College basketball Championship Week: Title games we need to see, players who will be heard from, sleepers to watch, and more

Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

The madness before the madness is here. Embrace it before the 2024 men’s NCAA tournament begins.

It’s a presidential election year, and the picture of what exactly America is has never been murkier or more disputed. The conversations necessary to clear that picture up have never been more difficult to facilitate.

Maybe this is why I find myself now, perhaps more than ever before, despite everything, so drawn to college basketball’s postseason.

March Madness is America.

It is deeply flawed.

There are inherent disadvantages that a majority of the participants will need a significant dose of both skill and luck to overcome if they want to become nationally known and respected. For some, one night of bad luck will completely undo four months’ worth of hard work and overwhelming success. For these programs, the fact one failure led to their demise while others were allowed to fail four times as often and still achieve their ultimate goals will be an impossible pill to swallow. It’s not fair, and it’s never going to be fair.

It is also more conducive to magic and excitement than anything in its realm.

Obtaining college basketball’s top prize is extremely unlikely for the vast majority of the 362 teams competing in Division-I. At least it’s not impossible. At least the bottom-tier NET school that won its conference tournament gets the chance to prove itself on the sport’s biggest stage, and not inside a quarter-full stadium against a team that doesn’t really want to be there, in a game that, for all intents and purposes, has zero significance. At least when Princeton stunned Arizona in the first round a year ago, that wasn’t where the Tigers’ story ended.

This is the way it should be. Sure, some teams benefit from a head start, and others are dealing with unfair advantages they may not have earned, but at least nobody is disqualified before the race even gets started (well, almost nobody, but we’ll get to that). Everyone has a shot at making a March memory.

I have an aunt who is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and as diehard a member of Big Blue Nation as you’re ever going to find. With the Wildcats relegated to the NIT in 2013, she began reading up on a team from her home city of Fort Myers that had begun to stir up some buzz. In the succeeding weeks, as Florida Gulf Coast won the Atlantic Sun tournament and then became the first 15-seed to ever advance out of the NCAA tournament’s opening weekend, “Dunk City” was all my aunt wanted to talk about.

Therein lies the other thing March Madness has that no other major American sport can claim. Whether it’s the school you graduated from, the school you grew up rooting for, or just the school that’s nearby, everyone has a team.

Every state in this country besides Alaska is home to at least one Division-I basketball program. That means just about every American has a team in their general area they can support or claim as their own during March Madness. We are a species that is wired to connect, and maybe as a direct result, there’s something comforting about the feeling that we’re all in this together. On different teams, sure, but all a part of the same grander experience.

Turn on your television (or internet stream) at virtually any hour over the course of the next couple of weeks, and you’ll be privy to sports theater at its very best. Sure, all these teams have an ultimate goal of winning their respective conference championships and advancing to the NCAA tournament, but there’s something even larger at stake.

In each of these games, at least some of the players on the court are playing to keep their athletic careers alive. It’s survive and advance on multiple levels, and when the buzzer sounds, you can see the joy and the relief on the faces of kids who know they get to wake up the next morning and still be able to call themselves college basketball players.

For the next week and a half we will be consistently bombarded by dream-fulfilling, career-ending, win-or-turn-in-your-jersey conference tournament action. All the elements that draw casual fans so completely into the first weekend of the NCAA tournament are inherent in each and every one of the 33 conference tournaments that will take place over the course of the next two weeks. Quite simply, it’s high drama you can’t find anywhere else.

It is exhilarating, it is cruel, it is rewarding, and it is unrivaled. Let the madness wash over you.

Happy March.

Championship Week is the best, but only if you’re properly educated. Thankfully, this guide is here to help ensure that anyone who wants to experience the highest dosage of madness possible has the ability to do so.

Now if your only interest in March college basketball lies with the blue-bloods and the power conferences, that’s fine, but this isn’t for you. Our time together is coming soon.

For the rest of you, it’s time for a thorough run through of everything you need to know to get the most of the “madness before the madness.” This is a time primarily for the leagues that don’t get the national spotlight, so focus in this guide excludes the eight “major” (the “Power 6” leagues plus the Atlantic 10, and Mountain West) conferences.

Let’s roll.

Complete Conference Tournament Dates and Locations

It’s the most logical, if not exciting, jumping off point. We’ll go ahead and include all conferences here because it’s March and in March rules are fluid.

Here’s the current full schedule for Championship Week(s) 2024:

A handy TV guide can be found here.

NCAA Tournament Ineligible Teams

Two years ago, Bellarmine won the Atlantic Sun conference tournament and cut down the nets in just their second season as a member of Division-I. The Knights’ victory resulted in Jacksonville State — a team which was defeated in the tournament semifinals — advancing to the NCAA tournament.

Last year, Merrimack won both the Northeast Conference’s regular season and tournament titles. A team that finished two games below them in the final league standings and which lost to them in the tournament title game was able to go on and achieve March Madness immortality by stunning top-seeded Purdue in the first round of the NCAA tournament a few weeks later.

Why did both of these things happen? Because sometimes the NCAA decides to stand by the dumbest rules imaginable and there’s simply nothing anybody can do about it.

