As Championship Week enters Friday, the matchups are becoming tougher and Selection Sunday is looming around the corner. Many teams are looking to win their tournament as the only way into the Big Dance and others look to solidify their resume. Check back with updates as the tournaments head into the weekend.

To find out who will be dancing in the NCAA Tournament CLICK HERE

UPDATE: LEHIGH HAS WON THE PATRIOT CONFERENCE AND WILL BE IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT WITH THE AUTOMATIC BID FROM THEIR CONFERENCE.

Atlantic Coast Conference There are some good matchups in the quarterfinals on Friday. Georgia Tech has defeated Maryland, 69-64. The win should secure the Jackets in the NCAA Tournament. Duke shook off some rust and defeated Virginia 57-46 in the first quarterfinal. Miami has done it again, they bumped off Virginia Tech 70-65. This puts Tech on the bubble again. Later, Florida State meets NC State, who has become hot at the right time.

Atlantic 10 Xavier and Dayton are a final with the Muskateers advancing after a 78-73 come from behind victory. Temple has defeated St. Bonaventure at 69-51 in the first game of the day. Rhode Island defeated St. Louis in one of the early matchups by a score of 63-47. Later,it's Richmond vs. Massachusetts. This is a very good conference this year and look to have a solid 4 teams heading to the NCAA Tourney.

Big 12 The Semifinals are in play on Friday and there is one excellent matchup. Baylor and Kansas State. These are two teams who will be in the field of 65 but both are capable of bumping off Kansas and winning the tournament. Baylor was great against Texas on Thursday and Kansas State is playing solid basketball. Kansas came from behind to defeat Texas A and M, 79-66 to advance to the Finals.

(photo courtesy of Sports Illustrated)
Ekpe Udoh leads a hot Baylor team against K-State

Big East As usual, the Big East semifinals should be terrific. The late game between Notre Dame and West Virginia should by dynamic. Notre Dame is the hottest team in the country and WVU has been in the Top 10 consistently all season. The winner of this game will likely be favored to win the Tournament. Georgetown has defeated Marquette and are in the Championship Game.

Luke Harangody and the Irish are peaking at the
right time

Big Ten There are 4 quarterfinals in action on Friday. Illinois edged Wisconsin in a game they needed as they are on the bubble. They defeated the Badgers, 69-61. Top seed, Ohio State got a scare from Michigan, who made a big run, but the Buckeyes escaped with a 69-68 win. It was Purdue defeating Northwestern, 61-54. Michigan State and Minnesota are underway tied at 2 early on. This game should be a dandy as Minnesota is playing good basketball and will meet the NCAA runner-ups from last season who are currently ranked 11th in the Country.

Big West UC Santa Barbara will face Long Beach State in what should be a tight game. Likewise, Pacific and UC Davis should be entertaining.

Conference USA UTEP defeated Tulsa to advance to Saturday's Championship Game, 75-61. They will meet Houston, who advanced past Southern Miss by a score of 74-66. UTEP is a team that you don't want to meet early on in the NCAA Tournament.

Mid American This tournament has become wide open as the highest seed remaining is a three. Kent State who had been playing so well, was blown out of their quarterfinal by Ohio, who will face another higher seed in Miami(Oh) on Friday. Akron has advanced by defeating Western Michigan in a tight one. The final was 66-64.

MEAC The one and two seeds have both advanced into the semifinals. Top Seeded Morgan State won their semifinal game against Hampton 74-67. In the late game, S.C. State leads Delaware St. 7-2 with 14:00 left in the first half.

Mountain West The MWC is one of the best conferences that is probably paid attention to a lot less than it should. They will be sending a handful of teams to the Big Dance. Probably most if not all four that are remaining. All of the top seeds have advanced to create great matchups on Friday. New Mexico meets San Diego State in the first game followed by BYU and UNLV. This should be fun.

Pac 10 UCLA will be facing top seeded California in the first game. UCLA can only make the NCAA Tournament by winning the Pac 10. Washington plays Stanford in the nightcap and a win there may be enough to get the Huskies in the Big Dance.

