Selection Sunday is one day away. But first, college basketball will hand out 13 automatic bids to the NCAA tournament on Saturday.
What to watch on a loaded college basketball Saturday
What’s happening Saturday? Basketball, basketball, and more basketball.
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
The day’s schedule includes the title games in the ACC, Big East, Big 12 and Pac-12 tournaments. Meanwhile, the SEC tournament is in the semifinals before Sunday’s title game.
For the latest on the bubble, check out Chris Dobbertean’s latest Bracketology projection. This is what we’re watching.
Early shift
- The America East title game tips off before noon. Hell yeah that’s a must watch. Look out for Vermont, who could be a legit NCAA tournament sleeper if they win this game.
- Kentucky vs. Alabama is going to be excellent. Collin Sexton is becoming a March Madness hero before our eyes. He’s going to be incredibly jacked up to play John Calipari’s Wildcats.
- Cincinnati-Memphis is possibly the last game of the pre-Penny Hardaway era for the Tigers.
- Get your fingers loose for the 3 p.m. block. It’s going to require some serious channel flipping. An SEC semifinal between Arkansas and Tennessee tips first, followed by No. 21 Houston vs. No. 11 Wichita State in the AAC semis. Davidson vs. St. Bonaventure could be fun too. The Bonnies have a star-studded backcourt with Jaylen Adams and Mike Mobley, while Davidson has one of the country’s most underrated players in forward Peyton Aldridge.
Late shift
- Two sub-.500 teams battling for the SWAC auto-bid? YES, WE’RE IN. Texas Southern’s 5’7 scoring dynamo Demontrae Jefferson will be your new favorite player by the end of this.
- Kansas vs. West Virginia round III for the Big 12 title. The Jayhawks have won both games this season.
- Bid-stealer alert in San Diego State vs. New Mexico for the Mountain West title after the Aztecs smacked Nevada on Friday night. SDSU has won eight straight.
- Villanova vs. Providence for the Big East title. The Friars won the last matchup on Valentine’s Day.
- MAC title game! Big Sky title game! Buffalo and Montana each have Cinderella potential, should they win.
- UNC vs. Virginia should be good. Not much else to say here.
- Marshall vs. Western Kentucky is a lowkey great coaching matchup of Rick Stansbury vs. Dan D’Antoni. Word to Clipse, Stansbury is a legend in two games like Pee Wee Kirkland. D’Antoni (Mike’s brother) went on that great analytics rant last year. Everyone wins here. Well, except for Middle Tennessee.
- USC vs. Arizona is truly the conference championship game 2018 deserves.
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