What happened during championship week: 27 teams earn automatic berths entering Selection Sunday

The Big East tournament begins Wednesday with three games.

Wednesday's schedule

(8) Butler vs. (9) Xavier: 4 p.m. ET, FS1

(7) Providence vs. (10) Georgetown: 6:30 p.m. ET, FS1

(6) Villanova vs. (11) DePaul: 9 p.m. ET, FS1

The Saint Mary’s Gaels took down the Gonzaga Bulldogs 69-60 on Tuesday night in Las Vegas to win the West Coast Conference championship.

Gaels top scorer Aidan Mahaney led the team with 23 points and shot 9 of 15 from the field. Gonzaga appeared to be making a late-game push with Graham Ike’s jumper to narrow Saint Mary’s lead by four points with 4:36 left, but Mahaney drilled a 3-point jumper 20 seconds later.

The Gaels, who lost to the Zags in last year’s conference championship, continued to widen their lead and were ahead by as much as nine points with a little over two minutes left. Mitchell Saxen finished with 19 points and 15 rebounds for Saint Mary’s, and Augustas Marciulionis had 13 points, four rebounds and eight assists.

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Wisconsin and Michigan State, two of the more divisive teams from an at-large perspective, both finished the regular season with a whimper.

The Badgers lost at Purdue and have gone 3-8 since the start of February, while the Spartans lost at Indiana and have dropped four of their last five. That said, Wisconsin — with a 12-12 record in Quad 1 and 2, no losses outside of that and a resume average (KPI and strength of record) in the low 20s — is in even if it loses to the winner of Rutgers and Maryland on Thursday. Michigan State isn’t a lock, and a loss to Minnesota on Thursday would rile up the haters, but it remains in the field and above the bubble. Same now for Nebraska, which finished the regular season strong and joins Purdue, Illinois and Northwestern with a double-bye to Friday in the Big Ten tourney. A win then would be worthy of a lock, but both should be in regardless.

Ohio State joins Iowa on the bubble, with the Buckeyes winning five of their last six after firing Chris Holtmann, including wins over Purdue, Nebraska and at Michigan State to add to Alabama on a neutral floor. Both Ohio State and the Hawkeyes are likely on the wrong side of the cut line, so naturally, the two face each other in the No. 7 vs, No. 10 matchup on Thursday. Winner stays in the mix. Loser is probably done for.

Wednesday's Big Ten schedule

(12) Maryland vs. (13) Rutgers: 6:30 p.m., Peacock

(11) Penn State vs. (14) Michigan: 9 p.m., Peacock

Tuesday's ACC tournament results

(12) Notre Dame 84, (13) Georgia Tech 80

(10) NC State 94, (15) Louisville 85

(11) Boston College 81, (14) Miami 65

Wednesday's schedule

(8) Virginia Tech vs. (9) Florida State: Noon, ESPN

(5) Wake Forest vs. (12) Notre Dame: 2:30 p.m., ESPN

(7) Syracuse vs. (10) NC State: 7 p.m., ESPN2

(6) Clemson vs. (11) Boston College: 9:30 p.m., ESPNU

Drake will return to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season after beating Indiana State 84-80 on Sunday.

Get to know the Bulldogs:

Location: Des Moines, Iowa

Record: 28-6, 16-4 MVC

Coach: Darian DeVries (sixth season, 150-54)

Leading scorer: G Tucker DeVries (21.8 points, 6.8 rebounds per game)

Notable results: Defeated Nevada 72-53 on Dec. 9, went 2-1 against Indiana State

Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2023

All-time NCAA Tournament record: 6-6

Projected seed: 10

Drake is back in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the last four seasons, and that’s a treat because we get to watch Tucker DeVries on the biggest stage.

A year ago, DeVries was just 1-of-13 in a loss to eventual Final Four team Miami in a game that Drake led by eight with five minutes left in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Drake brought in 10 new players this season to build around DeVries and sixth-year senior Darnell Brodie. DeVries scored 27 points in the championship game, using his size to get to the mid-range and shoot over Indiana State’s smaller guards.

He’s one of the best scorers in college basketball and an NBA talent playing for his dad at Drake. Brodie is the one Bulldog who has been on all three of the last three NCAA tourney teams.

Stetson University is headed to the NCAA Tournament to the first time. The Hatters advanced out of the Atlantic Sun Conference after a wild 94-91 win over Austin Peay in the conference championship game.

Get to know Stetson:

Location: DeLand, Fla.

Record: 22-12, 11-5 ASun

Coach: Donnie Jones (fifth year, 78-77)

Leading scorer: G Jalen Blackmon (21.5 points per game)

Notable results: Lost to Houston 79-48 on Nov. 13, beat UCF 85-82 on Nov. 26, lost to Cincinnati 83-75 on Dec. 22

Last NCAA Tournament appearance: Never

Projected seed: 16 (play-in)

Tip of the cap to the Hatters, a new member of the first-timers’ club. It only took them 53 seasons to make the NCAA Tournament. Stetson came into the game ranked 214th in KenPom, and I’m projecting it to be a No. 16 seed, quite possibly starting in the First Four in Dayton.

The team got a taste of what it’s like playing a No. 1 seed in November, when it lost at Houston by 31 points.

Jones’ squad made it through the Atlantic Sun tournament despite having one of the worst defenses in the country: 340th in adjusted deficiency, per KenPom, though the Hatters were fourth in the Atlantic Sun in defensive efficiency during league play.

Blackmon, who had 43 points in the win over Austin Peay, is the son of former Kentucky standout James Blackmon Sr. and brother of former Indiana player James Blackmon Jr.

Longwood punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, defeating UNC Asheville in the Big South championship game in High Point, N.C.

Get to know the Lancers:

Location: Farmville, Va.

Record: 21-13, 6-10 Big South

Coach: Griff Aldrich (sixth season, 109-85)

Leading scorer: G Walyn Napper (14.6 points, 4.6 assists per game)

Notable results: Lost to Dayton 78-69 on Dec. 30

Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2022

All-time NCAA Tournament record: 0-1

Projected seed: 15

The Lancers are one of the more improbable NCAA Tournament teams. On Feb. 7, Longwood lost to USC Upstate to fall to 2-8 in Big South play. But it has turned things around, closing the regular season with four wins in six before defeating Winthrop, High Point and UNC Asheville in the conference tournament.

Longwood is a top-15 offensive rebounding team in the country, according to KenPom.

The Lancers made their first NCAA appearance two years ago as a No. 14 seed, losing to Tennessee 88-56.