The final weekend before March Madness saw NCAA men’s conference tournament upsets galore
The GIST: Men’s conference tournament finals tend to be lost in the Selection Sunday sauce, but this year’s grand finales — and the 21 top seeds who were left hoping for an at-large natty bid — were too wild to ignore.
NC State stuns the ACC: The No. 10–seed Wolfpack tore through four higher-seeded opponents — including regular-season champ UNC in Saturday’s shocking 84–76 finale win — to capture the ACC’s crown and secure a No. 11 seed in the national bracket. UNC had the last laugh, though, when they bagged their program-record eighth No. 1 national seed.
Defense wins Big 12 championship: Iowa State, the Big 12’s No. 2–seed, beat the top-seeded Houston Cougars at their own game: The Cyclones held the nation’s best defense to a measly 41 points to win Saturday’s final, landing themselves a national No. 2 seed in the process.
More top seeds stall out: The regular-season champs completely missed the Big Ten’s title game. No. 5–seed Wisconsin wrote over their disastrous end-of-season slide — and gave No. 1 Purdue flashbacks — with Saturday’s 76–75 semifinal win over the Boilermakers. Wisconsin fell to No. 2 Illinois 93–87 in yesterday’s conference final, but their rebound earned them a national No. 5 seed.
- It was a similar scene in the Pac-12, where No. 1–seed Arizona and No. 2 Washington State both lost in Friday’s semis, paving the way for No. 4 Oregon’s 75–68 Saturday dub over Colorado to secure their improbable ’ship — likely flipping the Ducks from the NIT to the Big Dance.
- In the SEC, the top three seeds failed their quarter-finals, allowing No. 4–seed Auburn to snag the auto-bid in yesterday’s tourney finish. What do you expect from a conference where four teams tied for second in the regular season?
Long Beach State coach goes out with a bang: The Beach’s athletic department fired 17-year head coach (HC) Dan Monson last Monday but allowed him to finish out the postseason. Monson turned his lame duck moment into magic, taking the Big West No. 4–seed Beach to the tournament title, securing their first March Madness berth in twelve years. Best day for the Beach since Barbie.
