Sun Mar 16 16:40:00 UTC 2025: **Selection Sunday Showdown: Conference Championship Games to Shake Up NCAA Tournament Bracket**

**[City, State] –** The NCAA Tournament bracket is almost set, but several conference championship games could dramatically alter the final field of 68 before Selection Sunday. Several games hold significant weight in determining the final seeds and at-large bids.

The American Athletic Conference (AAC) title game between Memphis and UAB is the most impactful. A UAB victory would steal an automatic bid, likely eliminating Boise State from the tournament. In another upset, Colorado State’s win over Boise State in the Mountain West Tournament already knocked Xavier out of many projected brackets.

The SEC Tournament final between Tennessee and Florida will determine a coveted top-four seed, with the winner securing a No. 1 seed. Meanwhile, the Big Ten Championship game between Michigan and Wisconsin won’t change the projected bracket. Other games in one-bid leagues will determine the final spots for VCU and Yale.

Currently, Xavier, Texas, North Carolina, and Wake Forest are the first four teams out. Texas’s 12-15 record against top-tier opponents and North Carolina’s abysmal 1-12 record in Quad 1 games are historically poor for at-large bids. The author suggests that the current field size is too large, advocating for a reduction to 64 teams.

This year’s tournament features a record 13 teams from the SEC and nine from the Big Ten, a stark contrast to the ACC’s three teams. The Mountain West, with five teams already in, is anxiously awaiting Selection Sunday to see if their final two teams make the cut.

The complete bracket projections are available at [link to Bracketology hub]. Enjoy March Madness!

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