Welcome to Wednesday of Champ Week!
Today, things start to escalate, quickly. We saw bubble chaos yesterday, with both Stanford and Virginia Tech losing. Now? We have Indiana barely in the field. However, we have 8 conferences who could produce a bid-thief still ongoing, meaning we’re going to see chaos throughout the week.
Right now, I do think we will see 3 bid thiefs. I’m projecting one bid thief from the high major ranks, and 2 from the MWC/A-10/MAC. If you extrapolate that, it takes bids from SMU/VCU/IU right now. All three of those teams are still playing and have an opportunity to jump up a bit with big wins. For Texas and NC State, they need to pick up wins or they’re in danger of falling out. For Santa Clara, the most nervous couple days begins right now. Things will be hectic until Sunday!
Our first tournament teams tips at noon on peacock with Iowa and Maryland playing in Chicago. Iowa should win big here. They project as a 9.
NC State and Pittsburgh also tip at noon, on ESPN3. This matchup is critical for the Wolfpack, who have lost a ton of games recently. A win here and I think they’ll be fine. They’re an 11.
Arizona State and Iowa State will get the Big 12 battles going at 12:30 on ESPN, with ISU being 11.5 favorites here. ISU is a 3 currently, but could move to a 2 with a run!
LSU and Kentucky kick off the SEC tournament in Nashville at 12:30 on SECN. UK is favored by 7.5. UK is a 7.
Louisville and SMU will battle at 2:30 on ESPN. Louisville is favored by 6.5. The Cards are a 6 currently, and will look to solidify that spot, For SMU, they are in Dayton at this moment and need to win here or face a terribly long wait to Sunday.
USC/Washington play at 2:30 on Peacock. No tournament impact here.
Mississippi State and Auburn tip off at 3:00 in what is a vital game for the Tigers. They must get to 2 games above .500 to have a shot. They currently sit at 16-15 and are out of my field.
Cincinnati and UCF will play the 2nd matchup in the Big 12 today. Cincinnati is favored by 2.5. A win here and there might be a genuine chance they get into the field. However, I still think they’d need to beat AZ. For UCF, they’re playing mainly for seeding right now, and project as a 10. However, a win here would make them feel much better!
The Big East will kick off at 4:00 on Peacock today, with 3 games, all on Peacock staggered 2:30 apart!
The Southland will crown a champ tonight at 5:00 ET. SFA will be my favorite as McNeese and UTRGV played a 3 OT game well after midnight ET last night. McNeese, however, will have all of the momentum after their electric win last night!
Northwestern and Indiana will tip at 6:30 on the BTN. I have IU as my final team IN currently, which means they would inevitably be killed by a bid thieves. They have to beat Northwestern or that spot would fall away. They’re favored by 4.5.
Ole Miss and Texas tip at 7:00 on SECN. The Longhorns are favored by 6.5, and are looking to lock up a bid. A win here doesn’t do it, but a loss here could knock them out.
BYU and WVU tip, also at 7:00 in a game BYU is favored by 5.5 in. The Cougars are fighting for seeding. For WVU, they can be dangerous, but likely will need to win the league to get in.
California and Florida State tip-off in what is another critical bubble game. Cal is one of the first couple out right now, while FSU is a sleeper to pull off a run. Cal has to win this, but comes in 4.5 point underdogs.
South Carolina and Oklahoma play at 9:30. OU has to have this to even have a thought of dancing. SEC Network will have this.
Oklahoma State and TCU face off at 9:30 on ESPNU. TCU is fighting for seeding, while Oklahoma State is looking to make some bubble noise! A win here makes me look back over OKST’s resume a bit more thorough.
Wake Forest and Clemson cap-off the ACC evening at 9:30 on ESPN2. Wake is looking to spoil Clemson’s push for a 7 seed. 9:30, ESPN2, Clemson is favored by 5.5.
The Big Sky final will close the night at 11:30 on ESPN2! Montana will face Idaho in Boise!
The A-10, SWAC, MWC, CUSA, WAC, American, and Big West all get their tournaments rolling today, and while I do not have full previews of every game, these tournaments are worth watching!
