A pair of in-state teams take center stage on Saturday in the Big Ten tournament semifinals, with the chance to play each for a third time this season with the title on the line.No. 9 seed Indiana has been the story of the tournament so far in Indianapolis, coming from 17 points down to beat Michigan on Wednesday and then edging out top-seeded Illinois on Friday. That puts the Hoosiers up now against No. 5 Iowa, which set a Big Ten record for points scored in a single game (112) on Wednesday.No. 3 Purdue was the only high seed to win in Friday’s quarterfinals, and will now play No. 7 Michigan State in the other semifinal. The Spartans upset No. 2 Wisconsin.Where every Big Ten team stands for making the NCAA Tournament: Eamonn Brennan's Bubble WatchWhere the Big Ten is seeded in this year's NCAA Tournament: Brian Bennett's Bracket WatchWednesday, March 9First RoundGame 1: No. 13 Northwestern 71, No. 12 Nebraska 69Game 2: No. 11 Penn State 60, No. 14 Minnesota 51Thursday
Auburn is the last team on the 1-seed line in Brian Bennett’s Bracket Watch projection. Kentucky is the first team on the 2-seed line.Think something is at stake in Tampa’s Amalie Arena this week? No less than an SEC title and a one-seed in the NCAA Tournament. And Kentucky now has the inside lane to that by virtue of getting past Vanderbilt in Friday's SEC tournament quarterfinals, on a day that began with Texas A&M upsetting Auburn.The No. 8 Aggies, very much on the bubble, move on to play No. 4 Arkansas in Saturday's first semifinal. No. 2 Kentucky plays No. 3 Tennessee in the other semifinal, with the title game set up for Sunday afternoon.Where every SEC team stands for making the NCAA Tournament: Eamonn Brennan's Bubble WatchWhere the SEC is seeded in this year's NCAA Tournament: Brian Bennett's Bracket WatchWednesday, March 9Game 1: No. 12 Missouri 72, No. 13 Ole Miss 60Game 2: No. 11 Vanderbilt 86, No. 14 Georgia 51Thursday, March 10Game 3:
In his first season as head coach, Mark Adams has Texas Tech in the Big 12 championship game.The Red Raiders, the No. 3 seed in this week’s Big 12 tournament in Kansas City, will play top-seeded Kansas at 6 p.m. Saturday in the championship game. It’ll be on ESPN.The Jayhawks are the favorite, but the teams split their regular-season meetings: Texas Tech won in Lubbock, and Kansas won an epic double-OT game in Lawrence.Texas Tech’s lone appearance in the Big 12 title game was back in 2005, a game it lost to Oklahoma State. Kansas last won it in 2018, and is looking for its 12th Big 12 tournament title.Where every Big 12 team stands for making the NCAA Tournament: Eamonn Brennan's Bubble WatchWhere the Big 12 is seeded in this year's NCAA Tournament: Brian Bennett's Bracket WatchWednesday, March 9Game 1: No. 9 West Virginia 73, No. 8 Kansas State 67Thursday, March 10Game 2: No. 5 TCU 65, No. 4 Texas 60Game 3: No. 1 Kansas 87, No. 9 West Virginia 63Game 4: No. 7 Okla
Arizona has locked up its No. 1 seed. UCLA will likely be a No. 4 as it starts its path back to the Final Four. All that's left is to win the Pac-12 championship.The top two seeds in this week's Pac-12 tournament will meet Saturday night (9 p.m. ET, FOX) in Las Vegas for the tournament championship. Arizona, the regular-season champion, last won in 2018, while UCLA has not cut down the nets since 2014.It's also a really compelling matchup, on the court (Bennedict Mathurin and Dalen Terry vs. Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Tyger Campbell, for starters) but on the sideline. Mick Cronin is the grizzled vet who has returned UCLA to its blue-blood heights, while Tommy Lloyd has Arizona flying in his first season as head coach.Where every Pac-12 team stands for making the NCAA Tournament: Eamonn Brennan's Bubble WatchWhere the ACC is seeded in this year's NCAA Tournament: Brian Bennett's Bracket WatchWednesday, March 9Game 1: No. 9 Stanford 71, No. 8 Arizona State 70Game
Kansas and Baylor shared the 2022 Big 12 regular-season championship after splitting their first two matchups. Will they meet for a third time in Kansas City with the tournament title on the line?The Jayhawks and defending national champion Bears are the favorites, but third-seeded Texas Tech went 3-1 against the combo. And Texas certainly has the talent to go on a run.One item to note: Oklahoma State will not participate after it was given a postseason ban by the NCAA. That change means there's only one game on opening night, Kansas State vs. West Virginia.Wednesday, March 9Game 1: No. 9 West Virginia 73, No. 8 Kansas State 67Thursday, March 10Game 2: No. 5 TCU 65, No. 4 Texas 60Game 3: No. 1 Kansas 87, No. 9 West Virginia 63Game 4: No. 7 Oklahoma 72, No. 2 Baylor 67Game 5: No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 6 Iowa State, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2Friday, March 11Game 6: No. 5 TCU vs. No. 1 Kansas, 7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN2Game 7: No. 7 Oklahoma vs. Game 5 Winner, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN2Saturday,