So dumb. So, so sooooo dumb.

Here’s the full list of teams that were excluded from the madness before it even got started:

Queens, Atlantic Sun (transitioning to D-I)

Bellarmine, Atlantic Sun (transitioning to D-I)

UC San Diego, Big West (transitioning to D-I)

Le Moyne, Northeast (transitioning to D-I)

Stonehill, Northeast (transitioning to D-I)

Southern Indiana, Ohio Valley (transitioning to D-I)

Lindenwood, Ohio Valley (transitioning to D-I)

Texas A&M-Commerce, Southland (transitioning to D-I)

St. Thomas, Summit League (transitioning to D-I)

Utah Tech, WAC (transitioning to D-I)

Tarleton State, WAC (transitioning to D-I)

8 Teams For The Bubble Boys To Pull For

Per usual, there will be a handful of tournaments this postseason where a heavy favorite goes down and a team no one expected to crash the Big Dance does so by claiming its conference’s automatic bid. In a few of these cases, the beaten favorite (or this year, favorites) will have a resume strong enough to still warrant inclusion in the field of 68. In those instances, the Cinderella league champion will wind up “stealing” a bid from a non-automatic qualifier that would have been in the field otherwise.

More so than any year I can remember, it seems like the mid-major leagues with an at-large candidate have two of them. That’s comforting for bubble boys from major conferences, but exciting for the prospects of a three-bid WCC or a three (four?)-bid AAC.

If you’re a fan of St. John’s or Virginia or Providence or some other team being talked about by Joe Lunardi on a daily basis right now, here’s who you’re rooting for over the next 11 days:

1. Saint Mary’s (West Coast)

For the second straight year, the Gaels have won the WCC’s regular season title and will be the No. 1 seed in the league’s postseason tournament. Whether they win two, one or zero games in Las Vegas, Randy Bennett’s team is going to be comfortably in the NCAA tournament field.

2. Gonzaga (West Coast)

Gonzaga’s at-large hopes were left for dead in mid-January after a loss to Santa Clara dropped them to 11-5 on the year. All they’ve done since then is go 13-1 and pick up a pair of Quadrant I road victories over Kentucky and Saint Mary’s.

The third-longest active streak of consecutive NCAA tournament appearances (24 going on 25) is safe for another year.

3. Florida Atlantic (American Athletic)

The Owls haven’t had the dream season that their preseason top 10 ranking predicted, but even with a resume that’s a bit all over the place, closing the regular season with wins over North Texas and Memphis this week should be enough to lock up an at-large bid. They might not be seeded as well as they were a year ago, but they’ll get a shot at repeating their Final Four run.

4. South Florida (American Athletic)

The Bulls will likely. likely, be on the wrong side of the bubble if they come up short in the AAC tournament, which would be a shame. Amir Abdur-Rahim’s team is an absolute joy to watch, and they currently own the nation’s longest winning streak at 15 games. The committee probably, probably, won’t take into account that the four bad losses that have tanked USF’s at-large resume all took place in the first six games of the season, but if FAU slips up in the AAC tournament, bubble boys should pull for the Bulls just to be safe.

5. Memphis (American Athletic)

Speaking of resumes that are all over the place. Memphis seems to be just on the wrong side of the bubble at the moment, but ending the regular season with a road win over Florida Atlantic might put them in a position to earn an at-large bid if they win a couple of games in the AAC tournament.

Basically, UAB or Tulane or East Carolina, etc. winning the American would be a nightmare scensario for the teams currently battling for the 67th and 68th spots in the Big Dance.

6. Indiana State (Missouri Valley)

Josh Schertz’s team has had a dream season and currently sits at No. 30 in the NET Rankings. They do own a Quadrant I victory, and would have a legitimate shot at still hearing their name called on Selection Sunday if they were to take an understandable loss during Arch Madness.

7. Drake (Missouri Valley)

The Bulldogs are much more of an outside shot for an at-large, but there’s a chance. Darian DeVries’ squad is actually 3-1 in Quadrant I opportunities, a mark that includes a neutral court blowout of NCAA tournament lock Nevada.

8. James Madison (Sun Belt)

James Madison was one of just four teams to complete a perfect non-conference run this season, joining the power conference trio of Purdue, Houston and Ole Miss. Unfortunately, and not for lack of effort, the Dukes were only able to schedule one quality non-con opponent — Michigan State, who they beat in overtime on opening night. James Madison enters the Sun Belt tournament with a gaudy 28-3 record, which likely won’t be enough to get them into the field of 68 if they stumble … but there’s a chance this committee is particularly swayed by shiny things like 30-win seasons.

6 Other Solid Favorites

These teams aren’t going anywhere but the NIT (maybe) if they get upset over the next 11 days. Still, they’ve established themselves as the top dog in their respective leagues and are on track to scare the hell out of a single-digit seed on the NCAA tournament’s opening weekend.

1. McNeese (Southland)

Will Wade has a … wait for it … wait for it … WAIT FOR IT … strong ass team in his first year at McNeese.

