In the final days before Selection Sunday, 31 of the 68 spots in the 2026 men’s NCAA Tournament will be clinched by teams winning their conference’s automatic bids.
Championship week is a smorgasbord of nonstop basketball. We’re tracking every conference tournament and will update as the week progresses with what you need to know about the teams going to the NCAA Tournament.
Bids clinched
Summit: North Dakota State
Record: 27-7, 14-2 SummitLast tournament appearance: 2019All-time tournament record: 2-4
What to know: Nothing like an in-state battle for the right to go dancing. North Dakota State beat rival North Dakota for the third time this season to clinch the Summit league bid, setting a school record for wins (27) in the process. The Bison will have one of the most balanced scoring attacks in the field, with six players who average 9.2 points or more. They are currently projected as a 14 seed, and 14-over-3 upsets only happen roughly 14 percent of the time, but if they surprise someone this month, could 12th-year coach David Richman, who earned his second Summit League coach of the year award this season, be up for a bigger job?
Atlantic Sun: Queens
Record: 21-13, 13-5 ASUN
Last tournament appearance: Never
All-time tournament record: 0-0
What to know: History was guaranteed either way in the ASUN title game, in which Queens and Central Arkansas pushed each other to overtime for the right to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time. Camren Hunter poured in a school-record 46 points for Central Arkansas, but Queens regained control in OT. Queens — located in Charlotte, N.C., and a Division II school until 2022 — prevailed after a program-best regular-season record.
Big South: High Point
Record: 30-4, 15-1 Big South
Last tournament appearance: 2025
All-time tournament record: 0-1
What to know: After two decades wandering through mediocrity, High Point broke through last March, toppling Winthrop in the Big South tournament to punch its first NCAA Tournament ticket. A year later, the Panthers secured another trip to the Big Dance by downing the Eagles once again. High Point did it even after losing architect Alan Huss — whose two seasons at the helm produced the best record in program history — and eight of the team’s top nine scorers. First-year coach Flynn Clayman reshaped his roster through the transfer portal and molded it into the Big South’s top offensive and defensive team, powering the Panthers back into March Madness.
Missouri Valley: Northern Iowa
Record: 23-12, 11-9 MVC
Last tournament appearance: 2016
All-time tournament record: 5-8
What to know: The Panthers were not supposed to be the MVC’s auto-bid winner, but after top-seeded Belmont lost in the quarterfinals, they pounced on the opportunity. UNI knocked off third-seeded Illinois State and second-seeded Bradley (in double overtime) to reach the MVC championship game, then shot a sizzling 63 percent from the field to beat Illinois-Chicago 84-69 in a game UIC never led. Now coach Ben Jacobsen, in his 20th year at UNI, is headed to his fifth NCAA Tournament with a roster full of home-grown talent. The Panthers have five players from Iowa, including Trey Campbell, who led UNI with 23 points in the championship. — Lindsay Schnell
Northeast: LIU
Record: 23-10, 15-3 NEC
Last tournament appearance: 2018
All-time tournament record: 0-7
What to know: Long Island University, led by longtime NBA guard and native New Yorker Rod Strickland, is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018 after defeating Wagner 64-56 in the NEC semifinals. LIU earned the bid before playing in the final because Mercyhurst, which is ineligible for the postseason in its second season as a Division I program, won the other semifinal. Strickland, who played 17 seasons in the NBA, is in his fourth season and has improved LIU’s record every year since a 3-26 debut in 2022-23. LIU is projected to be a No. 16 seed. The Sharks (fins up!) have the NEC defensive player of the year in guard Greg Gordon and leading scorer Jamal Fuller, from Toronto, played in the NCAA Division II tournament when he was at Academy of Art in San Francisco. — Ralph D. Russo
Ohio Valley: Tennessee State
Record: 23-9, 15-5 OVC
Last tournament appearance: 1994
All-time tournament record: 0-2
What to know: Yes, it’s been 32 years since this Nashville, Tenn.-based HBCU reached the sport’s biggest stage. And it took just one season of Nolan Smith’s coaching to get there. The former Duke star, NBA first-round pick and Memphis and Louisville assistant coach wasn’t able to do much with the TSU roster after replacing Brian “Penny” Collins. But he has elicited star-level play out of returning seniors Aaron Nkrumah — the OVC Player of the Year — and Travis Harper II. He has the Tigers pressuring on defense and playing with pace, ranking in the top 21 nationally in steal percentage and opponent turnover percentage. It’s one of the best coaching jobs in the nation. — Joe Rexrode
Next up
Sun Belt: Troy (21-11) vs. Georgia Southern (21-15) (Monday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
SoCon: Furman (21-12) vs. East Tennessee State (23-10) (Monday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Full conference championship schedule
(Alphabetical order; all times ET)
America East: Saturday, March 14, 11 a.m. (ESPN2)
American: Sunday, March 15, 3:15 p.m. (ESPN)
Atlantic 10: Sunday, March 15, 1 p.m. (CBS)
ACC: Saturday, March 14, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
ASUN: Queens 98, Central Arkansas 93 OT
Big 12: Saturday, March 14, 6 p.m. (ESPN)
Big East: Saturday, March 14, 6:30 p.m. (Fox)
Big Sky: Wednesday, March 11, 11:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Big South: High Point 91, Winthrop 76
Big Ten: Sunday, March 15, 3:30 p.m. (CBS)
Big West: Saturday, March 14, TBA
CAA: Tuesday, March 10, 7 p.m. (CBSSN)
Conference USA: Saturday, March 14, 8:30 p.m. (CBSSN)
Horizon: Tuesday, March 10, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Ivy: Sunday, March 15, noon (ESPN2)
MAAC: Tuesday, March 10, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
MAC: Saturday, March 14, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
MEAC: Saturday, March 14, 1 p.m. (ESPN2)
Missouri Valley: Northern Iowa 84, UIC 69
Mountain West: Saturday, March 14, 6 p.m. (CBS)
Northeast: Tuesday, March 10, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
- Because Mercyhurst is ineligible for the NCAA Tournament amid its transition to Division I, LIU has already clinched the NEC’s automatic bid.
Ohio Valley: Tennessee State 93, Morehead State 67
Patriot: Wednesday, March 11, 7 p.m. (CBSSN)
SEC: Sunday, March 15, 1 p.m. (ESPN)
SoCon: Monday, March 9, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Southland: Wednesday, March 11, 5 p.m. (ESPN2)
SWAC: Saturday, March 14, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Summit: North Dakota State 70, North Dakota 62
Sun Belt: Monday, March 9, 6 p.m. (ESPN)
West Coast: Tuesday, March 10, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
WAC: Saturday, March 14, midnight (ESPN2)