Michigan won the Big Ten championship for the second year in a row with a 75-66 win over Purdue. The Boilermakers had won the first two meetings, which were close battles. This was a more comfortable win for the Wolverines, which also won four games in four days for the second consecutive year in the Big Ten tournament. They are a 4-seed at the moment, but with all of the major conferences still to play their tournaments, that could change either way.
Purdue stays as a 2-seed for now, along with Michigan State. The Boilermakers played a better schedule than either Michigan school and have a good collection of wins, including six in quadrant 1.
Cincinnati stays on the two line as well after a 62-61 win at Wichita State, avenging the earlier home defeat at the hands of the Shockers. The Bearcats are the outright champion of the American Athletic Conference and, naturally, the top seed in the conference tournament.
The Shockers hang on to their spot as a 4-seed for now and will try to improve on that in the conference tournament as the 2-seed.
Houston also won today and remains a 6-seed in the bracket.
Lipscomb won a crazy game at Florida Gulf Coast to earn its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance. The Bisons scored 60 first-half points and led by 29 at the break. They expanded their lead to 32 before the Eagles whittled it away to just five. Lipscomb held on for the win despite giving up 65 second-half points. The Bisons are a 15-seed in the bracket.
Loyola-Chicago returns to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1985 with a win over Illinois State in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament final. The Ramblers, who were the 1963 national champions, will likely get a seed that gives them a chance to play out of the first round and maybe even the first weekend. I have them as a 12 today and it would be shocking if they ended up lower than that.
Radford also won its way in, hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat Liberty for the Big South title. The Highlanders are a 16-seed projected for Dayton.