Patriot Top seeded Lehigh will go dancing as they took care of 3rd seed, Lafayette. The game was never really in doubt as the Mountain Hawks won 74-59. They will wait for Selection Sunday to see where they will head.

SEC There are some good matchups in the quarterfinals on Friday. Tennessee took care of the second seeded, Mississippi, by a score of 73-67. They will face Kentucky in the semifinals on Saturday. The Vols are one of the few teams who defeated the Wildcats during the season. Kentucky received a scare but prevailed against Alabama by a score of 73-67. Mississippi State has stretched their lead back out after Florida had trimmed it to 5. It is currently 69-58 with 4 minutes left in the game. Later, Georgia will take on Vanderbilt.

Andy Kennedy leads his Rebels against Tennessee

SWAC In the semifinals, Arkansas-Pine Bluff defeated Alabama State in a low scoring game, 46-44. They will face the winner of the 8 seed, Grambling who faces 5 seed, Texas Southern, later.

WAC Top seeded Utah State will face Louisiana Tech in the first semifinal on Friday followed by what should be a good matchup between Nevada and New Mexico State. This is a league which will likely only field one team this season. Utah State could make it if they failed to win the tournament but would be squarely on the bubble.

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As conference tournaments continue, we are right in the middle of a great week in College basketball. Check back here often for updates throughout the week for the latest in March Madness.

To find out who will be dancing in the NCAA Tournament CLICK HERE

UPDATE: SYRACUSE AND VILLANOVA WERE BUMPED OUT OF THE BIG EAST TOURNAMENT. NORTH CAROLINA WILL NOT DEFEND CHAMPIONSHIP, LOST IN FIRST ROUND OF ACC TOURNAMENT.

All of your big name conference tournaments will be in full force on Thursday as the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament starts their opening round, the Big East continues, the SEC tips off as well as the Big Ten. Keep it here as the scores roll in.

Roy Williams watched his Tarheels lose and
their season comes to an end.

Atlantic Coast Conference Defending Champion, North Carolina had to defeat Georgia Tech tonight or their season ends. They did not. Despite a strong effort, especially early on but it came up short and North Carolina's season comes to an end as Georgia Tech defeats them 62-58. The Tarheels could not knock down shots when it counted. It was a frustrating season for UNC, after wins against Michigan State and Ohio State, the wheels fell off. They were never able to recover. In the first game of the tournament, Virginia defeated Boston College 68-62 and will move on to play Duke in the quarterfinals on Friday. Miami defeated Wake Forest in a big way, 83-62. The Deacons needed some insurance to make it to the big dance, despite good success against quality opponents out of conference including Gonzaga on the road. They did not help themselves. NC State hopes to pull some of their ACC Tourney magic of the past. They got off to a good start by upsetting Clemson 59-57. The Wolfpack ended their regular season playing their best ball of the season. It appears to have carried into the post season.

Big Ten There are three opening round games here, one is a final. Michigan defeated Iowa 59-52. In other games today, Northwestern defeated Indiana 73-58 and Minnesota is blowing the wheels off of Penn State 65-40. Top seeded Ohio State will face Michigan on Friday.

Big 12 Top ranked Kansas has advanced to the quarterfinals with an 80-68 win over Texas Tech earlier. Kansas State advanced after disposing of Oklahoma State 83-64. Baylor completely blew open their game against Texas. They finished off the Longhorns by a score of 86-67. And Texas A and M took care of Nebraska 70-64.

Big East We have an upset in the quarterfinals as Georgetown has defeated top seeded Syracuse, 91-84. Will this affect Syracuse and a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament? I don't believe so. It was a tough day for Syracuse as they also lost Arinze Onuaku with a knee injury. This is a big loss as they look to the NCAA Tournament. The Orange were not the only team upset in this tournament, Villanova lost to Marquette 80-76. These two game throw this tournament wide open. The two favorites are eliminated. Notre Dame now becomes one of the favorites to win this tournament. They defeated Pittsburgh 50-45. West Virgina were never able to shake a scrappy Cincinnati but they held on to win 54-51.

