Everything is ready for a tumultuous Saturday in college basketball, as 15 of the 32 conferences crown their tournament champions, and the countdown to qualifying Sunday on CBS is reduced to another day. While well-known conferences such as the ACC, Big 12, Big East and Pac-12 are among those whose tournaments will be determined, this day will also belong to some of the lesser-known sports leagues.
Of the 15 leagues that will play Saturday’s title games, most are likely to be conferences with one entry for the NCAA tournament. This means that the hopes of many teams in action will be a win-win. One game that can be particularly entertaining on Saturday is the title scramble at the Conference USA Tournament between Louisiana Tech and UAB at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.
None of them are likely to receive a bid to participate in the NCAA Tournament, but whatever team gets there, it can pose a threat. The UAB (26-7) won six in a row under third-year coach Andy Kennedy, while the Louisiana Institute of Technology (24-9) appears to have gained success this week after a tough regular season ending.
Get back to your pools and join our Men’s and Women’s Challenges for a chance to win a new truck and a dream basketball trip to college!
Whoever wins it, he will join the parade of teams providing automatic applications for participation in the Grand Dance. Here’s a full list of those who have so far punched their tickets.
As qualifying Sunday approaches, here is a complete list of all those who secured their places at the 2022 NCAA tournament.
Saturday’s Conference Championship Games
- East America: UMBC in Vermont, 11:00 (ESPN)
- IJAC: Norfolk vs. Coppin State, 13:00 (ESPN2)
- MAAK: Monmouth vs St Peters, 16:00 (ESPNU)
- Mountain West: Boise vs. San Diego, 6 p.m. (CBS)
- Big 12: Kansas vs Texas Institute of Technology, 6 p.m. (ESPN)
- SWAC: Alcorn State vs. South Texas, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)
- Grand Orient: Villanova vs Creighton, 18:30 (Fox)
- MAC: Akron vs Kent, 19:30 (ESPN2)
- Big Sky: Montana vs. Northern Colorado, 8:00 p.m. (ESPNU)
- ACC: Duke vs Virginia Institute of Technology, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
- U.S. Conference: Louisiana Institute of Technology v. UAB, 8:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
- Pak-12: Arizona vs. University of California, Los Angeles, 9 p.m. (Fox)
- Southland: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi vs. Southeast Louisiana, 21:30 (ESPN2)
- WAAC: State of New Mexico vs. Abilene Christian, 22:00 (ESPNU)
- Big West: Long Beach vs California Fullerton, 11:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Other Saturday conference tournaments in action
Schedule of conference tournaments 2022, champions
| Conference | Tournament website | Dates (Final TV) | Champion 2022 |
| AAS | Fort Worth, Texas | March 10-13 (ESPN) | |
| ACC | Brooklyn, New York | March 8-12 (ESPN) | |
| East of America | Campus websites | March 6, 9 and 12 (ESPN2) | |
| Atlantic 10 | Washington, DC | March 9-13 (CBSSN) | |
| THE SUN | Campus websites | March 1, 3, 5, and 8 (ESPN) | Bellarmine (20-13) – x |
| Big East | New York | March 9-12 (Fox) | |
| Big Sky | Boise, Idaho | 9-12 March (ESPNU) | |
| Big South | Charlotte, North Carolina | March 2, 4-6 (ESPN2) | Longwood (26-6) |
| Big Ten | Indianapolis | March 9-13 (CBS) | |
| Bolshoy 12 | Kansas City | March 9-12 (ESPN) | |
| Greater West | Henderson, Nev. | March 8, 10-12 (ESPN2) | |
| Colonial | Washington, DC | March 5-8 (CBSSN) | Delaware (22-12) |
| U.S. Conference | Frisco, Texas | March 8-12 (CBSSN) | |
| Horizon League | Indianapolis | March 1, 3, 7, and 8 (ESPN) | Wright State (21–13) |
| Ivy Leagues | Cambridge, Massachusetts. | March 12-13 (ESPN2) | |
| AIR | Atlantic City, New Jersey | 8-12 March (ESPNU) | |
| POPPY | Cleveland, Ohio | March 10-12 (ESPN2) | |
| MEAC | Norfolk, Virginia. | March 9-12 (ESPN2) | |
| Missouri Valley | St. Louis | March 3-6 (CBS) | Loyola-Chicago (25-7) |
| Mountain West | Las Vegas | March 9-12 (CBS) | |
| Northeast | Campus websites | February 28, March 2, 5 and 8 (ESPN) | Bryant (22-9) |
| Ohio Valley | Evansville, Indiana | March 2-5 (ESPN2) | Murray State (30-2) |
| Pak-12 | Las Vegas | March 9-12 (Fox) | |
| Patriot | Campus websites | March 1, 3, 6, and 9 (CBSSN) | Colgate (23-11) |
| SEC | Tampa | March 9-13 (ESPN) | |
| Southern | Asheville, North Carolina | March 4-7 (ESPN) | Chattanooga (27-7) |
| Southland | Katie, Texas | March 9-12 (ESPN2) | |
| Summit | Sioux Falls, South Dakota | March 5-8 (ESPN2) | S. Dakota State (30–4) |
| Solar Belt | Pensacola, Florida. | March 3, 5-7 (ESPN2) | State Georgia (18-10) |
| SWAC | Birmingham, Alabama. | 9-12 March (ESPNU) | |
| HAAC | Las Vegas | 8-12 March (ESPNU) | |
| west coast | Las Vegas | March 3-5 and 7-8 (ESPN) | Gonzaga (26-3) |
x – Bellarmin is not eligible to participate in the NCAA tournament, so the ASUN regular season champion in Jacksonville receives an automatic conference entry to participate in the NCAA tournament.
.