NCAA Tournament

The Mecca of basketball will be at the epicenter of the 2021 men's NCAA tournament bubble Saturday night when Georgetown takes on Creighton at Madison Square Garden for the Big East championship.

For those who haven't been properly indoctrinated in the lexicon of bracketology, here's a phrase you're going to want to get comfortable with for the next 24 hours: bid thief.

A bid thief is a team that would not have earned an at-large bid without winning its conference tournament, and that wins that tournament to "steal" the automatic bid in a conference that had at least one lock to make the NCAA tournament. As a result, the number of spots available to at-large teams shrinks by one.

Thus far this week, those bid thieves have been nonexistent, which is fantastic news for teams on the bubble.

Gonzaga and Loyola-Chicago won the West Coast and Missouri Valley conference tournaments, as expected. Both the Atlantic 10 and the Mountain West have championship games between teams that were likely to make the Big Dance anyway. The ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC are all down to teams that were, at worst, on the bubble heading into this week.

Oregon State has emerged as a potential bid thief after knocking off Oregon in the Pac-12 semifinals, but we'll see if the Beavers can knock off Colorado.

And then there's the Big East, where 12-12 Georgetown is one win away from crashing the party.

Let the record show that Georgetown was my sleeper pick to win the Big East tournament. (Kindly ignore those Kentucky in the SEC and Stanford in the Pac-12 picks, though. Can't win 'em all.)

After a brutal 3-8 start to the year was followed by a lengthy COVID-19 pause, the Hoyas won six of their final 10 regular-season games, including a road victory over Creighton and home wins over Xavier and Seton Hall (that more or less popped those Big East teams' bubbles).

The post-COVID breakout of Chudier Bile was the biggest reason I was buying the Hoyas.

The transfer from Northwestern State made little impact in Georgetown's first 11 games, but he was arguably the team's most valuable player down the stretch. Out of nowhere, he scored at least a dozen points in eight out of 10 games, emerging as a key perimeter weapon on both ends of the floor.

But, incredibly, the Hoyas have knocked off Marquette, Villanova and Seton Hall without getting much out of Bile on offense.

He shot 1-of-11 from the field against the Golden Eagles, finishing with five points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Against Villanova, he missed each of his four field-goal attempts, committed five turnovers and fouled out in 21 minutes.

In lieu of the guy who had become their leader, everyone else has come through.

Jahvon Blair and Qudus Wahab couldn't miss against Marquette.

Freshman point guard Dante Harris capitalized on Collin Gillespie's absence for Villanova to the tune of 18 points and five assists with no turnovers.

And against Seton Hall, it was Jamorko Pickett's time to shine with a team-high 19 points. (Bile also had a tie-breaking and-1 layup in the final two minutes.)

Throw in senior wing Donald Carey—who doesn't shoot a ton, but does make 42.2 percent of his three-point attempts—and Georgetown has a formidable six-man rotation.

It's almost certainly not a Final Four-caliber six-man rotation, but it's a whole heck of a lot better than what was expected from the Hoyas when they were predicted to finish dead last in the preseason coaches poll.

And it's a rotation good enough to knock off Creighton in Saturday's championship.

After all, the Hoyas just won 86-79 at Creighton a little over a month ago.

It wasn't even a bad night for the Bluejays, either. They made 10 triples, shot 47.4 percent from the field and scored 79 points. They were just unable to keep pace with Georgetown on a night where each of the six main Hoyas played well.

There's no good reason Georgetown can't repeat that formula to shock the college basketball world.

Now for the fun part.

If Georgetown wins the game, some bubble hopeful gets pushed out of the NCAA tournament field.

Squeezed like an Orange, one might say.

While we cannot say with certainty until the Selection Show which team is right on that cut line, it very well could be former Big East (and still loathed) rival Syracuse. The Orange are currently my last team in the projected field, so they would at least be falling out of my bracket if Georgetown wins, for whatever that's worth.

How sweet would that be for the Hoya Saxa faithful?

Since becoming the head coach at Georgetown, Patrick Ewing has just a 1-3 record against the 'Cuse. One of those losses was the one that dropped the Hoyas to 3-8 overall back in early January. But winning this game against Creighton, snapping a five-year tournament drought and potentially knocking Syracuse out of the dance in the process would be like winning the lottery and getting a new puppy on your birthday.

If that happens, maybe the MSG security guards will stop accosting Ewing for his credentials.