Jim Boeheim's Orangemen fell in the first round today.

Big West The quarterfinals are set in the Big West tournament. Long Beach State defeated Cal Poly 79-69. UC Davis and Cal State Fullerton went to the wire but Davis came out with a 68-65 win.

Conference USA In another Championship week surprise, Houston has up ended Memphis by one, 66-65. The Tigers were the two seed but exit on Friday. In the second matinee game, UAB defeated Southern Miss, 58-44. Tulsa has defeated Marshall 80-64. Top seeded UTEP rolled against UCF by a score of 76-54.

Mid American In another upset in a day of upsets, Western Michigan knocked off the two seeded Central Michigan, 69-60. In action, Akron took care of Eastern Michigan in a wild affair that took two overtimes to settle, 97-89. In night action, we have another upset as top seeded Kent State fell to #9 Ohio, 81-64 in what was an unlikely result. Miami(Oh)advanced, beating Buffalo 73-59 in the 4/5 game.

MEAC S.C. State defeated Md-Eastern Shore 59-53 to advance. Hampton was up 20 at halftime but squandered that lead in the second half. They managed to pull it out in the end by a score of 73-70. The Pirates will take on top seeded Morgan State on Friday from Winston-Salem.

Mountain West Top Seeded New Mexico defeated Air Force 75-69 in the first quarterfinal. San Diego State held on to defeat Colorado State 72-71 in a tight one. The Aztecs will face New Mexico on Friday. BYU advanced behind a 95-85 victory over TCU. UNLV defeated Utah 73-61 and will move on.

Pac 10 UCLA defeated Arizona, 75-69 in a game against two proud traditions who have had sub par seasons. Top seed California cruised past Oregon 90-74. Washington defeated Oregon State 59-52. The second seeded Arizona State, was bounced out of the tournament by Stanford in an upset. The Cardinal moved on after a 70-61 win in what has been a strange season in the Pacific 10. The loss could have cost the Sun Devils a bid to the NCAA Tournament. They were clearly on the bubble. The conference is hoping to send more than two teams to the Big Dance.

SEC Alabama has come from behind to defeat South Carolina, 69-63. They will meet Kentucky on Friday. Earlier, it was Tennessee over LSU 59-49 to advance. Florida finished off Auburn 78-69. Georgia took down Arkansas by 13, 77-64.

Southland In the semi's tonight, Stephen F. Austin took care of Texas A and M-CC, 60-53 to advance to the Final. They will face Sam Houston State who defeated 88-85 in an evenly contested game.

SWAC One first round game played today. Texas Southern defeated Prairie View 66-49 in the 4/5 matchup.

WAC The first round gets under way today with 4 matchups. Utah State rolled over Boise State, 84-60. Lousiana Tech defeated Fresno State, 74-66 to advance to the semifinals. Nevado had no problems with Idaho, winning 87-71 and New Mexico State had no problems against San Jose State, winning 90-69.

Comments may be posted here

As conference tournaments continue, we are right in the middle of a great week in College basketball. Check back here often for updates throughout the week for the latest in March Madness.

To find out who will be dancing in the NCAA Tournament CLICK HERE

UPDATE: ROBERT MORRIS AND MONTANA HAVE WON THEIR CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS AND ARE HEADING TO THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

There is good Conference Tournament Action on Wednesday. Here is a look at some of the highlights:

Big 12 The Big 12 Tournament is under way with some interesting matchups. Oklahoma State has defeated rival, Oklahoma by a score of 81-67. Nebraska upset Missouri on Wednesday by a score of 75-60 behind Brandon Richardson's 19 points and 7 rebounds. Is Missouri in the tournament? Texas Tech advanced against Colorado by an 82-67 score and Texas has defeated Iowa State 82-75 to move on to the next round. Kansas, Kansas State, Texas A-M and Baylor have bye's to the quarterfinals.

