Even though we’re more than a week away from the start of the NCAA basketball championship tournaments, March Madness has already been in full effect.
In a couple of regular-season finales on Saturday, for instance, No. 7 Alabama beat No. 1 Auburn on an overtime buzzer-beater, while No. 6 St. John’s did the same to No. 20 Marquette.
While many of the biggest conferences played their women’s championship tournaments this past weekend (more below), this week sees the biggest men’s teams playing for conference crowns and better seeding in the national championship tournament.
It’s the last chance for women’s and men’s teams across the U.S. to make their case ahead of Selection Sunday on March 16.
Here’s a look at some of the top storylines this week.
Flagg, Duke look for ACC glory
Duke freshman star Cooper Flagg has more than lived up to the hype.
The expected No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA Draft has been battling Auburn senior forward Johni Broome for national player of the year honours.
All the while, the Blue Devils are 28-3 and also figure to be squaring off with Auburn for the No. 1 overall seed in the national tournament.
Before that, though, Duke hopes to win three games in Charlotte to take the ACC crown. They’ll open Thursday against the winner of Georgia Tech and Virginia.
NBA scouts would love to see as much of the Blue Devils as possible. Duke’s Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach are also potential lottery picks.
Top prospects need wins
The individual talents of Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey haven’t translated to great team success for Rutgers this year.
Despite both parts of the duo being projected top-five picks, Rutgers finished just 15-16 and will need to pull off a shocking upset and win the Big Ten tourney in Indianapolis to make the national field.
That will require five wins in five days, starting Wednesday against USC. Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans are the top seed.
Another top NBA prospect not yet assured of playing in March Madness is Baylor star VJ Edgecombe. While Baylor (18-13) seems likely to make it, a win or two this week will prevent any nerves on Selection Sunday. Baylor opens play Wednesday in Kansas City against the winner of Arizona State and Kansas State.
Johnnies Fever
New York is experiencing some elusive college hoops success.
Coach Rick Pitino guided St. John’s to its first Big East regular-season crown since 1985 in his second season with the squad.
It’s been quite a turnaround for both the team and coach. Pitino was part of numerous scandals during his 17-year run at Louisville and was forced to take a job in Greece before resurfacing in the NCAA ranks at little Iona prior to getting another big-conference job at St. John’s.
Now, his team is the toast of the town, even appearing on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon last week.
St. John’s will play the winner of Butler and Providence in a Big East quarterfinal on Thursday at Madison Square Garden.
Two-time reigning national champion UConn is seeded third in the Big East. No one would complain if it’s Dan Hurley’s Huskies against Pitino’s Johnnies in the final.
SEC dominance
The latest ESPN men’s bracket has the SEC with 13 teams in the 68-team field.
If that holds, it will beat the record of 11 teams set by the Big East in 2011.
Nashville gets the SEC tournament this week, and first-round games on Wednesday figure to have plenty of intensity.
The Oklahoma-Georgia game is a biggie, featuring two teams that each might need one more win to feel secure.
Auburn is the top seed.
Canadian content
As has been the case for years, Canadians have been making significant impacts in both the women’s and men’s ranks.
The star power was higher on the women’s side most of the season, with standout rookies Toby Fournier (Duke, ACC champion) and Syla Swords (Michigan, Big Ten semifinalist) playing major roles for tournament teams.
Dual citizen Avery Howell of USC, who has represented Canada, comes off the bench for a powerful USC team. A strong Canadian rookie class also included Villanova star Jasmine Bascoe of Milton, Ont., and BYU star Delaney Gibb of Raymond, Alta. With these five, the future looks bright for Canada’s national team.
On the men’s side, Illinois rookie forward Will Riley of Kitchener, Ont. has been excellent in recent weeks and is starting to be mentioned as a low-first-round candidate for the NBA Draft again after a slow start to his time at college. Illinois has done enough to get into the national tournament. They’re seeded seventh at the Big Ten tournament and open against the Rutgers-USC winner on Thursday.
Gonzaga point guard Ryan Nembhard of Aurora, Ont. is the leading assist-man in the country. While the team is perhaps not as strong as previous versions, it appears Gonzaga will be bound for the big tournament. Gonzaga plays in the WCC final against Saint Mary’s on Tuesday night.
Princeton’s Xaivian Lee is the top player for a Tigers team that clinched the fourth and final spot in the Ivy League tournament. The tournament winner advances. Princeton faces Yale in the semis on Saturday in Providence, R.I. Lee has seen his name as a second-round candidate on some NBA Draft boards.
Meanwhile, Kellen Tynes, of Dartmouth, N.S., will lead Maine into the America East final on Saturday after the Black Bears downed Vermont on Tuesday.
Race for No. 1
ESPN projects reigning champion South Carolina to be the overall No. 1 seed on the women’s side after Dawn Staley’s squad crushed top-ranked Texas in the SEC final.
That result, combined with No. 2 USC’s loss to No. 4 UCLA in the Big Ten final, likely changed things at the top of the bracket.
UCLA, USC and Texas are ESPN’s other No. 1 seeds.
Big 12 champ TCU is a No. 2 seed, while ACC champ Duke is a No. 3.
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