               

Kerry Miller covers men's college basketball and college football for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter, @kerrancejames.

The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament committee reportedly has included Kansas and Virginia in its latest iteration of the 68-team bracket Friday, per Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, who noted that "plans are moving forward for both to be playing next week." 

KU and UVA both had to bow out of their respective conference tournaments after COVID-19 concerns.

A positive test within the KU program forced the Jayhawks out of the Big 12 tournament, where they were set to face Texas in the semifinals on Friday.

Virginia was set to face Georgia Tech in the ACC tournament semifinals on Friday but will no longer take part after a positive test within its program.

The Cavaliers became the second ACC team to leave the tournament after a positive test, with Duke doing the same on Thursday.

KU and UVA were both shoo-ins for the NCAA tournament even if neither won the conference tournament. Of note, Kansas is 11th in the latest NET rankings, and Virginia is 13th.

The 2021 Bracket Matrix, which aggregates bracket projections, has UVA as a No. 4 seed and Kansas sitting on the No. 3 line.

Neither team appears ready to call it a season. KU head coach Bill Self said in the team's statement announcing the positive COVID-19 test that he was looking forward to "preparing my team in probably a unique way for next week's NCAA tournament."

Virginia head coach Tony Bennett said the Cavaliers are "exhausting all options to participate in the NCAA Tournament."

ESPN's Jeff Borzello explained the rules surrounding teams and their eligibility for the NCAA tournament amid the pandemic:

"To play in the NCAA tournament, a team needs to show seven consecutive negative daily tests before arriving in Indianapolis, then undergo daily testing while inside the controlled environment there.

"Dan Gavitt, NCAA senior vice president of men's basketball, has also said that a team just needs five healthy players to play in an NCAA tournament game. If Virginia doesn't have a widespread COVID-19 outbreak and the rest of the team continues to test negative, the Cavaliers should be eligible to play in the NCAA tournament.

"Saturday is the deadline for any team believing that it cannot meet the medical protocols to inform the Division I Men's Basketball Committee."

The first round of the NCAA tournament is slated to begin on Thursday and run through Friday evening.

NCAA tournament stocks continue to move ahead of Selection Sunday.

The Madness is already taking over March in college basketball, as men's and women's conference tournaments have witnessed stunning upsets, resume-boosters and a bunch of nail-biters.

This is like the holiday season for a college hoops junkie, and we're here to unwrap several gifts. We'll spotlight the latest expert bracketology predictions, then spotlight the latest championship odds from DraftKings sportsbook.

First, let's get to some goodies. Bleacher Report has all of your tournament needs covered here:

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Start Your 2021 Bracket

Watch Selection Show Live

              

Expert Bracketology Predictions

If you follow the art (science? guessing game?) of bracketology, then you're surely familiar with the work ESPN's Joe Lunardi.

So, why not peer into his bracket-predicting mind for a look at how the tournament field could shape up?

Based on Lunardi's latest projections, this is where the top six seeds stand across the bracket.

Region 1

No. 1 Gonzaga, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Kansas, No. 4 Purdue, No. 5 Florida State, No. 6 Oregon

The Zags would gladly take this draw as the top overall seed. Ohio State is as vulnerable as a No. 2 seed can get (losers of four of its last five), and Kansas already suffered a double-digit loss to Gonzaga this season.

Region 2

No. 1 Baylor, No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 Arkansas, No. 4 Virginia, No. 5 Creighton, No. 6 Oklahoma

This would be a doozy for the Bears. The Hawkeyes have the likely national player of the year in Luka Garza, the Razorbacks have an NBA draft lottery prospect in Moses Moody and the Cavaliers are technically the defending champs since last year's tournament was cancelled.

Region 3

No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Houston, No. 3 West Virginia, No. 4 Oklahoma State, No. 5 Colorado, No. 6 Tennessee

The toughest test for Michigan here might come before the regional final. Houston has only played one ranked opponent all season, and West Virginia's early ouster from the Big 12 Tournament was its third loss in four games.

The last two of those defeats came at the hands of Oklahoma State, which features the top draft prospect in the country in Cade Cunningham. A Wolverines-Cowboys collision in the Sweet 16 could be sensational.

Region 4

No. 1 Illinois, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Villanova, No. 5 Texas Tech, No. 6 USC

Illini fans probably wouldn't hate this draw. That might partly be because they don't realize how good Alabama is—third-best defense in the country, according to KenPom.com—but also because Texas can be defeated (seven times so far) and Villanova lost second-leading scorer Collin Gillespie to a torn MCL.