(photo courtesy of USA Today)
Rick Barnes' Longhorns advance

Big Sky Montana has knocked off top seeded Weber State to win the Big Sky tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament. The final was 66-55. Montana came into the tournament as the 4 seed but will represent the conference in next weeks tournament.

Big East Georgetown had no problem's in advancing. They took care of South Florida, 69-49. Meanwhile, Marquette edged St. Johns 57-55. Lazar Hayward lead Marquette with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Notre Dame solidified their bid to the NCAA Tournament with a 68-56 win over Seton Hall and will advance to the next round. Cincinnati has defeated Louisville to advance in the Big East Tournament 69-66.

Big West The first semifinal is under way in The Big West tournament and it is Cal State Fullerton defeated Northridge 84-76 to advance in the tournament. The winner of this one meets the winner of the late game, Cal Poly edged UC Irvine by a final of 73-69. The Big West tournament has an interesting format as the 3 and 4 seeds receiving a bye to the quarterfinals while the 1 and 2 seed are plugged into the semifinals. UC Santa Barbara is the top seed.

Conference USA C-USA Tourney is underway. We have three finals in. Southern Miss defeated Tulane, 57-47. Houston ended East Carolina's season, 93-80 and Tulsa took care of Rice, 73-62. It has not been a good post season for North Carolina schools thus far as East Carolina falls in their tournament. Central Florida has advanced by defeating Southern Methodist 69-53. Top seeded UTEP, has a bye to the quarterfinals along with Memphis, UAB and Marshall.

MEAC Top seeded Morgan State defeated North Carolina A and T, 84-57. Delaware State defeated Bethune-Cookman 57-55 to advance in the tournament.

Moutain West The MWC had one game on tap today. It was Air Force defeating Wyoming 59-40. Air Force will meet top seeded New Mexico, on Thursday.

Northeast The Championship game played in the Northeast Conference was a barn burner with Robert Morris edging Quinnipiac by a score of 52-50. Robert Morris advances to the NCAA Tournament with the automatic bid.

Pac 10 An unusually weak Pac-10 plays its opening round on Wednesday. This is a conference which may only field 2 teams in the tournament. Of course, this tournament has a lot to do with that. Oregon and Washington State went to overtime in a hard fought affair with Oregon prevailing by a score of 82-80 and will move on to face top seeded California.

Southland The Southland Conference had four quarterfinal on Wednesday. The top seed is Sam Houston State. They defeated Nicholls State 62-57. Stephen F. Austin took out UT-Arlington 77-54. Texas A and M-CC defeaeted UT-San Antonio, 78-66. SE Louisiana hit a free throw with seconds to go in the overtime to defeat Texas State 79-78 to advance to the semifinals.

SWAC There are also 4 quarterfinal games in the SWAC which started on Wednesday. Grambling has defeated Jackson State 65-57 to advance. Earlier, Arkansas-Pine Bluff eliminated Mississippi Valley, 69-66.

Comments may be posted here

As conference tournaments continue, we have a great week ahead in College basketball. Check back here often for updates throughout the weekend for the latest in March Madness.

To find out who will be dancing in the NCAA Tournament CLICK HERE

UPDATE: NORTH TEXAS, OAKLAND AND BUTLER HAVE WON THEIR CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS AND ARE HEADING TO THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

It's Tuesday and Championship Week is rolling along. Here is what is going on today:

Big East The toughest conference of all this season has started their tournament. There are a couple matinee games being played. With 7:46 remaining in the first half, South Florida defeated DePaul by a score of 58-49. St. Johns jumped on Connecticut and never looked back winning 73-51. UConn will be looking at the NIT tournament after this game ends a frustrating season for the Huskies. In the night session, Seton Hall opened up a big lead only to have Providence come all the way back and make a game of it. In a game with little defense, Seton Hall defeated Providence 109-106. Rutgers and Cincinnati are in the second half with the Bearcats up by 6 with 32 seconds left.

