Over the next nine days, 31 of the 68 spots in the 2026 men\u2019s NCAA Tournament will be clinched by teams winning their conference\u2019s automatic bids.<\/p>\n
Championship week is a smorgasbord of nonstop basketball. We\u2019re tracking every conference tournament and will update as the week progresses with what you need to know about the teams going to the NCAA Tournament.<\/p>\n
Bids clinchedNortheast: LIU<\/p>\n
Record: 23-10, 15-3 NEC Ohio Valley: Tennessee State<\/p>\n Record: 23-9, 15-5 OVC Next up<\/p>\n Missouri Valley: UIC (19-14) vs. Northern Iowa (22-12) (Sunday, noon ET, CBS)<\/p>\n Big South: High Point (29-4) vs. Winthrop (23-10) (Sunday, noon ET, ESPN2)<\/p>\n ASUN: Central Arkansas (22-11) vs. Queens (20-13) (Sunday, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN2)<\/p>\n Summit: North Dakota (26-7) vs. North Dakota State (24-8) (Sunday, 9 p.m. ET, CBSSN)<\/p>\n Full conference championship schedule<\/p>\n (Alphabetical order; all times ET)<\/p>\n America East:\u00a0Saturday, March 14, 11 a.m. (ESPN2)<\/p>\n American:\u00a0Sunday, March 15, 3:15 p.m. (ESPN)<\/p>\n Atlantic 10:\u00a0Sunday, March 15, 1 p.m. (CBS)<\/p>\n ACC:\u00a0Saturday, March 14, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)<\/p>\n ASUN:\u00a0Sunday, March 8, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)<\/p>\n Big 12:\u00a0Saturday, March 14, 6 p.m. (ESPN)<\/p>\n Big East:\u00a0Saturday, March 14, 6:30 p.m. (Fox)<\/p>\n Big Sky:\u00a0Wednesday, March 11, 11:30 p.m. (ESPN2)<\/p>\n Big South:\u00a0Sunday, March 8, noon (ESPN2)<\/p>\n Big Ten:\u00a0Sunday, March 15, 3:30 p.m. (CBS)<\/p>\n Big West:\u00a0Saturday, March 14, TBA<\/p>\n CAA:\u00a0Tuesday, March 10, 7 p.m. (CBSSN)<\/p>\n Conference USA:\u00a0Saturday, March 14, 8:30 p.m. (CBSSN)<\/p>\n Horizon:\u00a0Tuesday, March 10, 7 p.m. (ESPN)<\/p>\n Ivy:\u00a0Sunday, March 15, noon (ESPN2)<\/p>\n MAAC:\u00a0Tuesday, March 10, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)<\/p>\n MAC:\u00a0Saturday, March 14, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)<\/p>\n MEAC:\u00a0Saturday, March 14, 1 p.m. (ESPN2)<\/p>\n Missouri Valley:\u00a0Sunday, March 8, noon (CBS)<\/p>\n Mountain West:\u00a0Saturday, March 14, 6 p.m. (CBS)<\/p>\n Northeast:\u00a0Tuesday, March 10, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)<\/p>\n Because Mercyhurst is ineligible for the NCAA Tournament amid its transition to Division I, LIU has already clinched the NEC\u2019s automatic bid.<\/p>\n Ohio Valley:\u00a0Tennessee State 93, Morehead State 67<\/p>\n Patriot:\u00a0Wednesday, March 11, 7 p.m. (CBSSN)<\/p>\n SEC:\u00a0Sunday, March 15, 1 p.m. (ESPN)<\/p>\n SoCon:\u00a0Monday, March 9, 7 p.m. (ESPN)<\/p>\n Southland:\u00a0Wednesday, March 11, 5 p.m. (ESPN2)<\/p>\n SWAC:\u00a0Saturday, March 14, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)<\/p>\n Summit:\u00a0Sunday, March 8, 9 p.m. (CBSSN)<\/p>\n Sun Belt:\u00a0Monday, March 9, 6 p.m. (ESPN)<\/p>\n West Coast:\u00a0Tuesday, March 10, 9 p.m. (ESPN)<\/p>\n WAC:\u00a0Saturday, March 14, midnight (ESPN2)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Over the next nine days, 31 of the 68 spots in the 2026 men\u2019s NCAA Tournament will 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Last tournament appearance: 2018
All-time tournament record: 0-7
What to know:\u00a0Long Island University, led by longtime NBA guard and native New Yorker Rod Strickland, is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018 after defeating Wagner 64-56 in the NEC semifinals<\/a>. LIU earned the bid before playing in the final because Mercyhurst, which is ineligible for the postseason in its second season<\/a> as a Division I program, won the other semifinal. Strickland, who played 17 seasons in the NBA, is in his fourth season and has improved LIU\u2019s record every year since a 3-26 debut in 2022-23. LIU is projected to be a No. 16 seed. The Sharks (fins up!) have the NEC defensive player of the year in guard Greg Gordon and leading scorer Jamal Fuller, from Toronto, played in the NCAA Division II tournament when he was at Academy of Art in San Francisco. \u2014\u00a0Ralph D. Russo<\/p>\n
Last tournament appearance: 1994
All-time tournament record: 0-2
What to know: Yes, it\u2019s been 32 years since this Nashville, Tenn.-based HBCU reached the sport\u2019s biggest stage. And it took just one season of Nolan Smith\u2019s coaching to get there. The former Duke star, NBA first-round pick and Memphis and Louisville assistant coach wasn\u2019t able to do much with the TSU roster after replacing Brian \u201cPenny\u201d Collins. But he has elicited star-level play out of returning seniors Aaron Nkrumah \u2014 the OVC Player of the Year \u2014 and Travis Harper II. He has the Tigers pressuring on defense and playing with pace, ranking in the top 21 nationally in steal percentage and opponent turnover percentage. It\u2019s one of the best coaching jobs in the nation. \u2014\u00a0Joe Rexrode<\/p>\n