The Cowboys turned heads by beating Michigan, VCU and UAB during the non-conference portion of the season, and have been beaten just once during Southland Conference play. Assuming they take care of business in the conference tournament, this will be a trendy 12/5 upset team.

2. Colgate (Patriot League)

No team in college basketball has dominated their conference as thoroughly as Colgate has dominated the Patriot League in recent years. Over the past four seasons, the Raiders are 69-6 in conference play. They’ll be shooting for their fifth straight league tournament championship over the week ahead.

The one thing Colgate hasn’t done since its rise to prominence is have success in the big tournament. The Raiders, who went 16-2 in the Patriot League this year, are 0-6 all-time in the NCAA tournament, but half of those losses have come by single digits.

Shoutout to Adonal Foyle.

3. Vermont (America East)

Another permanent fixture on this list.

Vermont has won eight consecutive America East regular season titles, and has been the league’s representative in the NCAA tournament in five of the last seven years. They went 15-1 in conference play this season, claiming the regular season title by a full four games.

4. Charleston (Coastal Athletic Association)

A rising star in the coaching world, Pat Kelsey claimed his second straight CAA regular season title by leading the Cougars to a 15-3 mark. COC hasn’t lost since Feb. 1, and once again plays with one of the more exciting offensive styles in the entire country.

After narrowly losing to eventual national runner-up San Diego State in the first round a year ago, this is once again a team the sports public will love watching on opening round Thursday or Friday. If they can get there.

5. Eastern Washington (Big Sky)

Eastern Washington claimed its second straight Big Sky regular season title by finishing three games clear of Northern Colorado and Montana in the final conference standings. The accomplishment meant little a year ago, as the Eagles were stunned by Northern Arizona in their first game of the conference tournament. They’ll try to bounce back from that nightmare and punch their fourth ever ticket to the Big Dance in Boise next week.

6. Samford (Southern)

Samford broke the school record for wins in a season this year, and they did it with six games still to play on their regular season schedule. Bucky McMillan’s program has won at least 20 games for a third consecutive season, and locked up back-to-back SoCon regular season titles — the only two D-I regular season conference titles in program history.

This is a team that lost seven scholarship players and three of its four leading scorers from a year ago. Now, they’re three wins away from earning the program’s first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2000.

Not bad for a head coach who had never worked at a level above high school before being hired at Samford in 2020.

11 Teams That Could Dance For The First Time

One of the best parts of every March is seeing coaches, players, and programs that have never heard their name called on Selection Sunday celebrate the moment that all changes.

Of the 362 teams that are current members of Division-I, there are 34 that have never gone dancing and that are eligible to make this year’s field (we’re not including independent Chicago State, whose 12-18 campaign is probably not going to warrant an at-large bid).

Three of those 34 teams — Army, William & Mary, and The Citadel — have been Division-I programs since “Division-I” became a thing in 1910. A fourth, St. Francis (NY), was also in that group before shutting down its entire athletics program after last season.

This has the potential to be a big couple of weeks for the “never been dancing club. Here are the 10 members that have the best shot at altering that status this month.

1. Merrimack (Northeast)

Fairleigh Dickinson becoming the second No. 16 seed to ever upset a 1-seed despite not winning their conference’s regular season or tournament title will forever be one of the wildest (and most-cited) Marc Madness facts of all-time. Both of those honors belonged to Merrimack, which was in the final year of its transition period to Division-I.

Now you could argue that a program which has won three regular season championships (2020, 2023, 2024) in its first five years as a Division-I program didn’t need a transition period, but you don’t need to do that. We’re all in agreement that the rule is dumb.

I typically save my loudest cheering in this section for the programs that have waited the longest, but for Merrimack, these last five years have to have felt like an eternity. Watching a team that you were two games clear of in the final conference standings and one that you beat head-to-head in a game that still somehow sent them to the NCAA tournament make a March moment that will live forever had to have been pure torture.

Joe Gallo has paid his dues. The Warriors deserve this.

2. High Point (Big South)

Tubby Smith’s alma mater has won five Big South Conference regular season titles, but has never cut down the nets that matter the most at this level. Now, in their first season since 2018 without a Smith family member (Tubby or son G.G.) at the helm, the Panthers are just three wins away from immortality.

Alan Huss’ team will be the No. 1 seed in the Big South tournament, which gets underway on Wednesday. High Point will face either USC Upstate or Radford in the quarterfinals on Friday.

3. Stetson (Atlantic Sun)

The analytics loved the Hatters in this tournament before it got started, and the first two rounds have made the computers look awfully smart. Both top-seeded Eastern Kentucky and 3-seed Lipscomb were stunned on Tuesday, leaving second-seeded Stetson as the clear favorites.

The Hatters have always had the highest offensive ceiling of any team in the league, and in a conference where several programs have been ravaged by injuries, they’ve managed to stay healthy. Now this program that has played D-I basketball since 1971 just needs to dispose of Cinderella 10-seed Jacksonville and either Austin Peay or North Alabama in the finals to go dancing for the first time.

