College Basketball Tournaments: winner predictions, odds, and schedule

Selection Sunday is on the horizon, but March Madness starts with Championship Week, as conference champions will be crowned across the country. The coveted automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament comes with the conference trophy and a few teams have already punched their Big Dance ticket.

There are 32 conferences in Division I basketball, meaning there will be no shortage of hardwood action this week. However, look for the six power conferences—ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12, and SEC – to attract the bulk of the attention. These conferences will provide most of the top seeds for the soon-to-be revealed field of 68 and where the oddsmakers’ favorites to eventually cut the nets down reside.

Besides conference bragging rights, seeding is certainly on the line in these conference tournaments, not to mention a handful of teams that find themselves squarely on the bubble entering Championship Week. And just because the regular-season champion is the No. 1 seed and may be labeled the favorite in their respective tournament, remember this is March. Expect upsets, and plenty of them.

The ACC and Big 12 will tip things off on Tuesday from Washington, D.C., and Kansas City, respectively. The rest follow on Wednesday with the Big East playing in Madison Square Garden, the Big Ten in Minneapolis, the SEC holding its tournament in Nashville and the Pac-12 out in Las Vegas. Both the Big Ten and SEC will crown their champions on Sunday prior to this year’s bracket being unveiled while the other four will wrap up their tournaments on Saturday.

Locks, projected to be in and on the bubble are from Justin Williams’ bubble watch daily on Monday.

ACC

Dates: March 12-16

Championship game: 8:30 p.m. ET Saturday on ESPN

Locks: North Carolina, Duke, Clemson

On the bubble: Virginia, Wake Forest, Pittsburgh

Regular season champion: North Carolina (25-6, 17-3 in ACC)

What to watch for: Are we headed for North Carolina-Duke Round 3? The Tar Heels and Blue Devils are the top two seeds in Washington, D.C., and a championship matchup could determine a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. If Wake Forest wins its second-round game, a bubble-bursting quarterfinals date with Pittsburgh awaits.  Virginia also has a golden opportunity to play its way into (or out of) the field of 68.

Big Ten

Dates: March 13-17

Championship game: 3:30 p.m. ET Sunday on CBS

Locks: Purdue, Wisconsin, Illinois

Projected to be in: Northwestern, Nebraska, Michigan State

On the bubble: Iowa, Ohio State

Regular season champion: Purdue (28-3, 17-3 in Big Ten)

The storyline: The Ohio State-Iowa second-round matchup is a de facto bubble showdown. The winner then gets Illinois in the quarterfinals with the Fighting Illini hoping for another shot at top-seed Purdue. The Boilermakers can probably lock up a No. 1 seed simply by making it to the championship game. Nebraska and Northwestern need to be on upset alert to make Selection Sunday a little less stressful.

Big 12

Dates: March 12-16

Championship game: 6 p.m. ET Saturday on ESPN

Locks: Baylor, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, BYU, Texas Tech, Texas

Projected to be in: TCU, Oklahoma

On the bubble: Kansas State

Regular season champion: Houston (28-3, 15-3 in Big 12)

What to watch for: Houston is rolling, fresh off of a 30-point blowout of Kansas and poised to claim the No. 1 overall seed. Can anyone solve the red-hot Cougars in Kansas City? For the Jayhawks, the status of Hunter Dickinson’s shoulder looms large this week and beyond, not to mention the fact that Bill Self’s team has lost three of its last four games. TCU and Oklahoma are both currently projected as in, but aren’t sure things at this point.

Big East

Dates: March 13-16

Championship game: 6:30 p.m. ET Saturday on FOX

Locks: Marquette, UConn, Creighton

On the bubble: Seton Hall, Villanova, St. John’s, Providence

Regular season champion: UConn (28-3, 18-2 in Big East)

What to watch for: UConn is the defending national champion and clearly has bigger goals in mind but the Huskies also haven’t won the Big East Tournament since 2011 (UConn was in the AAC from 2014-20). Creighton stunned UConn a few weeks ago and could get another shot in Madison Square Garden. Villanova is on the wrong side of the cut line, depending on which bracketologist you prefer, so the Wildcats need at least one win if not more to go dancing. Seton Hall and St. John’s could burst each other’s bubble when they meet in the quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon.

Pac-12

Dates: March 13-16

Championship game: 9 p.m. ET Saturday on FOX

Locks: Arizona, Washington State

On the bubble: Colorado, Utah

Regular season champion: Arizona (24-7, 15-5 in Pac-12)

What to watch for: Colorado has won six in a row to improve its NCAA Tournament chances greatly but the Buffaloes can’t afford a slip-up in its quarterfinal matchup between the winner of Arizona State and Utah. Arizona can put itself in the conversation for a No. 1 seed with a dominant showing in Las Vegas, but should the Wildcats fear Washington State? The Cougars swept both regular-season meetings. If there’s a third encounter, it would be in the championship game.

SEC

Dates: March 13-16

Championship game: 1 p.m. ET Sunday on ESPN

Locks: Alabama, Tennessee, Auburn, Kentucky, Florida, South Carolina

On the bubble: Mississippi State, Texas A&M

Regular season champion: Tennessee (24-7, 14-4 in SEC)

What to watch for: One game separated the top five seeds in the SEC Tournament so there doesn’t appear to be much of a gap at the top of the bracket. Tennessee is probably the only SEC team that can claim a No. 1 seed, but that’s only if the Volunteers cut down the nets in Nashville. Mississippi State can make its case with a victory over LSU in the second round followed by an upset of Tennessee. Kentucky enters with the most momentum, including a road win over the Vols, but the Wildcats could draw bubble team Texas A&M in the quarterfinals and Alabama in the semis.

(Photo of Zach Edey: John Fisher/Getty Images)