Friday, December 27, 2024

2024 March Madness scores, conference tournament brackets: McNeese, Colgate, Montana State win AQ bids

2024 March Madness scores, conference tournament brackets: McNeese, Colgate, Montana State win AQ bids

The Cowboys won the Southland title and the Raiders won the Patriot League crown to win automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament

NCAA Basketball: Horizon Conference Tournament Championship
USATSI

More NCAA Tournament bids were secured on Wednesday as conference tournament action rolled on around college basketball. While all of the major conferences were in action, the stakes were highest in places like the Southland Conference and Patriot League.

McNeese punched a ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002 as the No. 1 seed Cowboys edged No. 3 seed Nicholls 92-76 in the Southland final. First-year coach Will Wade’s club will enter the Big Dance with a record of 30-3 after 11 consecutive losing seasons before his arrival.

Colgate is headed to its fifth straight NCAA Tournament after beating No. 6 seed Lehigh 74-55 in the Patriot League final. The program had only made two NCAA Tournament appearances in its history before this incredible streak of league dominance began under coach Matt Langel.

Those teams joined the ranks of teams like James Madison, Samford and Charleston among the ranks of potential Cinderella teams who are guaranteed to hear their names called Sunday during the March Madness Selection Show on CBS.

All the major conferences will be playing again on Thursday, but the stakes are highest elsewhere as the fight for automatic NCAA Tournament bids continues. The MAC is among the likely one-bid leagues in action Thursday, as postseason action rolls on during a loaded day of games. No. 1 seed Toledo is taking on No. 8 seed Kent State in the MAC Tournament opener but the league was a battle all year, and several schools have eyes on the prize.

As automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament are secured, we’ll be noting each of them here.  

Wednesday’s conference tournament scoreboard

Southland: Championship
(1) McNeese  92 (3) Nicholls State 76

Patriot LeagueChampionship
(1) Colgate 74, (6) Lehigh 55 

Big SkyChampionship
(5) Montana State 85, (3) Montana 70

OTHER TOURNAMENTS IN ACTION

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 Stetson (22-12)
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 Montana State (17-17)
Big South High Point, North Carolina March 6, 8-10 Longwood (21-13)
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 Charleston (27-7)
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 Oakland (23-11)
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 Drake (28-6)
Mountain West Las Vegas March 13-16 Saturday, March 16
6 p.m. (CBS)
Northeast Campus Sites March 6, 9, 12 Wagner (16-15)
Ohio Valley Evansville, Indiana March 6-9 Morehead State (26-8)
Pac-12 Las Vegas March 13-16 Saturday, March 16
9 p.m. (Fox)
Patriot Campus Sites March 5, 7, 10, 13 Colgate (25-9) 
SEC Nashville March 13-17 Sunday, March 17
1 p.m. (ESPN)
Southern Asheville, North Carolina March 8-11 Samford (29-5)
Southland Lake Charles, Louisiana March 10-13 McNeese (30-3)
Summit Sioux Falls, South Dakota March 8-12 South Dakota State (22-12)
Sun Belt Pensacola, Florida March 5, 7, 9, 10-11 James Madison (31-3)
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 Saint Mary’s (26-7)

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.

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