Selection Sunday Eve: 13 Conference Tournament Championship Games Today

By this time tomorrow we'll know which 3-5 people, maybe a few more, will have an actual shot at winning the pool. But first, Saturday brings us 13 conference tournament championship games, almost the same number we have had over the last 11 days. The current standings are updated through all of Friday's games, even the ones that finished at 1:00 AM CST, and below I'll preview a few of the key conference tournament championships that matter the most to our pool. 

Going into Saturday, we have a 3-way tie for 1st place between Sohler, TJH, and Matthew, but 12 people are within 2 points of them. That's only a 3 or lower seed winner needed to catch them, or less for those sitting there with 8 points. Further down in the standings we have a few dark horses that could skyrocket to the top of the standings, Balls Boy with 24 max points, Sully with 23 max points, and me with 23 max points. Those 3, plus a few more, have a ton of teams/points remaining compared to the rest of the field.

America East Conference Championship (10:00 AM CST)

I was not planning on previewing this conference as a "key" championship for our pool, but because it tips off so early in the morning, and it having a minor impact to our pool, we're starting here. (1) Vermont plays (2) UMass Lowell and although 83% of our pool picks are on Vermont, Tina is on UMass Lowell. A UMass Lowell win would cause a 4-way tie for 1st place first thing Saturday morning. Vermont is only a 7.5-point favorite, so this could be a good game, and UMass Lowell has a real chance to win.

MEAC Championship Game (12:00 PM CST)

This conference was an absolute nightmare to pick, the only team left in our pool is Howard, and we have 6 people on Howard. (5) Howard will play (6) Delaware State, with a Howard win resulting in bonus points, and a log jam for the Lowest Winning Seed pot, while a Delaware State win gives nobody points. Howard is a 3.5-point favorite.

Mountain West Conference Championship Game (5:00 PM CST)

In a battle of bonus points (5) San Diego State takes on (6) New Mexico, with San Diego State accounting for 60% of our pool picks. If San Diego State wins, we are going to have a 20 way tie for a $150 Lowest Winning Seed bonus pot. With a New Mexico win, TJH catapults into 1st place alone, avoids the 20-way bonus pot tie, and becomes really hard to catch. New Mexico is only a 2-point dog, this is expected to be a close battle. All the Pitino's have been dominating this week. 

MAAC Championship Game (6:30 PM CST)

I didn't think I would be previewing a battle between (2) Fairfield and (5) Saint Peter's, but here we are. 5-seeds are dominating champ week by either already winning a conference tournament, or playing in a final today, this could be the most 5-seeds we've ever seen win/compete. With a Fairfield win, TJH increases his lead, and I suspect becomes very hard to catch. If Saint Peter's pulls out the win, Whit jumps to the very top of the standings either tied for 1st, or right on the heels of TJH, Sohler, and Matthew. The spreads on these games are so tight, they don't even matter, Fairfield is only a 2.5-point favorite.

MAC Championship Game (6:30 PM CST)

The only reason to preview this matchup of (2) Akron vs. (8) Kent State is we have 6 of the current top 10 in the pool eliminated from this conference. With a win by 4.5-point favorite Akron, this could help level the playing field in the pool. Nobody picked 8-seeded Kent State. By the time this championship game is over we could have 7-10 people tied for 1st place, and I would love that! 💖

Conference USA Championship Game (7:30 PM CST)

3.5-point favorite (3) Western Kentucky takes on yet another 5-seed in (5) UTEP for this important pool battle. The only person in the top 10 on Western Kentucky is Novakiii. A few others, a bit lower down in the standings, are also on Western Kentucky. If the Hilltoppers win, along with some of these other lower seeded teams, I may need to revise my last prediction, and we'll have 12-15 people tied for 1st place.

That is just a sample of what we have going on today, I could have previewed all 13 conferences, that is how important each final is today. I will attempt to post a few short blog entries throughout the day Saturday in an effort to keep everyone updated, but if I fail at that I will at least post multiple updates to the standings, so keep that link bookmarked. Worst case scenario, I'll post a blog entry Sunday morning with a preview of the Selection Sunday/St. Patrick's Day games. 🏀🍀