College basketball schedule and results: Wisconsin, Arizona, Notre Dame claim conference titles

Tom Crean went out to midcourt at the Final Four, for some reason. Here is who was in the stadium:

1. Kentucky fans, who dislike Indiana, whose head coach is Tom Crean

The No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish are 0-8 ATS in their last eight NCAA Tournament games. The Fighting Irish will need to turn that around to advance into the Elite Eight as an underdog this Thursday against the No. 7 Wichita State Shockers at Quickens Loan Arena.

Notre Dame is a 1-point underdog on Thursday according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. This will be an offense vs. defense matchup as Notre Dame’s 12th-ranked offense averaging 78.8 points per game will try to solve Wichita State’s sixth-ranked defense which allows only 56.7 points per game.

Everyone knows missed dunks > made dunks.

Frank Kaminsky didn’t get the Chris Bosh PSA that confetti tastes like crap.

LOOK OUT MEDIA ROW, THIS IS JOSH GASSER’S TERRITORY NOW:

The Duke AD’s like “yeah, man, that’ll happen.”

More like Willie Cauley-Vine.

Here is a closer look at the teams worrying the most about this possibility.

All information is courtesy Basketball State ($) and is updated through games completed on Saturday, March 14, 2015. Note that records only reflect games against Division I competition, which is important for reasons you’ll read about below.

There might not be an unofficial holiday on the sports calendar that captivates the nation the way Selection Sunday does. Sure, the Super Bowl is a bigger deal because it’s the day that America crowns the champion of its most favorite sport (and because money, money, money), but college basketball’s big day demands just as much attention and generates nearly as much buzz, just for different reasons. It’s a very The Godfather-The Godfather Part II situation.

As glorious as the day the brackets are unveiled is, like everything else in the world outside of Starburst jelly beans, it is not perfect. There are a handful of problems that detract, in varying degrees, from the splendor of Selection Sunday, three of which loom larger than all others. The good news is that there is a relatively easy fix for all three.

Hawaii jumped out to a 20-7 lead, and still led by 12 points with 3:53 remaining in the first half. But UC Irvine clawed back to tie in the opening two minutes of the second half, and the two teams went back and forth after that.

UC Irvine (21-12) closed out the game on a 23-11 run over the final 7:21 to seal the victory.

It is the fourth consecutive NCAA bid for New Mexico State and fifth tourney trip in the last six years, all under head coach Marvin Menzies.

New Mexico State started the game on a 9-0 run, led by as many as 13 points in the first half and never looked back.

The Arizona Wildcats were the class of the Pac-12 all season and they put an exclamation point on that fact with an impressive 80-52 win against the Oregon Ducks in the final of the Pac-12 Tournament. The victory gives Arizona its first Pac-12 Tournament championship since 2002.

While Oregon looked prepared to give the No. 5 Wildcats a game early on, that thought faded quickly. The Wildcats took a 13-10 lead with 12:26 to play and never looked back. A few small runs -- sparked largely to a staunch defensive effort -- allowed Arizona to separate. A 10-0 run punctuated the first half and the Ducks never threatened in the second half.

The first half was mostly back-and-forth action, with neither team owning a commanding lead. That was until the final five minutes, when Stephen F. Austin ripped off a 13-2 run to take control of the game. The Lumberjacks went into halftime with a 37-27 lead.

Sam Houston State didn’t make much of a comeback in the second half and the Lumberjacks continued to hold a double-digit lead throughout the period. The Bearkats were held to 36.1 percent shooting from the field and made just 3-of-20 three-point shots. Stephen F. Austin shot 48.1 percent from the floor and made 8-of-23 from beyond the arc.

He got a hat too.

Eastern Washington jumped out to an early lead, but Montana gradually pulled ahead and took a 30-29 lead into halftime. The Eagles were ghastly on offense, shooting just 28.6 percent from the field in the first half.

The Eagles will likely be a No. 14-15 seed in next week’s tournament, but nobody should be overlooking them, particularly if Harvery has a hot shooting hand again. SB Nation’s Mike Rutherford went into more detail on why you should root for them.

After trailing by five at the break, the Tar Heels had seemed to take control at the midway point of the second half, holding a 64-56 advantage with just 9:21 to play. Then, in the blink of an eye, the vaunted Notre Dame offense exploded. The Fighting Irish scored the game’s next 15 points thanks to some hot outside shooting and tremendous ball movement.

The Tar Heels also helped out during the spurt, missing a layup and turning the ball over five times as their comfortable lead morphed into an insurmountable deficit.

It was all Villanova in the first half, with the Wildcats out to prove they deserve a top seed. Xavier barely had time to settle in before Villanova raced out to a 30-16 lead. The Wildcats shot 52 percent from the field in the first half, compared to just 32.3 percent for the Musketeers. Villanova went into halftime leading 34-21.

Xavier is still going dancing this year, and its resume is strong enough that this loss might not matter in the bigger picture. SB Nation’s Chris Dobbertean has them as a No. 6 seed in his latest bracket projection.

A meeting between Buffalo and Central Michigan in the championship game of the MAC tournament seemed inevitable all season long. The No. 2 Bulls were the class of the East division, while the top-seeded Chippewas controlled the West division. Central Michigan won both regular season games, the second of which was only decided by one point. In a likely one-bid league like the MAC, this was the only way to determine who would go to the NCAA Tournament.

As is always the case with the MAC regardless of the sport, this was a fast-paced, fun game. The lead stayed between six points on either side for most of the contest, but Buffalo started to take control late in the second half and held on for an 89-84 victory. All five starters scored in double-figures, and the Bulls are going to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history under second-year coach Bobby Hurley.

This foul is AWFUL.

It happened at the end of the SWAC Tournament final. Texas Southern’s Malcolm Riley drove towards the basket, where he was met by Southern’s Trelun Banks.

Kansas led by 17 moments into the second half before Niang took over, scoring 19 points in a 70-66 comeback win. Between his own made field goals and his assists to his teammates, he was responsible for 11 of the Cyclones’ first 13 second-half points as they fought their way back into the game and eventually took a lead. Kansas’ Wayne Selden Jr. did his best to answer, including a game-tying and-one layup with 1:29 to play, but the Cyclones responded with two free throws to re-take the lead. Then, on the Jayhawks’ next possession, Niang deflected away an attempted lob pass and his team sealed the game at the line.

This was the second double-digit comeback in as many days for Iowa State. On Friday, the Cyclones rallied down 11 to beat Oklahoma 67-65 in the Big 12 semifinals before repeating the feat Saturday.

Senior star Larry Nance Jr. led the Pokes, just as he’s done throughout his career. Nance finished with 14 points and six rebounds in the win. Adams added 10 points of his own.

Freshman Malik Pope was solid for San Diego State, scoring 13 points off the bench. Teammate J.J. O’Brien also added 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting.

The tie-dyed t-shirt over a shirt and tie is quite the look.

This is ... interesting.

Harvard has been to the NCAA Tournament each of the last three seasons and won a game each of the last two years. Yale hasn’t been to the Big Dance since 1962.

The main storyline in the Big Ten throughout the regular season focused on what team was the second-best in the conference. Wisconsin dominated league play from start to finish, while a group of other programs seemed to beat each other up week after week. The Badgers are already on to the Big Ten title game after blowing out Purdue, while Michigan State and Maryland were set to answer the question so many have debated in the conference tournament’s other semifinal.

Trice canned three three-pointers overall and finished with a game-high 20 points. Dawson added 17 points and eight rebounds in the win for MSU.

The Big Ten is usually thought of as slow, prodding and earth-bound, but Michigan State’s Marvin Clark is out here changing perceptions.