            

Latest Championship Odds

Oddsmakers have spoken, and they agree: The Big Dance runs through Gonzaga. Unless it runs through Baylor. Or maybe Michigan.

Look, it's a little crowded at the top, but it's tough to have a prohibitive favorite in any single-elimination format.

Anyway, here's how DraftKings assesses the top 10 teams in the championship race:

• Gonzaga: +250
• Baylor: +275
• Michigan: +450
• Illinois: +900
• Alabama: +1300
• Oklahoma State: +1300
• Iowa: +1500
• Ohio State: +1500
• Texas Tech: +1500
• Texas: +1700

You know what's fun about this tournament? You can make a championship argument for every team on the list. In fact, we only need a sentence for each club to present their case.

Gonzaga is undefeated, has two first-round draft prospects (Jalen Suggs and Corey Kispert) and three Wooden Award finalists (those two plus Drew Timme). Baylor boasts loads of production and experience in the backcourt, starting with player of the year candidate Jared Butler. Michigan is the country's only team with top-six efficiency rankings on offense (sixth) and defense (fifth).

Illinois has two Wooden Award candidates in Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn. Alabama's defense is top-shelf, and senior forward Herbert Jones is a handful across the board. Oklahoma State has Cunningham, plus seven wins over its last eight games. Iowa has Garza, plus—wait for it—seven wins over its last eight games (four over ranked opponents).

Ohio State has the fourth-best offense in the country. Texas Tech can be a bulldozer when Mac McClung and Terrence Shannon Jr. get rolling on the same night. Texas could put two players in the NBA draft's first round (Kai Jones and Greg Brown), and the Longhorns have ample experience around their prized prospects.

Throw a dart at that list, and it will land on a sensible wager. This tournament should be a blast.

      

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So far, 11 teams have secured their spots in the 2021 NCAA men's basketball tournament by winning their respective conference tourneys. There are other teams that are locks for the tournament even if they have disappointing showings in their conference tourneys because of how they fared in the regular season.

But the selection committee will still have some tough decisions to make before they announce the 68-team field for this year's NCAA tournament on Sunday evening. Some teams are on the tourney bubble, and how the next few days unfold could determine whether they will have an opportunity to try to play for the national championship or not.

By Sunday, the bracket will be set. And Bleacher Report has all your needs covered during the lead-up to this year's March Madness:

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Here's everything else you need to know as Selection Sunday draws closer.

              

2021 March Madness Schedule

Selection Sunday: March 14

First Four: March 18

First Round: March 19-20

Second Round: March 21-22

Sweet 16: March 27-28

Elite Eight: March 29-30

Final Four: April 3

National Championship: April 5

         

Automatic Bids

Atlantic Sun: Liberty

Big South: Winthrop

Colonial: Drexel

Horizon: Cleveland State

Missouri Valley: Loyola-Chicago

Northeast: Mount St. Mary's

Ohio Valley: Morehead State

Southern: UNC-Greensboro

Summit: Oral Roberts

Sun Belt: Appalachian State

West Coast: Gonzaga

         

Bracket Outlook

By winning the West Coast Conference tournament, Gonzaga appeared to have secured its spot as the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA tourney. The Bulldogs are the only undefeated team in the country, having won their first 26 games of the season.

Several other teams appear to be on the path to earning No. 1 seeds, but that could change this weekend. It all depends on how the major conference tournaments unfold.

Baylor has lost only one game this season, and it's 22-1 after beating Kansas State in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament on Thursday. The Bears will surely be a No. 1 seed if they win the conference tourney for the first time in program history, and they may be on their way to doing that.

If Baylor loses before then, though, could it still earn a No. 1 seed? That could be a decision the selection committee will have to make, and it may depend on how some other top teams fare.

There could be two Big Ten teams that earn No. 1 seeds, depending on how the conference tournament unfolds. Illinois, Michigan and Iowa are currently the Nos. 3, 4 and 5 teams in the country, respectively, and any of them could win the Big Ten tourney and secure a No. 1 seed.

Depending on which of these two teams face off in the Big Ten tournament championship game, it's also possible that they both go on to be No. 1 seeds for March Madness.

Alabama could also still be in the mix for a No. 1 seed, particularly if all of these Big Ten teams get upset and fall short of winning a conference tourney title. The Crimson Tide are the No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament and are set to face Mississippi State in the quarterfinals on Friday.

