College basketball’s regular season is over, and soon we will see which teams will be dancing on Selection Sunday. There are more than 350 Division I programs in the country, but only 68 will have the chance to call themselves NCAA Champions at the beginning of April. None of the power conferences are playing on Monday, but some mid major conferences are in the midst of determining which team will get their conference’s automatic bid to the Big Dance.
MAC First Round
Central Michigan -10 vs. Western Michigan, O/U 154
Eastern Michigan -2 vs. Ball State, O/U 132.5
Akron -5.5 vs. Miami (Ohio), O/U 129.5
Northern Illinois -4 vs. Ohio, O/U 139
It’s important to note that there is home court advantage in the first round of the MAC Tournament. All four of these games has the favorite playing at home, and the winner of each game will be part of an eight-team field squaring off in Cleveland on Thursday.
Central Michigan is a deserved double-digit favorite against Western Michigan in the 5-12 matchup. The Chippewas just barely missed out on a bye, and they are the only team with a winning conference record playing on Monday. Meanwhile, the Broncos have won just two conference games all year (one by two points and one in overtime), and they lost by 21 the last time they faced Central Michigan in Mount Pleasant.
Many people will be interested to see how Akron fares here. The Zips are the third-best team in the conference according to Ken Pomeroy’s numbers despite going 8-10 in conference play and 16-15 overall, and that’s why they are the second-biggest favorite. They have the 28th best defense in the country per Pomeroy, but they have been incredibly unlucky this season.
Horizon Conference Semifinals
Wright State -6 vs. Wisconsin Green Bay, O/U 148
Northern Kentucky -5 vs. Oakland, O/U 152.5
The chalk held up in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Tournament, with all four top seeds advancing to the semifinals at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. That’s something that hadn’t happened in a while as No. 8 seed Cleveland State made it to the final last year and No. 10 Milwaukee did the year before that.
Wright State and Northern Kentucky have been the two heavyweights in the conference all year long, and it’s likely that these two teams will meet in the final tomorrow night. However, the Norse have lost to Oakland before this season and haven’t performed well at home, and the Raiders lost to Green Bay earlier in the season too.
WCC Semifinals
Gonzaga -23.5 vs. Pepperdine, O/U 156.5
Saint Mary’s CA -5 vs. San Diego, O/U 128
These are the most intriguing games of the day from an NCAA Tournament perspective. Gonzaga is the No. 1 team in the country, and the Bulldogs have already punched their ticket to the dance. They have yet to lose in conference play this season, and winning the WCC Tournament will lock up a No. 1 seed for the Zags.
However, a Gonzaga loss, however unlikely, guarantees that two WCC teams will get into the tournament. Saint Mary’s would be the most likely beneficiary, and the Gaels are already considered a bubble team in their own right, but don’t sleep on Pepperdine or San Diego. No. 8 Pepperdine and No. 7 San Diego have caught fire, and both teams have been a force in their conference tournaments so far winning three straight games from Thursday to Saturday.
MEAC First Round
Savannah State -6.5 vs. Delaware State, O/U 155
The MEAC is always one of the most entertaining conference tournaments. There is a lot of parity in the conference, and it feels like a Cinderella wins the MEAC’s automatic bid every other year. Savannah State could be that team this year.
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