March Madness is coming up fast. Here is what to know along with some key games to watch and who’s on the bubble ahead of Selection Sunday for the women’s NCAA Tournament:
KEY DATES
The basketball calendar is getting crowded. Up first are the conference tournaments:
— The ACC Tournament will be March 1-5 in Greensboro, North Carolina.
— The Big Ten Tournament will be March 1-5 in Minneapolis.
— The Big 12 Tournament will be March 9-12 in Kansas City, Missouri.
— The Pac-12 Tournament will be March 1-5 in Las Vegas.
— The SEC Tournament will be March 1-5 in Greenville, South Carolina.
MARCH MADNESS
Selection Sunday is March 12, when brackets for First Four games (March 15-16) and first- and second-round games (March 17-20) are set at multiple sites across the country.
Sweet 16 weekend brings a twist this year for the women’s teams: There will be two regional sites instead of four with Greenville, South Carolina, and Seattle each hosting eight teams.
Where is the women’s Final Four? In Dallas, where the semifinals are March 31 and the championship game is April 2.
As it happens, the men’s Final Four is a four-hour drive down the road in Houston that same weekend.
BETTING GUIDE
Who’s going to win the national championship? The betting favorites as of this week to reach the Final Four are defending national champion South Carolina, Stanford, Indiana and UConn, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. That looks familiar to the NCAA’s seeding prediction and the AP Top 25 poll, too.
BUBBLE WATCH
West Virginia (16-10) has lost two in a row, and five of seven, after a double-overtime loss at Texas Tech on Wednesday night. First-year Mountaineers coach Dawn Plitzuweit took South Dakota to the last three NCAA Tournaments, reaching the Sweet 16 last season.
Atlantic 10 co-leaders Massachusetts (23-5) and Rhode Island (22-5) both lost on the road Wednesday. Rhode Island has dropped two of three since a 12-game winning streak, the latest a 74-73 overtime loss at Fordham on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. UMass’ program-record 12-game winning streak, which included a 21-point win at Rhode Island, ended in a 77-75 loss at Saint Louis.
Nebraska (15-13) will need a strong finish and maybe the conference tournament title to get in the NCAA field. It ended a four-game skid with an impressive 90-57 win at No. 25 Illinois.
GAMES TO WATCH
No. 7 Maryland (23-5) wraps up the regular season Friday night at No. 16 Ohio State (23-5). Both teams will be in the NCAA field, but the outcome could impact seedings.
Ivy League co-leader Princeton (19-5) carries an 11-game winning streak into its home game Friday at Harvard, which beat the Tigers on Dec. 31.