4. Quinnipiac (Metro Atlantic Athletic)

Quinnipiac has never won an MAAC regular season title, and it has never played in the NCAA tournament. With two games to play in the regular season, the Bobcats hold a one-game advantage over both Fairfield and Saint Peter’s (hey, remember those guys?). They’ll face the Peacocks in the regular season finale on Saturday.

Whether they win the league or not, Tom Pecora’s team is a very live shot to leave this group forever in a couple of weeks.

5. Youngstown State (Horizon League)

The Penguins (Penguins!), who have played Division-I basketball since 1982, won their first ever D-I regular season conference title last season, but got bounced by eventual champion Northern Kentucky in the tournament semis. They nearly repeated the regular season feat this year, but finished a game behind Oakland in the final league standings.

It’s time to finally put a smile on Pete the Penguin’s perpetually scowling face.

6. UT-Martin (Ohio Valley)

The Skyhawks, who have won two regular season OVC titles (2014 and 2017), would seem to have as good a shot as any team to win the wide-open Ohio Valley this week. They finished in a three-way tie atop the final league standings with Little Rock and Morehead State, and will be the 2-seed in the conference tournament.

Jordan Sears can really burn it, and he has a chance to make Skyhawk legend Lester Hudson proud.

OVC BONUS TEAM: Western Illinois

The program that Ricky Charisma made famous during Covid has a real shot to play in the real March Madness this season. The Leathernecks have won 20 games, went 13-5 in conference play, and will be the 4-seed for the OVC tournament which is, as previously mentioned, pretty wide open.

7. Kansas City (Summit League)

It’s been since 2011 that a school other than South Dakota State, North Dakota State or Oral Roberts claimed the Summit League’s auto-bid. While the Jackrabbits (that’s SDSU) claimed yet another regular season title this season, Kansas City finished just two games back and beat SDSU head-to-head on Feb. 15.

The Roos will be the 2-seed for Summit madness and roll into Sioux Falls riding a six-game winning streak.

8. Grambling (SWAC)

One of the longest-tenured members of this group (D-I member since 1978), last season felt like it was finally the year for the Tigers. Grambling shared the SWAC’s regular season title with Alcorn State and then watched with glee as the Braves were stunned in their first game of the conference tournament. Unfortunately, the same Texas Southern team that took out Alcorn wound up taking out Grambling in a thrilling 61-58 conference championship game.

The Tigers are back this year and need to win just one of their final two regular season games to clinch an outright SWAC title. Donte’ Jackson is on the cusp.

SWAC BONUS TEAM: Bethune-Cookman

The Wildcats have been playing Division-I basketball since 1980 and have had just FOUR winning seasons in the 44 years that have followed. They’re at 15-15 overall at the moment, but a solid 10-7 in league play, which has them poised to be somewhere in the 4-6 seed range in the SWAC tourney.

9. Sacred Heart (Northeast)

The Pioneers are the No. 3 seed for the NEC tourney, which gets underway Wednesday night. They’re riding high into said tourney after ending the regular season with a win over regular season co-champion Merrimack. SHU has been a D-I member since 2000, but they’ve never even shared a regular season championship. This might be their best shot yet at hearing their name called on Selection Sunday.

10. UMass Lowell (America East)

The America East appears to be, as it usually does, Vermont’s to lose. But if the Catamounts slip up at some point, UMass Lowell is sitting there as the No. 2 seed. The River Hawks lost to Vermont in last year’s America East championship game, marking the closest they’ve come to making the NCAA tournament since joining D-I in 2018.

11. Tarleton State (WAC)

The WAC is always loaded with teams from the never been dancing club, and the one with the best chance at leaving the club this year is Billy Gillispie’s (Billy Gillispie!). The Texans are 22-7 overall, 15-3 in conference play, and have won 10 straight heading into the final week of the regular season.

20 Players Who Will Be Heard From

1. Robbie Avila, SO, C, Indiana State (Missouri Valley)

At some point over the last few weeks, the word about Robbie Avila seems to have gotten out.

Maybe it’s the nicknames — Cream Abdul Jabbar, Larry Nerd, Steph Blurry — or maybe it’s just the combination of that look with that game, but a large chunk of the sports world now appears aware just how big Avila has the potential to get (especially on social media) in the weeks ahead.

Averaging 17.6 points and 3.9 assists per game, Avila has been the driving force behind Indiana State’s first Missouri Valley regular season title since 2000. Now he’ll try to get the Sycamores into the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2011.

2. Tyler Thomas, SR, G, Hofstra (Coastal Athletic Association)

Thomas has scored in double figures in all but one of Hofstra’s 31 games so far this season. He ranks third in the nation in scoring (22.3 ppg), fifth in minutes, first in three-pointers per game, and 59th in field goal percentage. The Pride will be the 3-seed in this week’s CAA tournament.

3. Tyon Grant-Foster, SR, G, Grand Canyon (WAC)

Despite a rough upbringing and a pair of near-death experiences, the former DePaul Blue Demon and Kansas Jayhawk is thriving in his first season as Grand Canyon. His 19.3 ppg have Grand Canyon one win away from at least a share of the WAC regular season championship. The ‘Lopes will then start their quest for a third NCAA tournament appearance in four years.

