Today is the beginning of the end, as regular season play concludes with a smattering of ACC, Big Ten, and SEC games. In one week's time, all that will be left will be four conference tournament finals and the unveiling of the field of 68.

The bulk of today's televised games are from conference tournaments, and I have more information on them in my Championship Festival post.

My viewing picks for the final few games of the regular season are after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

For the remainder of the regular season, Blogging the Bracket's TV previews for the two busiest college basketball days of the week, Wednesday and Saturday, will be presented by Bud Light's "March to the Championship" game. (Details below the jump.)

The final weekend of the regular season has arrived, and while several mid-major leagues have started postseason play, all of the major conferences wrap up their league slates between now and Sunday evening. Teams have one last chance to improve their conference tournament seeding position and selection profile before elimination play begins next week. Expect these final two days to be just as frantic as the rest of the season we're soon to leave behind.

For info on the day's conference tournament action, which will see the first bids of 2011 handed out, check out my Championship Festival Go-Round for today.

The highlights of the penultimate day of the regular season are after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

Three conference tournaments get underway today, as there is opening round, wild card-type action in the America East and Missouri Valley (FS Midwest/CSN Chicago, 6 and 8:30 p.m. CT) and quarterfinals in the Northeast. The three vs. six and four vs. five quarterfinals in the Atlantic Sun are also on tap this evening.

Last night, the top two seeds in the A-Sun advanced to Friday's semifinals, as top seed Belmont handled No. 8 Kennesaw State, and No. 2 ETSU escaped seventh-seeded Campbell by just a point. In the campus site quarterfinals in the Patriot League, three of the four home teams advanced, including Bucknell, the top seed, and American, the No. 2, but third seed Holy Cross lost to Lafayette. The OVC first round, on the other hand, featured a pair of upsets, as No. 8 Tennessee-Martin and seven seed Southeast Missouri both advanced to tonight's quarterfinals.

Tonight's viewing picks, including a pair of Big South conference semifinals, are after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

For the remainder of the regular season, Blogging the Bracket's TV previews for the two busiest college basketball days of the week, Wednesday and Saturday, will be presented by Bud Light's "March to the Championship" game. (Details below the jump.)

March made a lion-like entrance last night with plenty of bubble movement, which I highlighted over at SB Nation, and some early conference tournament action. A few teams weren't quite ready for crunch time, which leaves plenty of opportunities for others starting tonight.

Three of the top four seeds won home games in the Big South quarterfinals, as Coastal Carolina, UNC Asheville, and VMI all advanced to Conway, South Carolina for Thursday's semifinals (6 and 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU). They'll be joined by seventh seed High Point, who knocked off No. 2 Liberty Flames, 66-60. The Panthers will face three seed UNC Asheville in the semis, while host Coastal gets VMI.

Over in the Horizon League, all four top seeds won. That means Friday's second round in Milwaukee will feature games between No. 3 Cleveland State and No. 6 Wright State and No. 4 Valparaiso and No. 5 Detroit.

Today, postseason play begins in three more conferences, the Atlantic Sun, Ohio Valley, and Patriot League. One game from those three events will be televised, as No. 7 Colgate visits second seed American in a Patriot quarterfinal (CBS College Sports, 7 p.m. ET).

The rest of my viewing picks for tonight, another slate full of games with bubble and seeding significance, are after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

Tuesday night's slate of games guarantees that March will open up with a bang--which happens to resemble the pop of bubbles bursting. Tonight is simply a crucial night for teams who find themselves either just in or out of my most recent bracket projection. Plus, the first conference tournament games of the season tip off.

My viewing picks for the evening are after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

Selection Sunday is a mere two weeks away, which means the Sunday slate isn't quite as barren as it was during the NFL playoffs. The afternoon features four key Big East matchups, a pair from the Big Ten (though you can probably skip Ohio State at Indiana), and a local rivalry from the Atlantic 10. The evening's action features a significant game in the ACC and the second installment of the basketball Apple Cup for 2011.

My viewing picks are after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

For the remainder of the regular season, Blogging the Bracket's TV previews for the two busiest college basketball days of the week, Wednesday and Saturday, will be presented by Bud Light's "March to the Championship" game. (Details below the jump.)

The final Saturday in February has arrived, which means there's a packed TV schedule that's features something for everyone. Plenty of contests feature major conference powers fighting for seeding in the NCAA Tournament, and potentially an easier path in their own league events, which will be underway before you know it. Others provide bubble teams another shot at grabbing a key win to help move them into the field. And with many mid-major conferences closing their regular seasons, still others showcase teams that find themselves in tight races for conference seedings and helpful byes.

To get you ready for a busy day of action, follow the jump for my viewing picks, some of which aren't even available to me on cable (pitfall of apartment living).

Continue reading this post »

It's "Rematch Thursday," as every game I've spotlighted on a long evening of hoops is the reprise of an earlier conference matchup. Most of them were quite competitive, with the Florida-Georgia and St. Mary's-Gonzaga contests standing out in that list.

My viewing selections are after the jump.

Continue reading this post »