2025 March Madness, conference tournament scores, automatic bids: Gonzaga, UNCW punch tickets to Big Dance

Three more conferences will determine their NCAA Tournament representatives on Wednesday as the march to Selection Sunday continues with championship games in the Big Sky, Patriot League and Southland Conference.  

For the first time since 2018, a Patriot League team other than Colgate will make it to the Big Dance. No. 1 seed American knocked out No. 3 seed Colgate in the semifinals and will take on No. 5 seed Navy in the title game at 7 p.m. Eastern on CBS Sports Network.

Wednesday also marks a ramp-up day on the high-major front as the Big East, Big Ten and SEC join the fray with opening round games. All told, it’s one of the busiest days of the year in college basketball as postseason play hits full throttle.

Four automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament were secured Tuesday. Among those the teams to punch tickets was Saint Francis, which will be going to the Big Dance for the first time since 1991.

The No. 3 seed Red Flash upset No. 1 seed Central Connecticut State in the NEC Tournament title game 46-43. In the process, they snapped CCSU’s nation-best 14-game winning streak. It wasn’t all bad for No. 1 seeds on Tuesday, however. Robert Morris, the top seed in the Horizon League, beat No. 4 seed Youngstown State 89-78 to secure the program’s first NCAA Tournament trip since 2015.

In the CAA title game, No. 2 seed UNCW ended No. 12 seed Delaware’s remarkable tournament run. The Blue Hens won four games in four days but couldn’t win a fifth as they fell 76-72 in a thriller. UNCW will be playing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017.

After losing both regular-season matchups against Saint Mary’s, Gonzaga delivered one of its most impressive performances of the season with a wire-to-wire 58-51 win in the West Coast Conference title game. After Saint Mary’s tied the game at 33-33 in the opening seconds of the second half, Gonzaga outscored the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament 25-18. Forward Braden Huff scored a team-high 18 points and Khalif Battle finished with 14. Battle threw down an alley-oop dunk with 36 seconds left to stretch the lead to nine. The Bulldogs have won 11 of the last 13 WCC title games and will enter the tournament with some positive momentum.

SportsLine conference tournament odds, picks: Proven experts share best bets for every tourney 

Wednesday’s conference tournament scores

2025 conference tournaments/champions

Conference Location Dates Championship game /Tournament champion ACCCharlotte, North CarolinaMarch 11-15Sat., Mar. 15, 8:30 p.m. | ESPN America EastCampus sites March 8,11,15Sat., Mar. 15, 11 a.m. | ESPN2 AmericanFort Worth, TexasMarch 12-16Sun., Mar. 16, 3:15 p.m. | ESPN ASUNCampus sitesMarch 2,3,6,9 Lipscomb (25-9) Atlantic 10Washington D.C.March 12-16Sun., Mar. 16, 1 p.m. | CBS Big 12Kansas CityMarch 11-15Sat., Mar. 15, 6 p.m. | ESPN Big EastNew York CityMarch 12-15Sat., Mar. 15, 6:30 p.m. | Fox Big SkyBoise, IdahoMarch 8-12Wed., Mar. 12, 11:30 p.m. | ESPN2 Big SouthJohnson City, TennesseeMarch 5,7-9 High Point (29-5) Big TenIndianapolisMarch 12-16Sun., Mar. 16, 3:30 p.m. | CBS Big WestHenderson, NevadaMarch 12-15Sat., Mar. 15, 9:40 p.m. | ESPN2 Coastal AthleticWashington D.C.March 7-11UNCW (27-7) Conference USAHuntsville, AlabamaMarch 11-15Sat., Mar. 15, 8:30 p.m. | CBSSN Horizon LeagueCampus sitesMarch 4,6,10,11Robert Morris (25-8) IvyProvidence, Rhode IslandMarch 15-16Sun., Mar. 16, 12 p.m. | ESPN2 MAACAtlantic City, New JerseyMarch 11-15Sat., Mar. 15, 7:30 p.m. | ESPNU MACClevelandMarch 13-15Sat., Mar. 15, 7:40 p.m. | ESPN2 MEACNorfolk, VirginiaMarch 12-15Sat., Mar. 15, 1 p.m. | ESPN2 Missouri ValleySt. LouisMarch 6-9 Drake (30-3) Mountain WestLas VegasMarch 12-15Sat., Mar. 15, 6 p.m. | CBS NortheastCampus sitesMarch 5,8.11St. Francis (15-17) Ohio ValleyEvansville, IndianaMarch 5-8 SIUE (22-11) PatriotCampus sitesMarch 4,6,9,12Wed., Mar. 12, 7 p.m. | CBSSN SECNashvilleMarch 12-16Sun., Mar. 16, 1 p.m. | ESPN SouthernAsheville, North CarolinaMarch 7-10 Wofford (19-15) SouthlandLake Charles, LouisianaMarch 9-12Wed., Mar. 12, 5 p.m. | ESPN2 SummitSioux Falls, South DakotaMarch 5-9 Omaha (22-12) Sun BeltPensacola, FloridaMarch 4-10 Troy (23-10) SWACAtlantaMarch 11-15Sat., Mar. 15, 9:30 p.m. | ESPNU WACSt. George, Utah / Las VegasMarch 11-15Sat., Mar. 15, 11:40 p.m. | ESPN2 WCCLas VegasMarch 6-11Gonzaga (25-8)