March Madness is coming up fast. Here is what to know along with some key games to watch and who’s on the bubble ahead of Selection Sunday for the women’s NCAA Tournament:
KEY DATES
The basketball calendar is getting crowded. The conference tournaments are (mostly) rolling:
— The ACC Tournament is March 1-5 in Greensboro, North Carolina.
— The Big Ten Tournament is March 1-5 in Minneapolis.
— The Big 12 Tournament will be March 9-12 in Kansas City, Missouri.
— The Pac-12 Tournament is March 1-5 in Las Vegas.
— The SEC Tournament is March 1-5 in Greenville, South Carolina.
MARCH MADNESS
Selection Sunday is March 12, when brackets for First Four games (March 15-16) and first- and second-round games (March 17-20) are set at multiple sites across the country.
Sweet 16 weekend brings a twist this year for the women’s teams: There will be two regional sites instead of four with Greenville, South Carolina, and Seattle each hosting eight teams.
Where is the women’s Final Four? In Dallas, where the semifinals are March 31 and the championship game is April 2.
As it happens, the men’s Final Four is a four-hour drive down the road in Houston that same weekend.
BETTING GUIDE
Who’s going to win the national championship? The betting favorites as of this week to reach the Final Four are defending national champion South Carolina, Stanford, Indiana and UConn, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The NCAA’s most recent seeding prediction is a little different — Utah replaces UConn — and the top quartet in the AP Top 25 poll is: South Carolina, Indiana, Utah and LSU. So buckle up!
BUBBLE WATCH
Oregon (17-14) lost 76-65 to sixth-ranked Stanford in the Pac-12 tournament quarterfinals, missing a huge opportunity to bolster its tenuous NCAA hopes. The Ducks have been in the last five NCAA tournaments played, and were set to be a No. 1 seed before the 2020 tourney was canceled because of the pandemic. Now comes the long wait to see if they will make another one. A seven-game losing streak during Pac-12 play included five on the road, and a 100-92 home loss to No. 3 Utah.
Nebraska (16-14) very likely blew its chance for consecutive NCAA tourney appearances after losing 67-64 to Michigan State, another bubble team, in the 8-9 game of the Big Ten Tournament. The Huskers had a one-point late in the third quarter before Michigan State scored 14 in a row.
GAMES TO WATCH
Kansas State (16-14) vs. No. 12 Texas. While the Longhorns are on the road Saturday with a shot to win or share their first Big 12 regular-season championship since back-to-back titles in 2003-04, K-State likely needs an upset at home and then a deep run in the Big 12 Tournament to make the NCAA field. The Wildcats lost in overtime Wednesday at No. 16 Oklahoma, which like Texas is a sure bet to play in the NCAA Tournament.
Marquette (20-9) vs. St. John’s (22-7) in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals Saturday. The Golden Eagles and the Red Storm, who both beat UConn last month, should hear their names called Selection Sunday. But the team that advances to the Big East semifinals could improve their seeding. They split their two regular-season matchups.
___
AP March Madness coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
