Tuesday marked a busy day on the college basketball calendar as four more automatic bids to the 2026 NCAA Tournament were awarded in the CAA, Horizon League, WCC, and the MAAC. The winners of those games joined the teams that have already clinched a spot in the Big Dance.
The biggest game of the day was in the WCC. No. 1 seed Gonzaga defeated No. 3 seed Santa Clara 79-68 to win its 21st WCC title since the turn of the century. This was Gonzaga’s final tournament as a member of the WCC, as the program is departing for the new-look Pac-12 this summer.
Santa Clara entered this week on the bubble. After pulling off an upset win over Saint Mary’s on Monday night, the Broncos are still in contention to secure their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1996 by receiving an at-large berth, which would make the WCC a three-bid league.
Elsewhere, Wright State defeated Detroit Mercy 66-63 in the Horizon League championship game. With Detroit Mercy down two points in the final seconds, Wright State forward Kellen Pickett blocked a shot at the rim to seal the victory for his team. Wright State will be making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2022.
BYU, freshman star AJ Dybantsa set scoring records in Big 12 Tournament opener win over Kansas State
Cameron Salerno
In the CAA Championship, Hofstra advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001 with a 75-69 win over Monmouth. Siena defeated Merrimack 64-54 to punch its ticket to the Big Dance for the first time since 2010.
Long Island University defeated Mercyhurst 79-70 in the Northeast Conference title game. However, the league’s automatic bid was already decided before the game because Mercyhurst is ineligible for the NCAA Tournament while being in the transition period.
The ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten tournaments began on Tuesday, with the most notable bubble result coming in the ACC. No. 15 seed Pitt upset Stanford, which likely ends the Cardinal’s hopes of securing an at-large berth in the Big Dance. In the Big 12, BYU broke conference records — which included a 40-point outing by star freshman AJ Dybantsa — in a 105-91 win over Kansas State.
The Big East and SEC began their respective tournaments on Wednesday. Automatic bids in the Big Sky, Patriot League and the Southland will also be handed out on Wednesday.
Tuesday’s conference tournament schedule, scores
2025-26 conference tournament champions
| CONFERENCE | DATES | LOCATION | CHAMPIONSHIP (TV) / CHAMPION |
| America East | March 7, 10, 14 | Higher seed hosts | Saturday, 11 a.m. ESPN2 |
| American | March 11-15 | Birmingham, Ala. | Sunday, 3:15 p.m. ESPN |
| Atlantic 10 | March 11-15 | Pittsburgh, Pa. | Sunday, 1 p.m. CBS |
| ACC | March 10-14 | Charlotte, N.C. | Saturday, 8:30 p.m. ESPN |
| ASUN | March 4,6-8 | Jacksonville, Fla. | Queens Royals (21-13) |
| Big 12 | March 10-14 | Kansas City, Mo. | Saturday, 6 p.m. ESPN |
| Big East | March 11-14 | New York City | Saturday, 6:30 p.m. Fox |
| Big Sky | March 7-11 | Boise, Idaho | Wednesday, 11:30 p.m. ESPN2 |
| Big South | March 4, 6-8 | Johnson City, Tenn. | High Point Panthers (30-4) |
| Big Ten | March 10-15 | Chicago | Sunday, 3:30 p.m. CBS |
| Big West | March 11-14 | Henderson, Nev. | Saturday, 10 p.m. ESPN2 |
| CAA | March 6-10 | Washington, D.C. | Hofstra Pride (24-10) |
| Conference USA | March 10-14 | Huntsville, Ala. | Saturday, 8:30 p.m. CBS Sports Network |
| Horizon League | March 2,4,8-10 | Indianapolis | Wright State Raiders (23-11) |
| Ivy League | March 14-15 | Ithaca, N.Y. | Sunday, 12 p.m. ESPN2 |
| MAAC | March 5-10 | Atlantic City, N.J. | Siena Saints (23-11) |
| MAC | March 12-14 | Cleveland | Saturday, 8 p.m. ESPN2 |
| MEAC | March 11-14 | Norfolk, Va. | Saturday, 1 p.m. ESPN2 |
| Missouri Valley | March 5-8 | St. Louis | Northern Iowa Panthers (23-12) |
| Mountain West | March 11-14 | Las Vegas | Saturday, 6 p.m. CBS |
| Northeast | March 4,7,10 | Higher seed hosts | Long Island Sharks (24-10) |
| Ohio Valley | March 4-7 | Evansville, Ind. | Tennessee State Tigers (23-9) |
| Patriot League | March 3,5,8,11 | Higher seed hosts | Wednesday, 7 p.m. CBS Sports Network |
| SEC | March 11-15 | Nashville, Tenn. | Sunday, 1 p.m. ESPN |
| SoCon | March 6-9 | Asheville, N.C. | Furman Paladins (22-12) |
| Southland | March 8-11 | Lake Charles, La. | Wednesday, 5 p.m. ESPN2 |
| SWAC | March 9-14 | Atlanta | Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ESPNU |
| Summit League | March 4-8 | Sioux Falls, S.D. | North Dakota State Bison (27-7) |
| Sun Belt | March 3-9 | Pensacola, Fla. | Troy Trojans (22-11) |
| West Coast | March 5-10 | Las Vegas | Gonzaga Bulldogs (30-3) |
| WAC | March 11-14 | Las Vegas | Saturday, 12 a.m. ESPN2 |
Northern Iowa wins Arch Madness
No. 6 seed Northern Iowa defeated No. 5 seed UIC 84-69 in the Missouri Valley Conference title game to punch its ticket to the Big Dance. Northern Iowa will be making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2016.
In Northern Iowa’s last showing at the NCAA Tournament a decade ago, the Panthers stunned Texas in the first round after Paul Jesperson drilled a half-court shot at the buzzer to give his team a dramatic victory. This will be Northern Iowa’s third tournament appearance since 2010. Northern Iowa has won at least one game in the Big Dance in all three appearances.
High Point dancing in back-to-back seasons
The second automatic bid went to High Point, the No. 1 seed in the Big South Tournament. The Panthers defeated No. 2 seed Winthrop 91-76 in the title game to advance to their second consecutive NCAA Tournament. Last year, High Point lost to Purdue in the first round of the Big Dance.
Queens clinches first-ever NCAA Tournament bid
The third automatic bid of the day went to Queens. The Royals defeated Central Arkansas in overtime in the ASUN title game to clinch their first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.
Buzzer-beater has Boston University playing in Patriot League final
Perhaps one of the most shocking results of the day came in the Patriot League, when Boston University upset No. 1 seed Navy. After Navy took a brief lead with less than four seconds remaining, Chance Gladden drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send his team to the conference title game.
Boston University will face Lehigh in the Patriot League title game on Wednesday.
Troy is going dancing
No. 1 seed Troy defeated Georgia Southern 77-61 in the Sun Belt Tournament title game to clinch its spot in the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season and fourth time in program history.Georgia Southern, the No. 10 seed in the Sun Belt, was on one of the most unlikely conference tournament runs after winning five games in five days in the Sun Belt’s “ladder-format.”
Furman upsets East Tennessee State to clinch autobid
In the SoCon Tournament title game, No. 6 seed Furman upset No. 1 seed East Tennessee State 76-61. Furman last made the NCAA Tournament in 2023, when it pulled off a dramatic upset win over Virginia on a last-second shot. This year will mark the program’s eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