As for the other side of the spectrum, there are teams fighting just to earn a spot in March Madness.

ESPN's Joe Lunardi has Drake, Colorado State, Syracuse and Utah State as his last four teams in the tournament. His first four teams out are Ole Miss, Saint Louis, Boise State and Seton Hall. But the bubble picture could change depending on how things continue to unfold.

One team that won't be playing in March Madness is Duke, which last didn't play in an NCAA tournament in 1995. The Blue Devils got off to a strong start in the ACC tourney, beating Boston College and Louisville in the first two rounds, but the program announced Thursday that it is cancelling the rest of its season because of a positive COVID-19 test within the program.

It's possible that Duke wouldn't have done enough to get into the NCAA tournament anyway. The Blue Devils were 13-11 and likely needed to beat Florida State in the quarterfinals of the ACC tourney. Instead, the Seminoles advanced into the semifinals without having to play, and the Blue Devils are now done.

Championship Week is in full swing, with a number of teams around the country already clinching automatic berths to the 2021 NCAA men's basketball tournament.

There is plenty to settle before Selection Sunday, with the outcome of the Big Ten Tournament likely to have a major impact on top seeds.

Here is a closer look at the full schedule of play and television coverage details for March Madness, in addition to some of the top headlines ahead of tipoff.

                

2021 NCAA Tournament Schedule  

Selection Sunday: March 14 at 6 p.m. ET on CBS

First Four: March 18 at Mackey Arena and Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall; coverage begins 4 p.m. ET on truTV and TBS

First Round: March 18-20 at Mackey Arena, Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indiana Farmers Coliseum and Lucas Oil Stadium; coverage begins 12 p.m. ET on TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV

Second Round: March 21-22 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indiana Farmers Coliseum, and Lucas Oil Stadium; coverage begins 12 p.m ET on TBS, CBS, TNT and 

Sweet 16: March 27-28 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and Hinkle Fieldhouse

Elite Eight: March 29-30 at Lucas Oil Stadium

Final Four: April 3 at Lucas Oil Stadium

National Championship: April 5 at Lucas Oil Stadium  

                    

Television Coverage   

Selection Sunday: 6 p.m. ET on CBS

First Four: 4 p.m. ET on truTV and TBS

First Round: 12 p.m. ET on TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV

Second Round: 12 p.m ET on TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV

Sweet 16: Coverage starts at 2 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. ET on March 27 and 1 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. ET on March 28; afternoon games on CBS, primetime games on TBS

Elite Eight: Coverage starts at 7 p.m ET on March 29 and 6 p.m. ET on March 30; Monday's games can be seen on CBS, Tuesday's games carried by TBS

Final Four: 5 p.m. ET on CBS

National Championship: 9 p.m. ET on CBS   

   

All dates and TV schedules can be found on the tournament website.

                   

Gonzaga Remains Unbeaten   

Mark Few's Gonzaga Bulldogs have gone wire-to-wire as the best team in the country, though BYU gave the Zags a tough test in the men's WCC Championship.

Gonzaga gave up 53 points and trailed by 12 at the half. The Zags looked to be in danger of possibly missing out on the top overall seed. But star freshman Jalen Suggs wouldn't let it happen.

Suggs took over down the stretch, hitting multiple big three-pointers and consistently creating offense for teammates. He scored eight points in a two-minute, 33-second span during which he also hit on a full-court assist to Joel Ayayi and recorded a block on the other end.

The freshman's late-game heroics were a microcosm of what makes Gonzaga so dangerous. Corey Kispert and Drew Timme are usually the team's top scoring options, but it was Suggs who made all the plays when it mattered most. Both Ayayi and Andrew Nembhard were in double figures for the Zags.

Few's crew will be tough to beat. Gonzaga led the country in both scoring and offensive rating. They have diverse options, with Timme operating on the low block and Kispert always posing a threat from beyond the arc. And Suggs is as good a playmaker and shot-creator as any.

Can the Zags complete the perfect season and win the first men's basketball championship in school history?

                     

Chaos in the Big Ten   

The Big Ten has been the best conference in college basketball this season.

Four teams ranked in the top 10 of the latest AP poll. Illinois moved up to No. 3 after a win at Ohio State, while the Michigan Wolverines fell to No. 4 in the nation. The Iowa Hawkeyes are at No. 5, and the Buckeyes are at No. 9.

