The Can’t Miss Tournament Games Leading Up to Selection Sunday
March 10, 2017
It’s Conference Tournament Week and we’ve already seen some ridiculous March College Basketball games. With Selection Sunday only a few days away, teams in the nation’s D1 Conferences are playing phenomenal Basketball to make a solid last minute impression before the NCAA Tournament. So far we’ve seen an intense game between Seth Allen and the Virginia Tech Hokies losing a hard fought battle to an underrated Florida State team. We’ve seen one of the country’s best organizations, Kansas, lose to a #8 seed in the Big 10 TCU. We’ve seen the Big 10’s best team, Purdue, get eliminated from the Big 10 Tournament in the last few seconds of regulation due to a surprising performance from Michigan. We’ve seen the former best team in College Basketball, Baylor, lose to a very underrated Kansas St. squad, and of course, we’ve seen a Gonzaga team completely demolish any competition in the West Coast Conference. However, there are still a significant amount of games coming up that I believe are must watch games. If you want your NCAA Tournament bracket to be flawless, or if you just want to watch some insane College Basketball matchups, you can’t miss these games below.
DISCLAIMER: A lot of these games are predictions and not officially scheduled matchups, however it is very likely that a lot of these games will actually happen.
Duke vs UNC, 7:00 pm ET on ESPN (3/10/17)
Today at 5 pm, the greatest rivalry in College Basketball, and maybe in the history of Basketball itself, will square off for what might be the last time this season. The Duke Blue Devils and the University of North Carolina Tar Heels will face off in Brooklyn to see who will play in the Championship game of the ACC Tournament. This year, Duke has had a handful of struggles both on and off the court, and comparing their very close wins vs Louisville and Clemson to the drastic 25 point win UNC recorded over Miami recently, I highly doubt Duke’s significant run will last much longer. However, during the two matchups these two North Carolina teams played in this season, each team was able to win on the road immersed in probably the most unforgiving fan sections in College Basketball. This will definitely be an intense, hard fought game, but the Tar Heels will pull off the win, making this game and the Virginia Tech vs Florida State matchup two of the best games in the ACC Tournament.
Northwestern vs Maryland, 8:55 pm ET on CBS (3/10/17)
The last Big 10 game played today will be Northwestern vs Maryland. This will be a fantastic matchup as both teams are having stellar seasons. Maryland dominated the regular season, finishing the season third in the Big 10 Conference close behind Purdue and Wisconsin. Their program has grown over the years and now the Terps are one of the most feared teams in this major Conference. Regardless of the outcome, Maryland will make a strong run in the NCAA Tournament this year, but one of their hardest matchups for the rest of the year could be against this talented Northwestern team. Northwestern is on the verge of their first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history and they’ll take any wins they can between now and Selection Sunday to prove their season is historic. This Northwestern team is unrelenting and can place March Basketball to its finest level and will absolutely force this Maryland team to fight for every possession. This game will be a nail biter, and could truly go either way, but I’m really hoping Northwestern pulls off the win and tries for their first ever Big 10 Championship.
Michigan vs Northwestern, 3:00 pm ET on CBS (3/12/17)
In case you missed it, Michigan just beat the best team in the Big 10, the Purdue Boilermakers, in what was probably the biggest upset in the Conference this season. This should not drastically hurt Purdue and their seeding for the NCAA Tournament, but this could become a pivotal moment for the Michigan Wolverines. This proves to the rest of the Conference that this is still March Basketball and anything is possible. Michigan is playing unrelenting Basketball and refuses to let a higher seeded Big 10 team intimidate them or knock them out of the Tournament so easily. On the other hand, this might be the greatest Northwestern squad the school has ever seen. Every game for the Wildcats is a must win to truly prove to the selection committee why this year should be their first year in the NCAA Tournament. Both Michigan and Northwestern are playing with a purpose and refuse to ease up in their lethal play style until the game is over. The Big 10 is one of the most competitive Conferences this season, and their tournament games are a perfect representation of this.