4. Vonterius Woolbright, SR, G, Western Carolina (Southern)

Woolbright leads Division-I in triple-doubles with five, and had two in the final week of the regular season. He’s also one of just two players in Division-I since the 1991-92 season to average a stat line of at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists per game. The Catamounts will be the 4-seed in the SoCon tournament and are a live shot largely because of Woolbright’s

5. Dillon Jones, JR, F, Weber State (Big Sky)

The only other player to average 20/10/5 over the last 32 years? It’s Jones, who has starred for a Weber State team that has been atypically off the pace in the Big Sky title race this season.

Jones is the first player in the 60-year history of the Big Sky Conference to lead the league in scoring (20.7 ppg), rebounding (10.1 rpg), and assists (5.3 apg) in the same season. He’s also the only player in Big Sky men’s history with at least 1,000 career points, 1,000 career rebounds, 300 career assists and 150 career steals. His totals currently eclipse 1,700, 1,100, 400 and 200, respectively.

6. Tommy Bruner, SR, G, Denver (Summit League)

The only player in the country scoring at a higher level than soon-to-be back-to-back national Player of the Year Zach Edey is Bruner, who is pouring in 24.5 ppg as he heads into the postseason.

Bruner was injured in Denver’s regular season-ending loss to St. Thomas, and there hasn’t been an update since on his status for this week’s Summit League tournament. The Pioneers are the 7-seed for the tournament and will face second-seeded Kansas City in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

7. Graham Ike, JR, F, Gonzaga (West Coast)

Ike didn’t win WCC Player of the Year — the honor went to Saint Mary’s guard Augustas Marciulionis — and don’t think he won’t be heading to Las Vegas this weekend looking to prove a point.

Ike averaged 23.2 points over Gonzaga’s final seven games, and became the first Bulldog since Adam Morrison in 2005-06 to score 20 points or more in seven consecutive games. The 6’9 transfer from Wyoming ended the regular season as the WCC’s second-leading scorer at 16.7 points per game while ranking fourth in rebounding at 7.3 per game.

8. Johnell Davis, JR, G, Florida Atlantic (American Athletic)

If this one sounds familiar, there’s a reason. Davis was the star of Florida Atlantic’s improbable run to the Final Four a season ago, and returned to lead the team in scoring (18.0 ppg) and assists (3.0) this year.

The man loves the big stage, so don’t be surprised if he’s saved the best for last in what could be his final collegiate season.

9. Jordan Sears, JR, G, UT-Martin (Ohio Valley)

Riley Minix of Morehead State was named the Ohio Valley’s Player of the Year, but Sears is the league’s most explosive scorer and most dangerous individual performer. He’s averaging a league-best 21.2 ppg to go along with 4.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. His 74 made three-pointers were also the most of any player in the conference. Sears enters the OVC tournament having scored 31 or more points in three of his last five games and four of his last eight.

10. Jalen Blackmon, JR, G, Stetson (Atlantic Sun)

The analytics love Stetson as the upset winner in the Atlantic Sun, and the play of Blackmon might be the biggest reason why. The 6’3 junior who began his college career at Grand Canyon is 14th in the nation in scoring at the moment at 21.1 ppg. He has the Hatters just two wins away from their first trip to the NCAA tournament.

11. Tucker DeVries, JR, G, Drake (Missouri Valley)

The reigning Missouri Valley Player of the Year, DeVries has been even better as a junior, averaging 21.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, all up by a solid amount from last season. He also heads into Arch Madness on an absolute heater. He was named the Lou Henson National Player of the Week after averaging 34 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 4.0 steals last week in a pair of Drake victories.

Allow me to use this space to apologize to Xavier Johnson of Southern Illinois, who actually leads the Valley in scoring at 22.0 ppg. Three players from one conference was just too much glory. Consider this your acknowledgement that you will, in fact, be heard from this week.

12. Duke Miles, JR, G, High Point (Big South)

The Big South Newcomer of the Year, Miles was the biggest reason High Point claimed the Big South regular season championship for the first time since 2016 and now is in position to lock up its first NCAA tournament berth ever. The Troy transfer led the team and was second in the Big South in scoring, averaging 17.8 points per game while shooting 53.9 percent from the field

13. Shahada Wells, SR, G, McNeese (Southland)

You may have heard that Will Wade has a squad. Shahada Wells is the engine that makes them go. Not only is the TCU transfer averaging a career-best (by a wide margin) 17.3 ppg, but he’s in a different dimension than every other guard in the country when it comes to assist percentage vs. turnover percentage.

And if that weren’t enough, Wells is also second in the country in steals, averaging just under three thefts per contest. Everything about his game screams “dude the entire country is talking about after day 1 (or 2) of the NCAA tournament.”

14. Xander Rice, SR, G, Monmouth (Coastal Athletic Association)

Rice reportedly had six-figure NIL offers from a number of power conference programs last summer, but chose to play his final season of college ball for his father at Monmouth. While the Hawks haven’t been spectacular — they’ll be the No. 8 seed in the CAA tournament — their best player absolutely has. Rice is averaging 20.8 ppg and tied the school record for most 30-point games in a single season with five.

