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Princeton, Rhode Island, Troy, Kentucky, Michigan and SMU were the last teams to punch their tickets to The Big Dance on Sunday.
Here are all of the teams with automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament.
All Automatic Bids
American Athletic Conference champion: SMU doesnât play in one of the traditional âpowerâ conferences, but it has proven it can hang with some elite competition this season. After a shaky 4-3 start to the season with losses to Michigan, USC and Boise State, it has gone 24-1 since -- including wins over eight top-100 teams. Semi Ojeleye, a Duke transfer, is a force to be reckoned with down low.
Big Ten Conference champion: The Wolverinesâ plane disaster before the start of the Big Ten tournament has turned into one of the biggest stories of March. Ranked eighth in the league tourney, the Wolverines rallied and are now a darling pick to get to the second weekend. Derrick Walton, Jr., who was dinged up in the plane drama, has played as well as just about anyone in college basketball the past two weeks.
Sun Belt Conference champion: Troy stunned the Sun Belt Conference by making it all the way to the final as the No. 6 seed, then they finished the job by beating Texas State. The Trojans are 21-14 overall, but finished seventh in their conference with a 10-8 record.
Southeastern Conference champion: Pick against Kentucky at your own risk. Malik Monk can turn on like a light switch and drop 30 points in a half while Bam Adebayo has only continued to follow the curve of steady improvement during his freshman season. There have been defensive lapses, but if DeâAaron Fox is healthy Kentucky is one of the five best teams in the tournament.
Ivy League champion: The Tigers won the first Ivy League tournament in that conferenceâs history, getting past Penn, then Yale. The Tigers did not lose a game against league competition. Theyâre very good, and back in the NCAAs for the first time since 2011. Donât turn it over. Havenât lost since Dec. 20. Chic upset pick, for sure.
Atlantic 10 Conference champion: Jerry Palm had Rhode Island in his first four out before Sunday, but Rhody left no doubt about its chances by winning the A-10 title game over No. 2 seed VCU. Junior guard E.C. Matthews is the best player you havenât heard about. He leads the rams with 14.8 points per game, including 19 per game over his last four. Itâs the first tourney berth since 1999 for the Rams.
Pac-12 Conference champion: Arizona shared a Pac-12 regular season title with Oregon and won the Pac-12 Tournament title by beating Oregon. Theyâre 13-2 with Allonzo Trier in the lineup. Sean Millerâs team hasnât lost to an unranked team all season. They beat UCLA twice. Lauri Markkanen is averaging 16.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
Big West Conference champion: UC Davis had to rely on a buzzer-beater in the semifinals for a chance to play in the conference title game against UC-Irvine, a team it lost by 30 points to a week ago. But the Aggies of UC Davis found a way to win it, 50-47, clinching the schoolâs first-ever NCAA Tournament bid.
Western Athletic Conference champion: New Mexico State has a wealth of depth with four players averaging double-figures in scoring. Ian Baker leads the way for the Aggies with 16.7 points and 4.1 assists per game. NMSU last appeared in the Big Dance in 2015.
Southland Conference champion: Bring your hula hoops and pet rocks out, itâs time to party like itâs 1996: The last time New Orleans was in the Big Dance. It took every second of overtime against Texas A&M Corpus Christi, but the Privateers secured their fifth-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
Atlantic Coast Conference champion: Duke won four games in four days, and beat North Carolina along the way, to win the ACC tournament title. The Blue Devils appeared to be in a tailspin just a week ago, but now might be the hottest team in the country heading into the tournament.
Big East Conference champion: The reigning national champions enter the 2017 tourney as one of the biggest storylines because they carry the overall No. 1 seed. Familiar characters: Josh Hart, Kris Jenkins, Jalen Brunson. Reliable balance, undeniable toughness, the No. 2 offense in America and no sense of entitlement. The last team to win back-to-back titles was Florida in 2006-07. This Nova group is better.
Big Sky Conference champion: North Dakota was the top seed in the Big Sky Tournament, and certainly played like it. The 22-9 Fighting Hawks beat Weber State in the championship game to clinch their first ever NCAA Tournament berth.
Conference USA champion: The Blue Raiders made the NCAA Tournament by winning C-USAâs automatic bid. But they mightâve been at-large worthy thanks to a resume featuring wins over Vanderbilt, UNC-Wilmington, Ole Miss and Belmont. Middle Tennessee is 30-4 with only one loss since Christmas. Kermit Davis is the coach -- he guided the Blue Raiders to an upset of Michigan State in last yearâs NCAA Tournament.
Mid-American Conference champion: The Golden Flashes finished fourth in the MAC East, four games behind Akron. But they somehow won three games as underdogs in the MAC Tournament to take the title and that leagueâs automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Incredible story. Jimmy Hall is the top player, averaging 18.9 points and 10.5 rebounds.