Vermont vs Albany, 11:00 am ET on ESPN2 (3/11/17)
The American East Conference is a D1 Conference that is rarely talked about. To be fair, one of the reasons why I know so much about it is because most of the Tailgate Sports staff is made up of Umass Lowell alumni. However, this season the American East is making waves for a significant reason. The Vermont Catamounts finished the regular season 16-0 in the American East and have yet to lose to a team in their Conference. Taking down a Stony Brook team, which excelled last year and was one of the most underrated, lower seeded teams in the NCAA Tournament, Vermont is now the new king of the American East and are only 1 game away from finishing the regular season and Conference tournament without losing to a single team in the American East. To my knowledge, I do not think this has ever been done before, so even though Vermont probably won’t make it that far in the NCAA Tournament, winning the American East will be a historic win and a historic season for the Catamounts. All they have to do is beat an Albany team, who recently upset a solid Stony Brook team, to make it to the Championship game. Vermont has already proven that they can beat this Albany squad, so it’s almost guaranteed they will be making history tomorrow.
Colorado State vs San Diego State, 11:59 pm ET on CBS (3/10/17)
The Mountain West Conference Tournament is getting down to the wire and a lot of really prominent teams are left fighting for the elusive Championship that will launch them into the NCAA Tournament. Colorado State and San Diego State are two of these teams left who need to win out if they want to see an NCAA Tournament appearance this year. Colorado State has been battling with Boise State and Nevada all season for the top of the Mountain West, but San Diego State’s success didn’t begin until the Mountain West Tournament. San Diego State finished the season 9-9 in the Mountain West as the 6th best team in the Conference, but after they completed the 19 point upset win over Boise State, they’re reminding the rest of the league why you should never count them out of March Basketball. Being a Colorado fan, it’s painful to see the Rams have a longer lasting season than the Buffaloes, but hopefully San Diego State can continue to channel their inner March Madness and upset yet another Conference leading team.
Nevada vs San Diego State, 6:00 pm ET on CBS (3/11/17)
This could be one of the best and most underrated matchups this week. If Nevada can hold off a pesky Fresno State, and San Diego State can upset the overrated Colorado State Rams, we could see a Mountain West Championship game between the last previous 3 years’ Mountain West Champion and this year’s best team in the Conference. Nevada, as you might know from my earlier blog post about the Wolfpack, is playing some of their best Basketball in school history. When they’re hot, they can be one of the deadliest 3 point shooting teams in the country, and they’re also hungry for their fist Conference Championship since 2006 and their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007. Nevada winning the Mountain West could truly symbolizes a changing of the guard in this prominent Conference, but regardless it will be an electric game from start to finish. One important fact to note is that the two teams who really dominated in the CBI Tournament last year (Vermont and Nevada) have now found themselves at the top of their respective Conferences, dominating their competition, and on the verge of winning the Tournament Championship in the Mountain West and American East.
West Virginia vs Kansas State, 9:30 pm ET on ESPN (3/10/17)
This matchup tonight between the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Kansas State Wildcats is sure to be a great game. The Mountaineers have had a very successful season, with impressive wins over Kansas, Baylor, and Iowa State, who are some of the best teams in the Big 12. West Virginia has been ranked as one of the best teams in the nation for most of the season, and as of lately, they are ranked #11 and playing like a top 10 team. The Mountaineers are 1 game away from the Big 12 Conference Championship, but they have a significant roadblock in their way: the Kansas State Wildcats. The Wildcats have gone back and forth between being ranked in the top 25 and missing out on the list. However, they have recorded some notable wins during the regular season as well in the Big 12 Tournament. Just last night, Kansas State upset Baylor, who was the best team in the nation at one point in the season. Of course, West Virginia is a very different team than Baylor, but the fact that Kansas State was able to pull away with the win perfectly describes how overlooked this Wildcats team is. I believe that West Virginia will win the Big 12 Tournament, now that Kansas has been eliminated, but they first need to find a way to shut down this impressive Kansas State team.
