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Here's a look at some of those tournaments, and some of the teams with the most on the line this week and Sunday:
ACC
BEST EARLY ROUND MATCHUP: Friday quarterfinal, Georgia Tech vs. North Carolina.
NCAA LOCKS: Duke, Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State and Wake Forest
WHO HAS THE MOST AT STAKE: Maryland (16-11, 7-9 in conference) seemingly salted away an at-large bid with closing wins over North Carolina State and Virginia but a little insurance, courtesy a quarterfinal victory over Wake Forest on Friday, would make breathing easier on Sunday. Florida State (18-12, 6-10) got blanked in eight ACC road games. The Seminoles would be wise to get to the final Sunday (meaning wins over North Carolina State and then Maryland or Wake) or prepare for an NIT bid. Duke seems securely a No. 1 seed, assuming it can survive until Sunday.
PROBABLE WINNER: Duke.
ATLANTIC 10
BEST EARLY ROUND MATCHUP: Thursday quarterfinal, Saint Joseph's vs. Xavier (assuming a win over St. Bonaventure on Wednesday).
NCAA LOCKS: Saint Joseph's.
WHO HAS THE MOST AT STAKE: Dayton should remove all at-large trepidation with a home-court win over Massachusetts or Duquesne Thursday. The same is true of Xavier, with the expected victory over St. Bonaventure and certainly with an upset of Saint Joseph's. A trip to the conference final Saturday for Richmond would make it tough to not give the Spiders one of the 34 bids. Would the committee deprive Saint Joseph's of a No. 1 seed with an early loss?
PROBABLE WINNER: Saint Joseph's.
BIG EAST
BEST EARLY ROUND MATCHUP: Thursday quarterfinal, Connecticut vs. Notre Dame (assuming an Irish victory over West Virginia on Wednesday).
NCAA LOCKS: Boston College, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Providence, Seton Hall and Syracuse.
WHO HAS THE MOST AT STAKE: Notre Dame (16-11, 9-7) closed the regular season with three wins in a row. Would a victory against West Virginia be enough to get the Irish over the at-large hump? It's unlikely, so Mike Brey's team should plan on finding a way to survive at least until Friday night. Pittsburgh (27-3, 13-3) will have a strong argument for a No. 1 seed with a Madison Square Garden sweep.
PROBABLE WINNER: Pittsburgh.
BIG TEN
BEST EARLY ROUND MATCHUP: Friday quarterfinal, Iowa vs. Michigan.
NCAA LOCKS: Illinois, Michigan State and Wisconsin.
WHO HAS THE MOST AT STAKE: The winner of Iowa (16-11, 9-7) vs. Michigan (17-10, 8-8) puts itself into viable at-large contention by also reaching the final Saturday.
PROBABLE WINNER: Illinois.
BIG 12
BEST EARLY ROUND MATCHUP: Friday quarterfinal, Colorado vs. Texas Tech.
NCAA LOCKS: Kansas, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech.
WHO HAS THE MOST AT STAKE: Colorado (18-9, 10-6) would snag a second consecutive bid by knocking off Texas Tech. Missouri (15-12, 9-7) and Oklahoma (18-9, 8-8) both need two wins to feel good about at-large resumes.
PROBABLE WINNER: Oklahoma State.
C-USA
BEST EARLY ROUND MATCHUP: Thursday quarterfinal, DePaul vs. Marquette.
NCAA LOCKS: Alabama-Birmingham, Charlotte, Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville and Memphis.
WHO HAS THE MOST AT STAKE: Marquette (17-10, 8-8) would be hard to turn down with three more wins to put it in the conference final. But could this conference REALLY have SEVEN teams in the tourney?
PROBABLE WINNER: Cincinnati.
MOUNTAIN WEST
BEST EARLY ROUND MATCHUP: Thursday quarterfinal, UNLV vs. New Mexico.
NCAA LOCKS: Air Force and BYU.
WHO HAS THE MOST AT STAKE: Utah (21-8, 9-5) needs two wins (vs. San Diego State and probably BYU) to make it too difficult for the selection committee to turn thumbs down on it.
PROBABLE WINNER: BYU.
PAC 10
BEST EARLY ROUND MATCHUP: Thursday quarterfinal, USC vs. Arizona.
NCAA LOCKS: Arizona and Stanford.
WHO HAS THE MOST AT STAKE: Washington (17-10, 12-6) SHOULD be in, regardless. But the Huskies better beat UCLA for the first time in three meetings just to be safe. A first-round loss by Stanford (26-1, 17-1) to Washington State could cost the Cardinal the No. 1 seed that it has earned since mid-November.
PROBABLE WINNER: Arizona.
SEC
BEST EARLY ROUND MATCHUP: Thursday first round, Alabama vs. Tennessee.
Frank Burlison / Special to FOXSports.com
NCAA LOCKS: Florida, Kentucky and Mississippi State
WHO HAS THE MOST AT STAKE: Alabama (vs. Tennessee), Vanderbilt (vs. Mississippi) and South Carolina (vs. Arkansas) could bounce off the at-large safety net with first-round losses. LSU, which has a bye into the quarterfinals, has lost five of its past six games so needs a quarterfinal win (vs. South Carolina or Arkansas) or it could be very disappointed on Sunday. Mississippi State and Kentucky are both in contention for No. 1 seeds.
PROBABLE WINNER: Kentucky.
WAC
BEST EARLY ROUND MATCHUP: Thursday quarterfinal, Rice vs. Hawaii.
NCAA LOCKS: None, but Nevada and UTEP or Boise State will have solid at-large qualifications if they're still playing Saturday night.
WHO HAS THE MOST AT STAKE: This is the most wide open of the major tournaments. Any of six teams could win it.
