tournament will be March 8-12 in Chicago.
— The Big East Tournament will be March 8-11 in New York.
— The Pac-12 Tournament will be March 8-11 in Las Vegas.
— The SEC Tournament will be March 8-12 in Nashville, Tennessee.
MARCH MADNESS
Selection Sunday is March 12, when bracket matchups shall be set for the First Four and first- and second-round games that stretch from Florida to California.
Sweet 16 weekend will see video games in New York City (East Region), Las Vegas (West), Kansas City, Missouri (Midwest), and Louisville, Kentucky (South).
Where is the Final Four? In Houston, on April 1, with the championship recreation on April 3.
Basketball aficionados, take be aware: The girls’s NCAA Tournament will maintain its Final Four in Dallas, a four-hour drive up the street from Houston.
BETTING GUIDE
Who’s going to win the nationwide championship? With the season nonetheless rolling, the betting favorites as of this week to attain the Final Four are Houston, Kansas, Purdue and Alabama, in accordance to FanDuel Sportsbook. That matches the highest groups in the NCAA’s initial seed watch, too, and most of the groups within the AP Top 25.
BUBBLE WATCH
North Carolina (17-11): Remember when the Tar Heels have been taking part in for a nationwide title? Seems like a very long time in the past the best way this season has gone. The preseason No. 1 has misplaced 5 of its final six video games heading into Saturday’s must-win in opposition to Notre Dame. Every recreation the remainder of the best way — No. 6 Virginia, at Florida State and Duke — is perhaps must-wins if the Tar Heels have any hope of creating one other March run.
Mississippi State (18-10): The Bulldogs have had a tricky couple of weeks as they fight to safe their first NCAA bid since 2019, dropping by three to Kentucky and in time beyond regulation to Missouri. They could make a giant assertion in opposition to No. 25 Texas A&M on Saturday earlier than ending in opposition to South Carolina and fellow bubble-outsider Vanderbilt.
Southern California (19-8): The arrow is pointing up for the Trojans after getting Reese Dixon-Waters and Joshua Morgan again from accidents. They have been favored Thursday night time at Colorado and Saturday night time at Utah earlier than video games in opposition to No. 7 Arizona and Arizona State the ultimate week of the common season.
Wisconsin (16-11): The Badgers have high quality wins in opposition to Marquette, Iowa and USC, however their 58-57 loss to seemingly NCAA staff Rutgers final weekend harm. Greg Gard’s group is simply 3-6 over its final 9 video games with the Hawkeyes, Michigan and fifth-ranked Purdue organising a brutal three-game stretch.
New Mexico (20-8): Really, you may put the complete Mountain West on bubble watch, as a result of the league may get as many as 5 groups within the tourney. San Diego State is a lock, and Boise State, Nevada and Utah State are trending up. The Lobos have misplaced 5 of six.
Oklahoma State (16-12): The Cowboys, Texas Tech and West Virginia are all 16-12, balancing precariously on the bubble. How they fare down the stretch will decide what number of Big 12 groups make the sector. Oklahoma State has misplaced three straight.
GAME(S) TO WATCH
Syracuse at Pittsburgh, Saturday, 5 p.m. Eastern (ACCN): The Orange are at risk of lacking the NCAA tourney for the second straight season, and that’s led some to ponder whether Jim Boeheim will quickly name it a profession. The Panthers are coming off a tricky win over Georgia Tech, and with high quality wins over North Carolina State, Northwestern and North Carolina, coach Jeff Capel’s crew are on the point of NCAA Tournament-lock territory.
Wisconsin at Michigan, Sunday, 2 p.m. Eastern (CBS) and Rutgers at Penn State, Sunday, 6:30 p.m. Eastern (BTN): How a couple of Big Ten doubleheader that includes 4 groups desperately attempting to impress the choice committee? A powerful end in opposition to the Badgers and tourney-bound Illinois and No. 14 Indiana earlier than the Big Ten tourney may get of us speaking about Michigan. Rutgers has been on the plus facet of the bubble the previous couple of weeks and beating Penn State might be devastating for the Nittany Lions.
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AP March Madness protection: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
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