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion: North Carolina Central was the top seed in the MEAC Tournament, and ran into little opposition until the championship game, when the Eagles beat Norfolk State for the title. North Carolina Central is 25-8 on the season.
Mountain West Conference champion: The top seed in the MWC Tournament, Nevada picked up wins over Utah State, Fresno State and Colorado State to win the championship. The Wolf Pack are 28-6 this season.
Southwest Athletic Conference champion: Because Alcorn State is ineligible for postseason play this year (due to NCAA sanctions related to classroom performance), Texas Southern has taken the leagueâs automatic bid even before the title game was played. Fittingly, Texas Southern was the best team in the league, anyway. Mike Davisâ team went 16-2 in the league and is off to the NCAAs for the third time in four years.
America East champion: This is the second-best Vermont team in program history. The only one that was better was the 2004-05 club that had Taylor Coppenrath and T.J. Sorrentine, the Cats crew that killed off Cuse in the first round of the 2005 tournament. But this team is terrific, led by freshman Anthony Lamb, who looks like a major-conference player. What a steal for John Becker, who is going to be in the coaching carousel rumor mill. The Catamounts will make for a chic upset pick.
Patriot League champion: The Bucknell Bison snatched it. Nana Foulland and his top-seeded teammates won with ease at home, beating No. 3 Lehigh 81-65, outscoring the Mountain Hawks by 15 points in the second half. The Patriot Leagueâs best team got the autobid. This league has fared well over the past decade in the tourney. Bucknell is 26-8. It has solid guards with good scoring ability, and they take care of the ball. Behold the court storm that the Bucknell fans pulled off on Wednesday night. Bless those kids, who now turn to Spring Break. Hey, have to figure a lot of people on that floor will find a way to get tickets to wherever Bucknell is sent for the NCAAs.
Bucknell: dancing pic.twitter.com/U313moPGUH
— Matt Brown (@MattBrownCFB) March 9, 2017
Summit League champion: The 18-16 Jackrabbits are dancing for the fourth time in their history, and the fourth time in six seasons. Look for South Dakota State to try to get the game into the 80s if itâs going to steal a victory in the Big Dance. This team is not defensive-minded. South Dakota State, which got 37 points and 12 rebounds from sophomore Mike Daum in the title game, a bruiser and a baller who we told you about heading into this season. Plus, this is the first year as a head coach for T.J. Otzelberger, who got his fourth-seeded Jackrabbits a 79-77 victory against third-seeded Omaha.
West Coast Conference champion: Gonzaga has made 20 NCAA Tournament appearances, including 19 in a row. The Bulldogs have made the Elite Eight twice in their history, and will be expected to go at least that far this season. This team rates as the best one Mark Few has ever had, and Nigel Williams-Goss will, at worst, be a second-team All America selection. Gonzaga rates as the No. 1 team at KenPom.com.
Horizon League champion: Northern Kentucky joins North Dakota State of 2009 as the only programs since the 1970s to transition to Division I and make the NCAAs in their first season of eligibility. The Norse went 24-10 this season. A 15-seed is the probable landing spot here. The last time a Horizon team won an NCAA tourney game: Butler, in 2011, when the Bulldogs made the national title game. Fourth-seeded NKU beat 10th-seeded Milwaukee 59-53 to clinch the auto bid from the Horizon League. Thatâs a cool story.
Northeast Conference champion: Mount St. Maryâs is in the dance for the fifth time in school history. The NEC has never had a team win a tournament game that wasnât a 16-vs.-16 scenario. This yearâs MSM team is probably going to be a 16 as well, but should dodge the First Four in Dayton. The Mount won a game as a 16 seed in 2008, over No. 16 Coppin State. Mount St. Maryâs won at home as the top seed in that league, beating No. 4 St. Francis (Pennsylvania) 71-61. While some mid-major leagues have oft-criticized ways of putting on their league brackets, the NEC does it right. The higher seed in that tournament always has the home-court advantage, and yet again, the top seed wins out, giving the NEC its best chance at pulling off a March Madness upset.
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion: Iona lost four of its final seven games in the regular season. But as the Gaels proved, itâs all about getting hot and peaking at the right time. They turned it on when it mattered most, winning by an average of nine points and closing it out against Siena.
Colonial Athletic Association champion: The Seahawks are the first back-to-back bid clinchers in the Colonial since Old Dominion did it in 2010 and 2011. Charleston tried to make a run late but ran out of time, as the 18-5 second-half run for UNC-Wilmington proved too much to overcome. C.J. Bryce led the way with 24 points and Seahawks fans stormed the court in celebration of the bid. âWeâre not done yet,â Bryce told the crowd.
