Thirty-one Division I men's college basketball conferences will begin the process of crowning their 2024-25 tournament champions this week and next. Champ Week began Sunday with the first round of Atlantic Sun games, and it will overlap with the end of regular-season play for a number of conferences.
Champ Week will end on March 16, when five leagues — the Ivy League, Atlantic 10, SEC, American and Big Ten — crown their winners just before the selection committee unveils the 68-team bracket for the 2025 NCAA tournament.
The winner of each conference tournament will receive the automatic bid to the big dance, along with bragging rights to cap off the season. ESPN's Jeff Borzello, Myron Medcalf, Joe Lunardi and Neil Paine try to pick who those 31 teams will be, and make a case for each pick.
Find all their picks and analysis below, listed in the order in which tourney tickets will be punched.
For the full schedule, brackets and results of Champ Week, click here.
Neil Paine will keep you informed on all the at-large hopes and dreams over at Bubble Watch, while Joe Lunardi will continue to update the projected field of 68 with Bracketology right up until the actual field is announced.
Find the NCAA tournament's dates, sites and schedules for each round here.
And don't forget to sign up for the men's Tournament Challenge.
Stats through March 2, unless otherwise noted.
Ohio Valley Conference
Saturday, March 8, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Borzello: Little Rock
Lunardi: Southeast Missouri State
Medcalf: SIU Edwardsville
ESPN Analytics: Southeast Missouri State (34%)
Why Southeast Missouri State will win: The Redhawks were riding a 10-game winning streak before Saturday's loss to Eastern Illinois. They are 3-1 against the league's top
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