PROBABLE WINNER: Nevada.
ACC
BEST EARLY ROUND MATCHUP: Friday quarterfinal, Georgia Tech vs. North Carolina.
NCAA LOCKS: Duke, Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State and Wake Forest
WHO HAS THE MOST AT STAKE: Maryland (16-11, 7-9 in conference) seemingly salted away an at-large bid with closing wins over North Carolina State and Virginia but a little insurance, courtesy a quarterfinal victory over Wake Forest on Friday, would make breathing easier on Sunday. Florida State (18-12, 6-10) got blanked in eight ACC road games. The Seminoles would be wise to get to the final Sunday (meaning wins over North Carolina State and then Maryland or Wake) or prepare for an NIT bid. Duke seems securely a No. 1 seed, assuming it can survive until Sunday.
PROBABLE WINNER: Duke.
ATLANTIC 10
BEST EARLY ROUND MATCHUP: Thursday quarterfinal, Saint Joseph's vs. Xavier (assuming a win over St. Bonaventure on Wednesday).
NCAA LOCKS: Saint Joseph's.
WHO HAS THE MOST AT STAKE: Dayton should remove all at-large trepidation with a home-court win over Massachusetts or Duquesne Thursday. The same is true of Xavier, with the expected victory over St. Bonaventure and certainly with an upset of Saint Joseph's. A trip to the conference final Saturday for Richmond would make it tough to not give the Spiders one of the 34 bids. Would the committee deprive Saint Joseph's of a No. 1 seed with an early loss?
PROBABLE WINNER: Saint Joseph's.
BIG EAST
BEST EARLY ROUND MATCHUP: Thursday quarterfinal, Connecticut vs. Notre Dame (assuming an Irish victory over West Virginia on Wednesday).
NCAA LOCKS: Boston College, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Providence, Seton Hall and Syracuse.
WHO HAS THE MOST AT STAKE: Notre Dame (16-11, 9-7) closed the regular season with three wins in a row. Would a victory against West Virginia be enough to get the Irish over the at-large hump? It's unlikely, so Mike Brey's team should plan on finding a way to survive at least until Friday night. Pittsburgh (27-3, 13-3) will have a strong argument for a No. 1 seed with a Madison Square Garden sweep.
PROBABLE WINNER: Pittsburgh.
BIG TEN
BEST EARLY ROUND MATCHUP: Friday quarterfinal, Iowa vs. Michigan.
NCAA LOCKS: Illinois, Michigan State and Wisconsin.
WHO HAS THE MOST AT STAKE: The winner of Iowa (16-11, 9-7) vs. Michigan (17-10, 8-8) puts itself into viable at-large contention by also reaching the final Saturday.
PROBABLE WINNER: Illinois.
BIG 12
BEST EARLY ROUND MATCHUP: Friday quarterfinal, Colorado vs. Texas Tech.
NCAA LOCKS: Kansas, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech.
WHO HAS THE MOST AT STAKE: Colorado (18-9, 10-6) would snag a second consecutive bid by knocking off Texas Tech. Missouri (15-12, 9-7) and Oklahoma (18-9, 8-8) both need two wins to feel good about at-large resumes.
PROBABLE WINNER: Oklahoma State.
C-USA
BEST EARLY ROUND MATCHUP: Thursday quarterfinal, DePaul vs. Marquette.
NCAA LOCKS: Alabama-Birmingham, Charlotte, Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville and Memphis.
WHO HAS THE MOST AT STAKE: Marquette (17-10, 8-8) would be hard to turn down with three more wins to put it in the conference final. But could this conference REALLY have SEVEN teams in the tourney?
PROBABLE WINNER: Cincinnati.
MOUNTAIN WEST
BEST EARLY ROUND MATCHUP: Thursday quarterfinal, UNLV vs. New Mexico.
NCAA LOCKS: Air Force and BYU.
WHO HAS THE MOST AT STAKE: Utah (21-8, 9-5) needs two wins (vs. San Diego State and probably BYU) to make it too difficult for the selection committee to turn thumbs down on it.
PROBABLE WINNER: BYU.
PAC 10
BEST EARLY ROUND MATCHUP: Thursday quarterfinal, USC vs. Arizona.
NCAA LOCKS: Arizona and Stanford.
WHO HAS THE MOST AT STAKE: Washington (17-10, 12-6) SHOULD be in, regardless. But the Huskies better beat UCLA for the first time in three meetings just to be safe. A first-round loss by Stanford (26-1, 17-1) to Washington State could cost the Cardinal the No. 1 seed that it has earned since mid-November.
PROBABLE WINNER: Arizona.
SEC
BEST EARLY ROUND MATCHUP: Thursday first round, Alabama vs. Tennessee.
Frank Burlison / Special to FOXSports.com
NCAA LOCKS: Florida, Kentucky and Mississippi State
WHO HAS THE MOST AT STAKE: Alabama (vs. Tennessee), Vanderbilt (vs. Mississippi) and South Carolina (vs. Arkansas) could bounce off the at-large safety net with first-round losses. LSU, which has a bye into the quarterfinals, has lost five of its past six games so needs a quarterfinal win (vs. South Carolina or Arkansas) or it could be very disappointed on Sunday. Mississippi State and Kentucky are both in contention for No. 1 seeds.
PROBABLE WINNER: Kentucky.
WAC
BEST EARLY ROUND MATCHUP: Thursday quarterfinal, Rice vs. Hawaii.
NCAA LOCKS: None, but Nevada and UTEP or Boise State will have solid at-large qualifications if they're still playing Saturday night.
WHO HAS THE MOST AT STAKE: This is the most wide open of the major tournaments. Any of six teams could win it.
PROBABLE WINNER: Nevada.