Rice and the Hawks will face ninth-seeded Campbell in their first game of the postseason. The last time the two teams met, Rice did this:

15. David Jones, SR, F, Memphis (American Athletic)

On a Memphis team that has been even more chaotic than usual this season, Jones has been a rock. The senior forward has scored in double figures in every game this season, and is currently posting averages of 21.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Jones — who played two for DePaul and then one for St. John’s before transferring to Memphis — has the option to return to college for one more season, but he has certainly established himself as a legitimate pro prospect over the last four months.

16. Ajay Mitchell, JR, G, UC Santa Barbara (Big West)

Speaking of guys with pro potential. The reigning Big West Player of the Year, Mitchell has exceeded his sophomore numbers in virtually every area this season. He’ll head into the final week of the regular season averaging 19.3 ppg and shooting a career-best 37.5 percent from beyond the arc.

17. Xaivian Lee, SO, G, Princeton (Ivy League)

The Ivy League is loaded with fun talent this season, none more so than Princeton’s Xavian Lee. The 15th-seeded Tigers made a fun run to the Sweet 16 of last year’s tournament, but lost star Tosan Evbuomwan after it was over. They’re fully capable of making more magic this March, and the emergence of Lee is the primary reason why.

After playing just 13.3 minutes per game as a freshman last season, Lee has exploded onto the scene as a sophomore, averaging 17.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.

Circle this name as another one the “only watches March college basketball” crowd could fall head over heels for in a couple of weeks.

18. Drew Pember, SR, F, UNC Asheville (Big South)

It kind of feels like Pember has been on this list for the last eight years. The fifth-year senior who started his career at Tennessee just became the first back-to-back Big South Player of the Year honoree since 2008-09, and just the seventh multiple winner in league history. He enters the postseason tournament, where UNC Asheville will be the No. 2 seed, ranked first in the conference in scoring (20.4 ppg), second in rebounding (7.9 rpg), and sixth in assists at 3.4 apg.

19. Trey Townsend, JR, F, Oakland (Horizon League)

Recently named the Horizon League’s Player of the Year, Townsend averaged 16.2 points and 7.8 rebounds in league to play to lead the Golden Grizzlies to the conference’s regular season title. He is just the third Oakland player to win the award.

20. Jamarii Thomas, JR, G, Norfolk State (MEAC)

With the transfer from UNC-Wilmington leading the way, Norfolk is still running the MEAC. After playing a limited role in two seasons at UNCW, Thomas has been the star of stars for Robert Jones’ team this year, averaging 17.5 points and 3.8 assists per game.

BONUS: Kobe Williamson, JR, G, Seattle (WAC)

Incredible hair. Incredible vibes. Incredible game-winner a few weeks back.

He had to at least get a mention somewhere in here.

5 Title Games You Absolutely Want To Happen

Please note the log: Charleston vs. UNC-Wilmington in the CAA would have absolutely been on the list had been possible for the two rivals to meet in the finals. In the likely event that they square off in a 1 vs. 4 semifinal on Monday night, it should be appointment television. The Cougars have clearly been the class of the conference, but UNCW — which one at Kentucky back in December — won both meetings in the regular season.

Here are the five best potential championship games that could actually happen:

1. Gonzaga vs. Saint Mary’s (West Coast)

I mean, come on.

These are arguably the two best teams covered in this post, and it’s one of the best rivalries in all of college basketball. Toss in the fact that each won on the other’s home floor during the regular season, and I think we can all agree that a rubber match is necessary.

One of the wildest Championship Week stats out there is that Gonzaga has played in every WCC tournament championship game since all the way back in 1997. The only three WCC tournaments the Bulldogs have not won since 2008 have all come via championship game losses to Saint Mary’s, the most recent of which coming in 2019.

A season series, a conference championship, rivalry bragging rights, and a better seed in the NCAA tournament will all be on the line if these two powerhouses meet yet again in Vegas.

2. Indiana State vs. Drake (Missouri Valley)

Arch Madness Sunday always delivers. This year it has a chance to really deliver.

Both of these teams are fully capable of winning multiple games in the NCAA tournament. They both have undeniable star power in Robbie Avila (Indiana State) and Tucker DeVries (Drake). They’re both led by rising stars in the head coaching world. And they, like Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s, split their regular season meetings.

We don’t want this matchup. We need this matchup.

3. Florida Atlantic vs. Memphis (American Athletic)

Conference realignment has a tendency to create odd rivals. Florida Atlantic and Memphis are perfect examples.

A year ago, Florida Atlantic’s improbable run to the Final Four only got off the ground thanks to a late-game collapse by Memphis in the first round that left Penny Hardaway chucking water bottles.

Months later, FAU made the jump from Conference USA to the American, where they were immediately hailed as the new kings of the conference. The anointing didn’t sit well with Hardaway and company, and tempers flared when the two teams met on Feb. 15 in Memphis, a game the Tigers ultimately won by four.

