Bubble Watch Sunday Recap/Monday Preview: Northern Iowa In; ODU, Siena Draw Closer

Old Dominion and Siena moved closer to locking up their conferences’ automatic bids on Sunday, while Northern Iowa booked their place by claiming the Missouri Valley crown.

In the major conferences, Florida and Illinois fell to further damage their chances.

There are three conference title games with bubble implications on tap for Monday. Besides the Colonial and Metro Atlantic finals, lock Gonzaga will meet bubble team St. Mary’s for the West Coast crown.

Team statuses based on my Sunday update.

St. Mary’s 69, Portland 55 (West Coast Semifinal) (recap): A trio of Gaels scored 16 each to avenge their 80-75 overtime loss to the Pilots on February 13.

Tonight, St. Mary’s will try to beat top seed Gonzaga for the first time this season (9 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Northern Iowa 67, Wichita State 52 (Missouri Valley Championship) (recap): The Panthers burst the Shockers bubble and ensured the MVC will be a one-bid league once again this season. Bubble teams nationwide were happy with the result.

Wisconsin 72, Illinois 57 (recap): The Illini have dropped five of six and are in real trouble. Making matters worse, they have to play the Badgers again in the Big Ten quarterfinals Friday.

Old Dominion 73, VCU 69 (OT) (CAA Semifinal) (recap): Bubble teams across the country breathed a sigh of relief when the Monarchs came back from 12 down to win Sunday.

On Monday, Old Dominion can all but ensure the CAA is a one-bid league if they beat William & Mary in Monday’s championship game (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Siena 72, Rider 62 (Metro Atlantic Semifinal) (recap): The Saints knocked off the mercurial Broncs to move on to Monday’s final against two seed Fairfield (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2). While Siena swept the Stags, they only managed to win by two at home on February 8. This one is again in Albany.