Bubble Watch teams from coast-to-coast rejoiced when Old Dominion and Siena claimed their respective conference crowns Monday night; however, St. Mary’s win over Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference final means there is one less at-large spot remaining.
Monday Recap/Tuesday Preview: ODU, Siena, St. Mary’s Officially In; Big East First Round On Tap
CAA Championship: Old Dominion 60, William & Mary 53 (recap): The Monarchs probably would have been in even if they lost this one. The Tribe missed several threes in the final minute that could have made this one a real nail-biter, considering Old Dominion’s struggles from the free throw line.
Metro Atlantic Championship: Siena 72, Fairfield 65 (recap): The Saints had to come from behind for the third game in a row. If they had lost this one on their home floor, they likely would not have received an at-large.
Wes Coast Championship: St. Mary’s 81, Gonzaga 62 (recap): The Gaels got themselves off the bubble with their first West Coast title since 1997. The loss means the Bulldogs will probably not play in Spokane for the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
Tuesday sees the first round of the Big East Tournament, which features must-win games for three teams in the hunt.
USF (Last Four In) vs. DePaul, 12 p.m. ET (ESPN2): The Bulls struggled with the Blue Demons in Chicago just one week ago.
Connecticut (Next Four Out) vs. St. John’s, 2:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2): The Huskies beat St. John’s to snap a three-game losing streak just before they defeated Texas.
Seton Hall (Last Four In) vs. Providence, 7 p.m. ET (ESPNU): The Pirates won in Providence by 12 on Saturday.
Cincinnati vs. Rutgers, 9 p.m. ET (ESPNU): The Bearcats won by seven in Piscataway back on January 2.
The four winners move on to Wednesday’s second round, where seeds five through eight await.
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