The winners of the NCAA’s 32 Division I conferences each earn automatic bids to the NCAA tournament – but 9 of those conference slots are still up in the air with one week of the regular season remaining. Who’s in and who’s out? Check out our quick analysis of the possible scenarios in each conference:
First off, here’s all the conference champs who have clinched their honors as of Tuesday morning:
| Conference | Champ |
| America East | New Hampshire (20-10) |
| Atlantic 10 | Dayton (30-1) |
| Atlantic Sun | Lipscomb (22-7) |
| Big Sky | North Dakota (26-9) |
| Big South | High Point (23-9) |
| Big West | Hawaii (22-5) |
| CAA | James Madison (20-10) |
| C-USA | Western Kentucky (30-2) |
| Horizon | Cleveland State (25-5) |
| Ivy League | Princeton (19-4) |
| MAAC | Fairfield (28-5) |
| MAC | Northern Illinois (25-5) |
| MEAC | Howard (25-5) |
| Mountain West | Boise State (24-6) |
| NEC | LIU Brooklyn (15-14) |
| Ohio Valley | Murray State (23-8) |
| Patriot | American (26-7) |
| SoCon | Samford (21-13) |
| Southland | Corpus Christi (24-7) |
| Sun Belt | Coastal Carolina (27-4) |
| SWAC | Alabama State (24-8) |
| Summit League | Denver (23-7) |
| WAC | UT Rio Grande Valley (21-13) |
The conferences still up in the air are the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC, American Athletic, Big East, Missouri Valley and West Coast Conferences. Here’s what each team needs to clinch at least a share of their conference championship.
ACC:
The UNC Tar Heels are currently leading by two games over Florida State and Duke. North Carolina would have to lose both of its games this week (Wednesday vs Duke, Saturday vs Wake Forest) and have either Duke (at UNC, at NC State) or FSU (home vs Clemson, home vs Georgia Tech) win out for the conference champ to change.
| Team | Conference Record | Wed | Sat | Needs: |
| UNC | 17-1 | vs Duke | vs Wake Forest | Win or Duke + FSU losses |
| Duke | 15-3 | @ UNC | @ NC State | 2 wins + UNC loss to Wake Forest |
| FSU | 15-3 | vs Clemson | vs Georgia Tech | 2 wins + 2 UNC losses |
Big Ten:
#1 Nebraska leads, but all three top teams (Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota) will play each other this week. Minnesota is currently third, but plays Nebraska Wednesday and Wisconsin Saturday, both at home.
| Team | Conference Record | Wed | Sat | Needs: |
| Nebraska | 17-1 | @ Minnesota | vs Michigan | 2 wins or 1 win + Wisconsin loss |
| Wisconsin | 16-2 | vs Iowa | @ Minnesota | 2 wins + Nebraska loss |
| Minnesota | 15-3 | vs Clemson | vs Georgia Tech | 2 wins + Nebraska loss to Michigan |
Big 12:
Kansas only needs to beat Baylor on the road this week to clinch. Texas could force a tie with a win over West Virginia and a Kansas loss.
| Team | Conference Record | Sat | Needs: |
| Kansas | 14-1 | @ Baylor | win or Texas loss |
| Texas | 13-2 | vs West Virginia | win + Kansas loss |
Pac-12:
Washington and UCLA are currently tied for the conference lead and will play – likely for the Pac-12 title – in Seattle Wednesday. Both teams also have a Saturday match. Stanford is one game back and needs some help to win the conference.
| Team | Conference Record | Wed: | Sat: | Needs: |
| Washington | 14-4 | vs UCLA | @ Washington State | 2 Wins or 1 Win + 2 UCLA losses |
| UCLA | 14-4 | @ Washington | @USC | 2 Wins or 1 Win + 2 Washington losses |
| Stanford | 13-5 | vs Oregon | vs Cal | 2 Wins + Saturday loss for UCLA/ Washington winner |
SEC:
The SEC could come right down to the wire, with Kentucky just a half-game ahead of Florida and Mizzou. The Gators have winnable matches against Auburn and Arkansas this week, Missouri gets Georgia and Tennessee, and Kentucky has only one match left, on the road at Tennessee. Texas A&M isn’t technically eliminated either, but would need to win out against LSU and Auburn, plus get a lot of help to win the SEC.
| Team | Conference Record | Wed: | Fri/Sat: | Needs: |
| Kentucky | 15-2 | @ Tennessee | — | Win |
| Florida | 14-2 | vs Auburn | @ Arkansas | 2 Wins or Win + Kentucky loss + Missouri loss |
| Missouri | 14-2 | @ Georgia | vs Tennessee | 2 Wins or Win + Kentucky loss + Florida loss |
| Texas A&M | 13-3 | vs LSU | @ Auburn | 2 Wins + Kentucky loss + Florida loss + Missouri loss |
AAC:
SMU controls its own fate in the American, with a one-game lead over Cincinnati. Temple is two games back, but does have a chance to close that gap with a win over SMU on Wednesday.
| Team | Conference Record | Wed: | Fri/Sat: | Needs: |
| SMU | 16-2 | @ Temple | @ UConn | Win |
| Cincinnati | 15-3 | vs East Carolina | @ Memphis | 2 Wins + SMU loss or 1 win + 2 SMU losses + Temple loss |
| Temple | 14-4 | vs SMU | vs Tulsa | 2 Wins + SMU loss to UConn + 1 Cincinnati loss |
Big East:
The Big East tournament begins Friday, with semifinal matches between top-seeded Creighton and #4 Seton Hall, plus #2 Marquette taking on 3-seed Xavier. The final is on Saturday between the winners of those two matches.
Missouri Valley:
The hunt for the MVC title begins on Thursday with two quarterfinal matchups: Illinois State vs Southern Illinois and Loyola vs UNI. Top seeds Missouri State and Wichita State have byes until Friday, and the winners of those two semifinals meet Saturday for the conference title and the NCAA bid.
West Coast:
The WCC title is also down to the final game of the season. BYU and San Diego are tied for the lead at 15-2 in the conference. BYU heads to Loyola Marymount while San Diego plays Pepperdine, also on the road. Wins for both will force a tie, as will losses for both. If one team wins and the other loses, the winning team earns the conference title.
| Team | Conference Record | Tues: | Needs: |
| BYU | 15-2 | @ Loyola Marymount | Win |
| San Diego | 15-2 | @ Pepperdine | Win |
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