Regardless of what happens in the rematch in Boca this weekend, a round three between these exciting teams with exciting styles would make the afternoon of Selection Sunday that much more enjoyable.

Sorry, South Florida. We love you and your exciting style of play too.

4. Sam Houston vs. Louisiana Tech (Conference USA)

Any time you have two teams that have clearly established themselves as the class of a conference, you have to hope that things play out in a manner that will result in said teams squaring off for their league’s ultimate prize.

Such is the case in C-USA, where Sam Houston and Louisiana Tech are not just tied atop the league standings with 11-3 records, but they’re the only two teams in the conference with fewer than seven league losses. They’ll meet on Thursday in a game that will almost certainly decide the regular season championship, and then should meet again on March 16 to decide who gets to go to the NCAA tournament.

5. Appalachian State vs. James Madison (Sun Belt)

James Madison is the team with the gaudy 28-3 record that opened the season with a win over Michigan State and spent multiple weeks ranked in the AP top 25 poll. Appalachian State is the team that beat James Madison twice and won the Sun Belt’s regular season championship.

It feels wrong that — unless something crazy happens — only one will get to play in the NCAA tournament. It would feel even more wrong if they didn’t square off against one another to decide which one gets that honor.

Five Crazy Competitive Conference Tournaments

1. Atlantic Sun

The A-Sun was at the top of this list before Tuesday night’s madness that saw both the No. 1 and No. 3 seeds bounced in the quarterfinals. The conference has been wide open all year, and became even more so as multiple teams dealt with significant injury issues towards the tail end of the season.

So now we’re left with four teams:

Stetson, which went D-I in 1971-72 but has never played in the NCAA tournament.

Austin Peay, which is in just its second season in the conference and which hasn’t been dancing since 2016.

North Alabama, which is in just its second season of being eligible to play in the NCAA tournament.

Jacksonville, which needed a miracle scenario on the final day of the regular season just to make the conference tournament, and which hadn’t won a game away from home in 100 days before pulling off upsets in Richmond, Ky. on back-to-back nights to start the week. The Dolphins have not been to the NCAA tournament since 1986.

Shoutout to Artis Gilmore.

2. Horizon League

The Horizon League always gets weird.

The top seed has won this tournament just once since 2015, which is bad news for regular season champion Oakland. There are 11 teams in this conference and eight of them won at least 11 league games in the regular season.

It’d be wild for this tournament not to get wild.

3. Metro Atlantic Athletic

No league feels more wide open as we head into the postseason than the MAAC.

With one week still to play in its regular season, the MAAC has no teams with fewer than five conference losses, and just two teams with fewer than seven conference wins. You can toss cellar dwellers Siena and Manhattan, but outside of them, it wouldn’t be a shock to see any team cut down the nets in Jersey City.

4. Big West

Year after year, the Big West presents itself as being this wide-open conference, and then year after year, the tournament’s No. 1 or No. 2 seed winds up being the one to represent the league in the Big Dance.

We’ll see if that holds true again in 2024, as — thanks to second-place UC San Diego being ineligible — UC Irvine, UC Davis and Long Beach State are the three teams most likely to maintain order by earning the league’s auto-bid.

Shoutout to MTV’s Sorority Life.

5. Ohio Valley

The OVC is still licking its wounds a little bit after the losses two years ago of Murray State, Austin Peay and Belmont. That trio had represented 16 of the league’s 17 most recent regular season champions.

While the conference may have lost in quality at the top, they certainly gained parity. Three teams — Morehead State, Little Rock and UT-Martin — finished tied atop the final league standings with 14-4 records. Western Illinois finished just a game behind them at 13-5. Tennessee State and SIU Edwardsville also finished with overall winning records and league records of .500 or better.

Three Conference Tournaments I’m Mad At

1. Big Sky

This is the only conference tournament in America where the No. 1 or No. 2 seed has cut down the nets in each of the last seven seasons. It doesn’t stop there. The No. 1 seed has actually won the Big Sky tournament in 10 of the last 13 years, and the three times the top seed didn’t win (including last year), it was the No. 2 seed that took home the title.

Great news for Eastern Washington — which was upset in the quarterfinals as the 1-seed a year ago. Not so great news for anyone hoping to see some fireworks.

2. Ivy League

You know what? I’m starting to think that we’ve been overestimating the value of an Ivy League education for decades now. I’m basing this entirely off the fact that the conference holds a four-team tournament at a pre-determined on-campus location.

None of this works.

If you’re capping the field at four, you may as well go back to the old 14-game tournament days. And if you’re going to have play the games on a campus site, at least have the advantage for the host school be an earned one. Also, at least make sure the host school is actually going to be a participant in the tournament, which won’t be the case this year when the tournament takes place at Columbia.

You people baffle me. You spend all your money on these fancy conference tournaments, you surround yourself with ‘em, and they’re the wrong fuckin’ conference tournaments.

All that said, any championship game featuring two out of the top tier trio of Princeton, Yale and Cornell should be very fun.

3. Mid-American

This year I’ve decided to switch up my ire from leagues like the WCC that advance its top two seeds to the semifinals automatically, and direct it at leagues like the MAC, which keep a chunk of its teams out of its tournament entirely.

