yahoo sports staff
Selection Sunday is nearly upon us and bids are at stake as conference championships play out.
Before the Madness begins, a jam-packed slate of Saturday action delivered as teams punched their tickets to the Dance.
With 13 conference final games and NCAA tourney implications abound, there's plenty to monitor. Wisconsin won a thriller over Purdue to advance to the Big Ten final. No. 2 UConn outlasted No. 10 Marquette in the Big East tourney final, making a case for itself to be the No. 1 overall seed. No. 7 Iowa State delivered perhaps the most shocking result of the day, blasting No. 1 Houston 69-41 in the Big 12 title game.
Here's the full schedule of conference tournament finals today:
America East: Vermont 66, UMass Lowell 61
MEAC: Howard 70, Delaware State 67
Big 12: Iowa State 69, Houston 41
Mountain West: New Mexico 68, SDSU 61
Big East: UConn 73, Marquette 57
MAAC: Saint Peter's 68, Fairfield 63
MAC: Akron 62, Kent State 61
ACC: NC State 84, UNC 76
Conference USA: Western Kentucky 78, UTEP 71
Pac-12: Oregon 75, Colorado 68
Big West: Long Beach State 74, UC Davis 70
SWAC: Grambling State 75, Texas Southern 66
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Yahoo Sports Staff
Final: Grambling State 75, Texas Southern 66
Grambling State earns its first NCAA tournament berth in program history by winning the SWAC tournament!
GRAMBLING IS #MARCHMADNESS BOUND 🤩
The Tigers win the SWAC championship to punch their ticket 🎟️ pic.twitter.com/1UznrkXm2U
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 17, 2024
Yahoo Sports Staff
Final: Long Beach State 74, UC Davis 70
The Beach wins the Big West title and earns the autobid, which is especially interesting because Long Beach head coach Dan Monson was told he's out as coach after this season. Not don
TICKET PUNCHED! 🎟️
Long Beach State wins The Big West Championship! pic.twitter.com/w41pJsCatJ
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) March 17, 2024
Yahoo Sports Staff
Final: Oregon 75, Colorado 68
Oregon is NCAA tournament bound! Ducks pull off an unlikely Pac-12 tournament title to likely steal a bid.
N'Faly Dante was the hero for the Ducks, scoring 25 on 12 of 12 (!!!) shooting, along with 9 rebounds, 3 steals and a block.
OREGON WINS THE PAC-12 TITLE 🏆
The Ducks are back in the dance once again 🕺 #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/EVyytu8Oee
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 17, 2024
Yahoo Sports Staff
N'Faly Dante has 23 points to lead Oregon. None bigger than these two so far:
HUGE throwdown by N'Faly Dante! 🔨@OregonMBB pic.twitter.com/K0E9SwdvDg
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 17, 2024
Yahoo Sports Staff
Back and forth the Ducks and Buffs go. Oregon leads 66-62 with 2:42 to play. Can the Ducks close it out? A lot on the line in Vegas.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Pac-12 final has been a tight one all game. Oregon is bubble team and may need this win to reach the Big Dance.
What a DIME! 👀👏@CUBuffsMBB pic.twitter.com/tBRC0kIOby
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 17, 2024
Yahoo Sports Staff
Final: NC State 84, UNC 76
The Wolfpack win after an extended finish to the game. DJ Horne is the hero with 29 points, but DJ Burns made a name for himself tonight. The big fella finishes with 20 points and 7 assists.
2024 ACC CHAMPIONS🏆 pic.twitter.com/f7Li2ZhPjA
— NC State Men's Basketball (@PackMensBball) March 17, 2024
Yahoo Sports Staff
UNC had an opening to cut it to four points just now, but multiple 3-pointers missed the mark. Just 91 seconds left in this one.
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With just a few minutes left, NC State has extended its lead to double digits. The Wolfpack are looking very much like bid thieves here.
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The Wolfpack are holding it down in Washington D.C.
— NC State Men's Basketball (@PackMensBball) March 17, 2024
Yahoo Sports Staff
Halftime: Oregon 33, Colorado 30
Back-and-forth game so far for the Pac-12 title. Ducks finished the first half on a nice run to take the lead.
Oregon takes the lead! 😤@OregonMBB pic.twitter.com/EmgrakpQ1q
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 17, 2024
Yahoo Sports Staff
We're under 10 minutes left in the ACC title game and the Wolfpack is still in front by five.
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Final: Saint Peter's 68, Fairfield 63
The Peaco*cks punch their NCAA tourney ticket with a win in the MAAC final.
TICKET PUNCHED! 🎟️
Saint Peter’s wins the MAAC Championship! pic.twitter.com/gHYtT7ui0X
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) March 17, 2024
Yahoo Sports Staff
Final: Akron 62, Ken State 61
Brutal ending in the MAC final for Kent State, which took a 1-point lead with 6 seconds left, then Julius Rollins made a huge mental error by fouling Akron. Zips hit both free throws to win it.
Akron is headed to the NCAA tournament, while Kent State has to be sick about falling just short.
(8) Kent State’s Julius Rollins forgets the situation and FOULS UP 1 WITH 4.8 left and gives Akron the lead back in the MAC Championship. WHAT ARE YOU DOING MAN?!!! (video via @cjzero) pic.twitter.com/sJmVgJRL8u
— NCAA Buzzer Beaters & Game Winners (@NCAABuzzerBters) March 17, 2024
Yahoo Sports Staff
Meanwhile, the Buffs are stringing together a nice little bit of offense.
Luke O'Brien splashes through the triple to make it a 10-0 Buffs run 💪@CUBuffsMBB pic.twitter.com/FY0OjSUA1t
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 17, 2024
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Wolfpack is right back at it in the second half, getting to the rim at will. They're shooting over 60 percent from the field in the game.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Halftime: UNC 40, NC State 39
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The Tar Heels battled their way back and tied it up with a few minutes before halftime. But NC State's DJ Burns Jr. pulled up from deep with his 1st career 3-pointer to give the Wolfpack the lead again.
— NC State Men's Basketball (@PackMensBball) March 17, 2024
Yahoo Sports Staff
NC State off to a scorching start in the ACC title game, leading UNC 14-4 at the first media timeout.
3J 🎯
📺: ESPN pic.twitter.com/HTOhg5m6sd
— NC State Men's Basketball (@PackMensBball) March 17, 2024
Yahoo Sports Staff
In non-tournament news...
BREAKING: Ohio State is targeting Jake Diebler for the permanent job, source told @TheFieldOf68.
Diebler took over and did a terrific job, leading the Buckeyes to a 6-2 record after taking over following the departure of Chris Holtmann.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 17, 2024
