The first automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament will be decided Saturday
• 3 min read
The first ticket to the Big Dance will be punched Saturday when the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament concludes with its championship game featuring No. 1 seed Little Rock taking on No. 3 seed Morehead State.
The America East and Big Sky will also join the postseason fray as first round games begin in their tournaments. In total, 11 different conference tournaments will be in action throughout the day, including a few that are getting close to crowning a champion.
The Big South, Missouri Valley and NEC will each be in semifinal action. The Summit League, Sun Belt and SoCon will each be in quarterfinal action. The WCC’s staggered format rolls on with third round action, while the CAA will be playing its second round.
One of the most fascinating matchups will be in the Missouri Valley, where No. 1 seed Indiana State will take on No. 4 seed Northern Iowa. The Sycamores are projected as a No. 11 seed in Jerry Palm’s Bracketology but would prefer to ensure a drama-free Selection Sunday by winning two more games and claiming the MVC’s automatic bid.
The top seeds in the Big South Tournament took care of business Friday as conference tournament season continued ramping up around college basketball. No. 1 seed High Point fell behind 18-4 on its home floor against No. 9 seed Radford before rallying for a 77-63 victory.
Picked to finish seventh in the nine-team league, High Point has turned into one of college basketball’s top turnaround stories under first-year coach Alan Huss. The Panthers posted their first winning record in conference play since 2019 and showed ample poise when faced with a big early deficit on Friday. Abdoulaye Thiam and Duke Miles lead High Point with 20 points each.
No. 2 seed UNC Asheville also faced a significant deficit as it trailed No. 7 seed Charleston Southern 49-40 with under eight minutes to play. But star forward Drew Pember drilled a pair of clutch 3-pointers in the final two minutes to help the Bulldogs advance.
As automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament are secured, we’ll be noting each of them here.
Saturday’s conference tournament scoreboard
- America East: First round
- Big Sky: First round
- Big South: Semifinals
- Coastal: Second round
- Missouri Valley: Semifinals
- NEC: Semifinals
- Ohio Valley: Championship — (3) Morehead State vs. (1) Little Rock, 8 p.m. | ESPN2
- SoCon: Quarterfinals
- Summit: Quarterfinals
- Sun Belt: Quarterfinals
- WCC: Third round
2024 conference tournament schedules, champions
All times ET
| Conference | City | Dates | Final (TV) / Champion |
| ACC | Washington D.C. | March 12-16 | Saturday, March 16 8:30 p.m. (ESPN) |
| America East | Campus Sites | March 9,12,16 | Saturday, March 16 11 a.m. (ESPN2) |
| American | Fort Worth, Texas | March 13-17 | Sunday, March 17 3:15 p.m. (ESPN) |
| ASUN | Campus Sites | March 4-5, 7, 10 | Sunday, March 10 2 p.m. (ESPN2) |
| Atlantic 10 | Brooklyn | March 12-14, 16-17 | Sunday, March 17 1 p.m. (CBS) |
| Big 12 | Kansas City | March 12-16 | Saturday. March 16 6 p.m. (ESPN) |
| Big East | New York City | March 13-16 | Saturday, March 16 6:30 p.m. (Fox) |
| Big Sky | Boise, Idaho | March 9, 10-13 | Wednesday, March 13 11:30 p.m. (ESPN2) |
| Big South | High Point, North Carolina | March 6, 8-10 | Sunday, March 10 Noon (ESPN2) |
| Big Ten | Minneapolis | March 13-17 | Sunday, March 17 3:30 p.m. (CBS) |
| Big West | Henderson, Nevada | March 13-16 | Saturday, March 16 9:30 p.m. (ESPN2) |
| Coastal Athletic | Washington, D.C. | March 8-12 | Tuesday, March 12 7 p.m. (CBS Sports Network) |
| Conference USA | Huntsville, Alabama | March 12-16 | Saturday, March 16 8:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Network) |
| Horizon League | Campus sites | Indianapolis | March 5, 7, 11-12 | Tuesday, March 12 7 p.m. (ESPN) |
| Ivy | New York City | March 16-17 | Sunday, March 17 12 p.m. (ESPN2) |
| MAAC | Atlantic City, New Jersey | March 12-16 | Saturday, March 16 7:30 p.m. (ESPNU) |
| MAC | Cleveland | March 14-16 | Saturday, March 16 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2) |
| MEAC | Norfolk, Virginia | March 13-16 | Saturday, March 16 1 p.m. (ESPN2) |
| Missouri Valley | St. Louis | March 7-10 | Sunday, March 10 2 p.m. (CBS) |
| Mountain West | Las Vegas | March 13-16 | Saturday, March 16 6 p.m. (CBS) |
| Northeast | Campus Sites | March 6, 9, 12 | Tuesday, March 12 7 p.m. (ESPN2) |
| Ohio Valley | Evansville, Indiana | March 6-9 | Saturday, March 9 8 p.m. (ESPN2) |
| Pac-12 | Las Vegas | March 13-16 | Saturday, March 16 9 p.m. (Fox) |
| Patriot | Campus Sites | March 5, 7, 10, 13 | Wednesday, March 13 7 p.m. (CBS Sports Network) |
| SEC | Nashville | March 13-17 | Sunday, March 17 1 p.m. (ESPN) |
| Southern | Asheville, North Carolina | March 8-11 | Monday, March 11 7 p.m. (ESPN2) |
| Southland | Lake Charles, Louisiana | March 10-13 | Wednesday, March 13 5 p.m. (ESPN2) |
| Summit | Sioux Falls, South Dakota | March 8-12 | Tuesday, March 12 9:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Network) |
| Sun Belt | Pensacola, Florida | March 5, 7, 9, 10-11 | Monday, March 11 7 p.m. (ESPN2) |
| SWAC | Birmingham, Alabama | March 13-16 | Saturday, March 16 5:30 p.m. (ESPNU) |
| WAC | Las Vegas | March 13-16 | Saturday, March 16 11:30 p.m. (ESPN2) |
| WCC | Las Vegas | March 7-9, 11-12 | Tuesday, March 12 9 p.m. (ESPN) |
Who wins every college basketball game today, and which favorites should be on upset alert? Visit SportsLine now to get picks and predictions for every college basketball game, all from a model that simulates every game 10,000 times.