TCU vs West Virginia, 6:00 pm ET on ESPN (3/11/17)
The Kansas Jayhawks are a huge favorite to win the NCAA Tournament this year, but like every other team in the March tournaments, all it takes is one unfortunate loss and you’re “championship bound” season is brought to a screeching halt. Kansas experienced this with an unsuspecting loss to TCU. That’s right, the TCU Horned Frogs stunned the Kansas Jayhawks, and the rest of the nation for that matter, with their 85-82 upset win over Kansas last night. TCU recorded an impressive 19 point win over the ninth best team in the Big 12, Oklahoma, but no one, including myself, could have thought that this average Horned Frogs team would take down the heavy favorites themselves, Kansas. This upset win not only opens the door for virtually any Big 12 team to now win the Conference tournament, but it now brings up the question how far can TCU go now that they’ve knocked out one of the best teams in the country? TCU now faces a solid Iowa State team, who is nowhere close to as good as the Jayhawks, but still a significant team. TCU, after yesterday, should be able to easily get past the Cyclones to face West Virginia in the Conference tournament Championship. On paper, there’s no reason why West Virginia shouldn’t be able to take care of TCU, but after seeing TCU silence Kansas Thursday night, you can truly say that anything is possible. If TCU somehow takes out #1 Kansas, #23 Iowa State, and #11 West Virginia all in 3 CONSECUTIVE days, they will definitely have a spot in the NCAA Tournament and will be feared as a ruthless underdog ready to abruptly end more seasons. This matchup is definitely slightly unlikely, however if for some reason this is the Championship matchup for the Big 12 Conference, we’re in for an instant classic in March Basketball.
UCLA vs Arizona, 11:30 pm ET on ESPN (3/10/17)
It’s only fitting that my last two games you need to watch are Pac-12 games. If you read my Pac-12 Tournament Bracket Prediction post then you would know that in recent years upsets are rare in the Pac-12 Tournament games. In fact, this year the only upset that has happened so far is #5 (in the Pac-12) Cal beating #4 Utah by a mere 3 points. While I was still shocked by this win, as Cal has been playing poorly as of lately, it’s still not as crazy as TCU beating Kansas in the Big 12 or Michigan beating Purdue in the Big 10. That being said, the only upset I included in my bracket was #3 UCLA beating #2 Arizona. UCLA has their best roster in recent memory playing at full strength in this tournament, and even though these two teams have traded wins throughout the regular season, I expect UCLA to pull away with a very close win to give them a shot at winning the Pac-12 Conference Championship. I spent literally 10 minutes on this pick, so if for some reason Arizona holds off Lonzo Ball and the impressive UCLA Bruins, I wouldn’t be that surprised at all.
Oregon vs UCLA, 11:00 pm ET on ESPN (3/11/17)
Lastly, you cannot miss tomorrow’s Pac-12 Conference Championship game. Regardless of who wins in today’s UCLA vs Arizona game, Oregon should easily be able to knock off Cal and go for their second Pac-12 Tournament Championship in a row. An Oregon vs UCLA game would be a highly anticipated matchup between Dillon Brooks and the Ducks and Lonzo Ball and the Bruins. And with stellar depth with Dylan Ennis of Oregon and Thomas Welsh of UCLA, this Championship should be a high scoring game with the winner locking in a number 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. If Arizona reaches the Championship game it should still be entertaining, but all eyes will be on Las Vegas if some of the two hottest teams in the nation, the #3 in the country UCLA Bruins and the #5 in the nation Oregon Ducks face off to see who truly is one of the 4 #1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. If you love March College Basketball as much as I do, you’ll tune into ESPN to watch the historic game.
Written by Erik Clark