Jim Calhoun's Huskies will miss the NCAA Tournament
this season

Big Sky The Big Sky tournament resumes tonight with their semifinals. Northern Colorado took on Montana in the early semifinal. It was Montana prevailing by a score of 68-63. They will face top seeded Weber State who defeated Portland State 69-60.

Horizon The Horizon conference, like many thus far, have their one and two seed facing each with a trip to the NCAA Tournament rewarded to the winner. Rank #12 Butler has handed it to Wright State in a big way and have advanced with a 70-45 win, sailing into the NCAA Tournament.

MEAC There are a pair of games tonight to kick off the MEAC Tournament in Winston-Salem. In the first game Bethune-Cookman took out Florida A and M by a score of 64-53. In the nightcap it will be North Carolina A and T has defeated Howard by a score of 65-55.

Atlantic 10 The Atlantic 10 Conference tournament kicked off today with games hosted at Campuses. Charlotte watched their season continue to implode and lost to Massachusetts at home by a score of 59-56. The 49ers looked like a lock as an NCAA Tournament team just a few weeks ago but hit the skids the last month of the season. They will have to wait and see if they are offered an NIT bid as any hopes to be invited to the Big Dance have vanished. Meanwhile Dayton defeated George Washington by a score of 70-60.. In other games in the tournament, Rhode Island finished off St. Joseph's by a score of 87-76 to move on. St. Bonaventure defeated Duquesne 83-71 to advance to the next round.

Sun Belt The Sun Belt has crowned their Champion tonight as top seeded Troy was defeated by second seeded North Texas. North Texas won by a score of 66-63 and are heading to the NCAA Tournament.

Summit Top seeded Oakland has punched their ticket into next week's NCAA Tournament with a 76-64 win over IUPUI. Oakland will go into the tournament with a 26-8 record.

Comments may be posted here

As conference tournaments continue, we have a great week ahead in College basketball. Check back here often for updates throughout the weekend for the latest in March Madness.

To find out who will be dancing in the NCAA Tournament CLICK HERE

UPDATE: OLD DOMINION, WOFFORD, ST. MARYS AND SIENA HAVE WON THEIR CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS AND ARE HEADING TO THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

Championship Week is in full effect as conference tournament's are in full swing. Here are some highlights for Monday night games:

Colonial Athletic Another ticket was punched as Old Dominion defeated William and Mary 60-53. These were two solid basketball teams who had both won over 22 games this season. The Monarchs have proven that they can play with anybody and are a squad who have defeated Georgetown and Charlotte out of conference.

MAAC Siena has defeated Fairfield in overtime, 72-65 to win the MAAC Tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament. The top seeded Saints found themselves in a fight, trailing a good portion of the game. They prevailed in the end after one overtime session and will represent the MAAC in the Big Dance.

Southern Wofford led from wire to wire to win the Southern Conference Championship by a score of 56-51 over Appalachian State. It was the first time the Terriors had advanced to the Championship Game since joining the Southern Conference. The Mountaineers fought back but came up short and will now look to play in the NIT. Wofford is a team to keep an eye on when you fill out your brackets next week if you are looking for an upset.

Summit Oakland has held on to defeat IPFW by a score of 71-58 and will face IUPUI who took care of Oral Roberts to advance to the finals with a score of 69-65.

Sun Belt Top seeded Troy has advanced past Western Kentucky and into the finals of the Sun Belt Tournament with a 54-48 victory. North Texas advanced with a 63-56 win against Denver and advance to the Championship game of the Sun Belt Tournament. North Texas was led by George Odufuwa, who finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds.

West Coast Gonzaga clashed with St. Mary's in the West Coast Conference Championship. The Gaels made sure that they would not be left out of this year's Big Dance by disposing of the Zags 81-62. St. Mary's opened up a close game with a 51 point explosion in the second half. Gonzaga will certainly be in the NCAA Tournament but this loss will likely drop their seed somewhat.

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