The full bracket for the NCAA Tournament will be unveiled by the selection committee Sunday, but 32 teams will already have their spots clinched by then through conference tournaments. The champion in each of those events earns an automatic bid to March Madness, so nearly half of field will already know it’s in.
Loyola won the Missouri Valley Conference tournament Sunday to earn its first trip to the NCAAs since 1985, when the team reached the Sweet 16. The top-seeded Ramblers crushed third-seeded Illinois State, 65-49, in the title game to book their spot, and enter the tournament with a 28-5 record.
Other teams that won automatic bids include Michigan, which became the first Big Ten team to win back-to-back conference tournaments since Ohio State in 2010-11.
The Wolverines enter the NCAA Tournament with a 28-7 record after winning the title at Madison Square Garden. Junior forward Moritz Wagner earned tournament MVP honors after recording 17 points in 17 minutes as part of Michigan’s championship victory over Purdue. The team also knocked off Michigan State in the semifinals en route to the championship.
NCAA Tournament automatic bids
AAC: Cincinnati
ACC: Virginia
America East: UMBC
Atlantic Sun: Lipscomb
Atlantic 10: Davidson
Big East: Villanova
Big Sky: Montana
Big South: Radford
Big Ten: Michigan
Big 12: Kansas
Big West: Cal State Fullerton
Colonial: Charleston
Conference USA: Marshall
Horizon: Wright State
Ivy League: Pennsylvania
MAAC: Iona
MAC: Buffalo
MEAC: North Carolina Central
Missouri Valley: Loyola-Chicago
Mountain West: San Diego State
Northeast: LIU Brooklyn
Ohio Valley: Murray State
Pac-12: Arizona
Patriot: Bucknell
SEC: Kentucky
Southern: UNC Greensboro
Southland: Stephen F. Austin
Summit: South Dakota State
Sun Belt: Georgia State
SWAC: Texas Southern
WAC: New Mexico State
West Coast: Gonzaga