I have come around on the idea of protecting your best teams and giving them the best shot at earning the league’s auto-bid … so long as you set your tournament up in a way that at least gives everyone a shot. Is it extremely unlikely that Pacific is going to rip off five consecutive wins including, presumably, upsets of Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s on back-to-back nights? Of course, but that’s the price you pay for going 0-16 in the league during the regular season.

But at least you get the opportunity to play until you lose. That’s what this sport and this postseason are supposed to be about.

The MAC, conversely, keeps the bottom four teams from its 12-team league out of its conference tournament entirely. They aren’t the only conference doing something like this, but they’re the league with the most consistently competitive lineup from top to bottom, and therefore the most egregious offenders.

Someone is going to go 8-10 in conference play and get left out of the league tournament. That seems silly and easily avoidable.

10 Dangerous Non-Top Seeds That Could Claim A Bid

1. Texas Southern (SWAC)

Don’t even pay attention to where they’re seeded. It doesn’t matter. Texas Southern is the SWAC’s reigning champion and has claimed a whopping seven of the league’s last nine auto-bids. A year ago, they were the lowest-seeded team in the field of eight, upset top-seeded Alcorn State in the quarterfinals, blasted Alabama A&M in the semis, and then shocked second-seeded Grambling in the championship game.

It’ll be far less shocking if Johnny Jones’ team makes it back into the field of 68 (and likely back to Dayton) this season. The Tigers have a losing overall record at 13-14, but are alone in second place in the conference standings with an 11-5 mark.

2. Stetson (Atlantic Sun)

Full discretion: I had a whole write-up on Lipscomb in this space fore the the Bisons were upset by North Alabama on Tuesday night.

Is it cheating to highlight a 2-seed that is now the favorite to win their conference after two rounds? Of course.

Should Stetson bring back its basketball wearing a Stetson hat logo? Also of course.

Think about that for a little bit.

3. Iona (Metro Atlantic Athletic)

Rick Pitino might be gone, but the Metro Atlantic Athletic still runs through the program that has won seven of its last nine postseason tournaments. The Gaels are a middle of the pack team in the league this season, but the same could be said for the bulk of the MAAC this year. Entering the final week of the regular season, no team in the league has fewer than five conference losses, and only two teams in the league have fewer than seven conference wins.

When the MAAC has found itself in a “throw a dart” situation, the dart has typically found its way to Iona.

4. UNC-Wilmington (Coastal Athletic Association)

The Seahawks made headlines by winning at Kentucky in early December, but they also swept CAA regular season champion Charleston, giving the Cougars two of their three league losses. Trazarien White and company have the firepower necessary to win this thing from the 4-seed spot.

5. Fairleigh Dickinson (Northeast)

There’s this weird recent trend where teams that have Cinderella success in the NCAA tournament one year but struggle in conference play the next wind up making deep runs in their league tournaments.

Most recently, Saint Peter’s — a year removed from being the first 15-seed to ever play in a regional final — made a run to the MAAC tournament semifinals despite finishing second-to-last in the conference during the regular season.

Fairleigh Dickinson will be the 5-seed in this year’s NEC tournament, but don’t be surprised if some recent program DNA shows itself throughout the course of the week.

6. Troy (Sun Belt)

All the attention in the Sun Belt is on James Madison and Appalachian State, and understandably so. But Troy is right there lurking.

The Trojans went 13-5 in conference play, won their only meeting with App State, and didn’t play James Madison (thanks to the Sun Belt’s quirky scheduling model). They’ve won 20 games, they have a proven winner in head coach Scott Cross, and they have one of the better guards in the league in Christyon Eugene.

7. Tarleton State (WAC)

Billy Gillispie’s (Billy Gillispie!) club is a game behind Grand Canyon in the WAC standings, but there’s no question that they’re the hottest team in the conference. The Texans have won 10 straight, good for the nation’s second-longest winning streak.

8. UT-Martin (Ohio Valley)

Another team that has never heard its name called on Selection Sunday, UT-Martin has won seven straight and 11 of their last 12. They’re the 2-seed for this week’s OVC tournament.

9. Memphis (American Athletic)

Look, I don’t know what the hell this team is going to do and neither do you. I don’t think they have much of an idea either.

It’s very easy to see a world where this team wins three games in Fort Worth and then goes on to do damage in the NCAA tournament. A world where they lose in the quarterfinals to Rice is just as clear.

10. Weber State (Big Sky)

After a disastrous stretch in January, the Wildcats have figured some things out. They’ve won eight of their last 10 games, a run which includes wins over two of the three teams (Eastern Washington and Northern Colorado – twice) that finished above them in the league standings.

Dillon Jones is an absolute beast, and if this team can get past Montana State — a team they just lost to in the regular season finale — in the quarterfinals, I like their potential to be a wrecking ball 4-seed.

And there you have it.

If you didn’t read every word and just scrolled down here to say how this thing was wrapped up, well, now you don’t get fill out any NCAA tournament brackets. Those are the rules. I don’t make them. Just enforce them. Fiercely.

Happy March, everybody.