Weâll see about that.
Southern Conference champion: Under second-year coach Steve Forbes, ETSU ends its six-year tournament drought. Forbes went 61-6 as Northwest Floridaâs coach, as Gary Parrish astutely pointed out. Now heâs 51-19 at ETSU after two seasons and is set to make his NCAA Tournament debut as a head coach. ETSU has a deep, veteran team that could just bust your bracket. Youâve been warned!
Atlantic Sun Conference champion: Florida Gulf Coast is going back to the NCAA Tournament for a second successive year after clinching the automatic bid on Sunday afternoon. The top-seeded Eagles scored a 77-61 victory in the A-Sun title game against No. 3 seed North Florida. FGCU, which built a reputation during a 2013 NCAA Tournament run with its high-flying dunks, slammed its way back into the Big Dance once again. The victory sends the Eagles to a third NCAA Tournament appearance since 2013, the year it fell short in the Sweet 16 to Florida.
Missouri Valley Conference champion: Wichita State defeated Illinois State 71-51 in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament final, ending the debate about whether the Shockers deserved an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Big South Conference champion: Top seed Winthrop completed its tournament run with a resounding 76-59 victory No. 7 seed Campbell, which sends the Eagles into the field for the first time since 2010. It is the 10th time the program will hear its name called on Selection Sunday.
Ohio Valley Conference champion: Jacksonville State coach Ray Harper has had a high level of success everywhere he has coached, and heâs taking the Gamecocks to the Big Dance in his first season. Itâs only the second 20-win season in program history, and itâs likely they end up as a 16 seed on Selection Sunday.
| 2017 conference tournaments | |||
| Conference | Tournament site | Dates (TV for Championship) | Tickets/Champion |
| AAC | Hartford, Conn. | March 9-12 (ESPN2) | SMU (30-4) |
| ACC | Brooklyn | March 7-11 | Duke (27-8) |
| America East | Campus sites | March 1, 6 & 11 | Vermont (29-5) |
| Atlantic 10 | Pittsburgh | March 8-12 (CBS) | Rhode Island (24-9) |
| Atlantic Sun | Campus sites | Feb. 27, March 2 & 5 | FGCU (26-7) |
| Big East | New York | March 8-11 | Villanova (31-3) |
| Big Sky | Reno, Nev. | March 7, 9-11 | North Dakota (22-9) |
| Big South | Campus sites | Feb. 28, March 2-3 & 5 | Winthrop (26-6) |
| Big Ten | Washington D.C. | March 8-12 (CBS) | Michigan (24-11) |
| Big 12 | Kansas City | March 8-11 | Iowa State (23-10) |
| Big West | Anaheim | March 9-11 (ESPN2) | UC Davis (22-12) |
| Colonial | North Charleston, S.C. | March 3-6 | UNC-Wilmington (29-5) |
| Conference USA | Birmingham, Ala. | March 8-11 | Middle Tennessee (30-4) |
| Horizon League | Detroit | March 3-7 | N. Kentucky (24-10) |
| Ivy League | Philadelphia | March 11-12 (ESPN2) | Princeton (23-6) |
| MAAC | Albany, N.Y. | March 2-6 | Iona (22-12) |
| MAC | Cleveland, Ohio | March 9-11 | Kent State (22-13) |
| MEAC | Norfolk, Va. | March 6-11 | NC Central (25-8) |
| Missouri Valley | St. Louis | March 2-5 | Wichita State (30-4) |
| Mountain West | Las Vegas | March 8-11 | Nevada (28-6) |
| Northeast | Campus sites | March 1, 4, 7 | Mount St. Maryâs (19-15) |
| Ohio Valley | Nashville | March 1-4 | Jacksonville State (20-14) |
| Pac-12 | Las Vegas | March 8-11 (ESPN) | Arizona (30-4) |
| Patriot | Campus sites | March 2, 5, 8 | Bucknell (26-8) |
| SEC | Nashville | March 8-12 (ESPN) | Kentucky (29-5) |
| Southern | Asheville, N.C | March 3-6 | E. Tennessee State (27-7) |
| Southland | Katy, Texas | March 8-11 (ESPN2) | New Orleans (20-11) |
| Summit | Sioux Falls, S.D. | March 4-7 | S. Dakota State (18-16) |
| Sun Belt | New Orleans | March 8, 10-12 (ESPN2) | Troy (21-14) |
| SWAC | Campus sites | March 7, 10-11 | Texas Southern (23-11) |
| WAC | Las Vegas | March 9-11 (ESPNU) | New Mexico State (28-5) |
| West Coast | Las Vegas | March 3-7 | Gonzaga (32-1) |
