Who Wins the Bids on a Big Night in Championship Week?

There are five automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament at stake tonight. Al Dannity breaks down the conference finals and makes his picks on who makes it to March Madness.

There’s one rule for NCAA Basketball betting at this time of year; nothing is guaranteed. Liberty, with a 15-20 regular season record, became the first 20 loss team since Oakland in 2005 to secure a trip to March Madness with victory in the Big South title game last night. The five finals on the slate tonight don’t feature such a distinct Cinderella but there’s still plenty at stake.

St Mary’s can take their fate out of the selection committee’s hands tonight. A win over Gonzaga and the West Coast Conference (WCC) is a sure-fire two-bid league. For my money, the Gaels have done enough to get in but they are no lock. The bubble will only shrink as the week goes on so it’s in their interest to take doubt out of the equation. The Zags however are hot and it’s hard to see anything other than a win. Victory in the WCC final would guarantee a #1 seed for Mark Few’s team and that’s a big prize to claim for a mid-major. Gonzaga to win.

James Madison and Northeastern are doing battle in the first final on the docket tonight in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) final. The CAA has been shredded by conference realignment. What was one a near-lock for multiple bids every year is now clearly a one-bid league. Neither side looks particularly hot coming in, with both teams surviving tough battles to make the final. Northeastern squeaked the only regular season meeting of these sides but I’m picking James Madison to steal the bid.

Western Kentucky and Florida International, who have improved immensely since ditching Isiah Thomas, have both turned middling regular seasons into surges through the Sun Belt tournament. The pair split their regular season meetings but it’s the Panthers who have looked hotter through the tournament. After knocking off Middle Tennessee State, who went 19-1 in conference play, it’s tough to see FIU failing now. Florida International would please a lot of neutrals if they made the tournament in their first year after Isiah and I’m picking them to do just that.

Unbeaten since 14 January, the Davidson Wildcats have been the force of the Southern Conference in 2013. Tonight they face a Charleston team that looked business-like in getting to the tournament decider. The Wildcats won both of the regular season meetings between these sides but had a scare against Appalachian State in the semi-final. I think that’s the wake-up call Davidson needed. Wildcats to win.

Finally we come to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) final which features one of the best named teams in College Basketball, the Manhattan Jaspers. A shocking win over Loyola-Maryland kicked off the Jaspers’ run through the tournament and the team with a 14-17 regular season record is now just one W away from March Madness. They face Iona tonight, a team with whom they had two epic contests, splitting the series 1-1 in the regular season. Defence is going to be huge in this game, particularly with the Gaels having the second most points per game of any team in Division I Basketball. The slipper doesn’t fit tonight. Iona to win the MAAC.