It is the last big game day of the regular season. Eleven conferences will play their final games on Saturday, ahead of the conference tournaments.
There are great games at all levels of the key. None of them are bigger than Illinois in Ohio, which has the fourth No. 1 seed at stake – for now. A victory for Illini gives them a strong advantage over the last number 1, while a victory for the Buckeyes takes them back to the top row.
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At the bottom of the potential at-large pool, almost all teams are playing today. Wichita State seeks the title of the regular season conference at the American Athletic Conference. Three bubble teams enter the field in the 10 semifinals of the Atlantic and two more in the semifinals of the Missouri Valley. Oh, and there’s a game at ACC that always seems to go unnoticed – Duke in North Carolina.
Further down the bracket, the first champion of the conference tournament will be determined on Saturday. The Ohio Valley title game between Morehead State and Belmont will distribute an automatic offer for the NCAA Tournament.
And while this is the first game of the conference championship, it will not be the first automatic move. Freedom I sewed this Friday reaching the finals of the ASUN Tournament. Flames will play North Alabama, which is not yet qualified for the postseason due to the transition to Division I. If Liberty loses, they will still receive automatic bidding for being the regular season champion.
COVID showed his ugly face for the first time in a conference tournament. Drake advanced into the MVC tournament when northern Iowa had to tie minutes before the complaint due to a COVID issue and local contact tracking requirements. Some teams had to give up on their conference tournaments before they started, but this is the first case of a team that withdraws from a tournament while it is in progress.
Hopefully, this will be the last time this will happen.
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