With the regular season wrapped up and some automatic bids already secured for the NCAA Tournament, men’s Championship Week will be front and center this week before brackets are officially revealed on Sunday.
Ahead of a packed slate of games to decide the NCAA Tournament field, here are five storylines for men’s Championship Week.
Duke, Michigan, Arizona the favorites to win title going into conference tournaments
As of Monday (March 9), FanDuel lists No. 1 Duke and No. 3 Michigan (+320) as co-favorites to win the national title, followed by No. 2 Arizona (+550).
The Blue Devils (29-2, 17-1 ACC), who are the Associated Press No. 1 team for a record 150th time, enter the ACC Tournament with the most AP-ranked wins this season (11). Led by National Player of the Year contender Cameron Boozer (22.7 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 4.1 APG) and the second-ranked scoring defense (62.5 PPG), Duke has proven to be a tough out.
The Wolverines (29-2, 19-1 Big Ten) dropped a 68-63 thriller to Duke on Feb. 21, but have put together a stout resume behind the nation’s 10th-best scoring offense (88.4 PPG). With the second-most Quad 1 wins (14) behind Duke and Arizona (15), Michigan is battled tested and ready for a March run.
The Wildcats (29-2, 16-2 Big 12) have achieved the most wins in program history. Now at full strength after the return of freshman sensation Koa Peat from a lower-leg injury, Arizona should be the favorite to come out of a loaded Big 12 Tournament.
SEC goes through red-hot Florida
Following an inconsistent non-conference schedule, the fourth-ranked Gators (25-6, 16-2 SEC) closed out the regular season with 11 consecutive wins, good for the fourth-longest active streak in the country.
Florida averages the most rebounds in Division I (45.5 RPG) and wreaks havoc inside the paint, having outscored then-No. 23 Alabama, 72-26, in a 100-77 win on Feb. 1. With the fourth-best national title odds (+600), the Gators are the team to beat in the SEC Tournament once again.
Can UConn bounce back after shocking end to regular season?
The sixth-ranked Huskies (27-4, 17-3 Big East) had a chance to claim a share of the Big East regular-season title on Saturday. Instead, they suffered a stunning 68-62 loss to unranked Marquette (12-19, 7-13 Big East).
With that, UConn, whose seven Quad 1 wins are far below Duke, Michigan, Arizona and Florida, will need a strong run through the conference tournament, which may culminate with a third meeting against 13th-ranked St. John’s (25-6, 18-2 Big East).
Pressure is on Miami (Ohio) in MAC Tournament
The No. 20 RedHawks (31-0, 18-0 MAC) finished off a perfect regular season on Friday night with a 110-108 overtime win over Ohio. Despite that, Miami (Ohio) may be sweating on Selection Sunday unless it wins its conference tournament.
With an NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) ranking of 55 and zero games against Quad 1 opponents, Miami (OH) would have plenty of detractors on Selection Sunday without an automatic bid from winning the MAC Tournament in hand. Could the committee really leave out a team that went undefeated in the regular season? That’s a big question, but Miami (OH) would prefer to not have to wait for the answer.
Bubble teams looking to make tournament case
Aside from Miami (Ohio), many teams are looking to add quality wins to their resume and have enough of a case to make the 68-team field. According to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, Santa Clara, SMU, VCU and Auburn are the “Last Four In” as of Monday. They may not have to win their respective conference tournaments, but they cannot afford any more bad losses, either.