That's not all, either. The Purdue Boilermakers moved up to No. 20, with both Wisconsin and Michigan State on the edge of the top 25.

Needless to say, there could be carnage during the men's Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.

Is it possible the Big Ten could get three No. 1 seeds? Gonzaga would seem to have the top overall seed locked up. The Baylor Bears would all but clinch a No. 1 seed by winning the men's Big 12 tournament. But it appears well within reach for the Big Ten to get at least two No. 1 seeds—and maybe even three if the Bears suffer an early upset.

                      

All stats obtained via Sports Reference unless otherwise noted.

On Sunday evening, the 68-team field for the 2021 NCAA men's basketball tournament will be announced. By April 5, only one will be left standing, celebrating by cutting down the nets at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

March Madness is nearly upon us for the first time since 2019. Last year's NCAA tournament was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, so it's been almost two years since a national champion was crowned. And even though this year's tourney is unorthodox (every game is taking place in the Indianapolis area), it should provide the same level of excitement that the annual event is known for.

It's not quite time for March Madness yet, though. Multiple conference tournaments will be taking place through Sunday, so there are still automatic bids to be won. For bubble teams, they're running out of time to prove to the NCAA tournament selection committee that they should be included in this year's field.

Here's everything you need to know for Selection Sunday, along with a list of teams to earn automatic bids so far and a breakdown of the current outlook for the No. 1 seeds.

                

Selection Sunday Show Information

Date: Sunday, March 14

Start Time: 6 p.m. ET

TV: CBS

              

Automatic Bids

Atlantic Sun: Liberty

Big South: Winthrop

Colonial: Drexel

Horizon: Cleveland State

Missouri Valley: Loyola-Chicago

Northeast: Mount St. Mary's

Ohio Valley: Morehead State

Southern: UNC Greensboro

Summit: Oral Roberts

Sun Belt: Appalachian State

West Coast: Gonzaga

         

No. 1 Seeds Breakdown

There shouldn't be much suspense surrounding which team will earn the No. 1 overall seed for this year's tournament. Gonzaga is the only undefeated team in the nation, having won its first 26 games of the season on the way to capturing the West Coast Conference tournament championship.

The Bulldogs now have an opportunity to do something that hasn't been done in 45 years. The last time a team went undefeated and won the NCAA tournament was Indiana in the 1975-76 season. The Hoosiers went 32-0 during that campaign.

If Gonzaga is going to accomplish that, it needs to win six more games.

However, the Bulldogs aren't coming off one of their better performances. In the WCC tournament championship game, they were tied with BYU with less than five minutes to go. But Gonzaga pulled out an 88-78 victory to win the title for the eighth time in nine years.

And it may have actually helped the Bulldogs as they prepare for March Madness.

"We needed a game like that," Gonzaga head coach Mark Few said, per John Marshall of the Associated Press. "We had some adversity and got punched in the face. We got together at halftime and the guys just stuck with the plan."

While Gonzaga has secured a No. 1 seed, the other three spots are still up for grabs. But there are several teams that are heavy favorites to earn those spots.

Baylor has lost only one game this season (a 71-58 defeat at Kansas on Feb. 27) and enters the Big 12 tournament with a 21-1 record. The Bears won the conference regular-season championship for the first time in program history, and now they'll look to win the Big 12 tourney for the first time. That begins with Thursday's quarterfinal matchup against Kansas State.

It's a strong possibility that two Big Ten teams will earn a No. 1 seed. Illinois, Michigan and Iowa are ranked in the Nos. 3, 4 and 5 spots in the AP Top 25 poll, respectively, and how each fare during the Big Ten tournament could have a big impact on the No. 1 or No. 2 seedings.

The Wolverines were the Big Ten regular-season champions, going 19-3 with 14-3 record in conference play. However, they lost two of their last three games, which included a 76-53 home defeat to Illinois on March 2. The Fighting Illini, meanwhile, have been playing some of their best basketball of the season, winning 11 of their past 12 games.

While Michigan and Illinois are the top two seeds in the Big Ten tournament and could meet in the championship game (a scenario that could result in both earning No. 1 seeds for the NCAA tourney), Iowa could also factor into the picture. The Hawkeyes, who have won seven of their past eight games, are the No. 3 seed tourney and could beat both Illinois and Michigan in consecutive days.

If any of these teams get upset early in their respective conference tournaments, then perhaps No. 6 Alabama, which is the No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament, could work its way into the mix if it wins its conference tourney.