Twenty-one spots in the 64-team NCAA Tournament field were clinched in conference tournaments or playoffs last weekend, we also know another handful of teams are in due to regular season titles.
Here we take a look at those teams that have earned automatic berths in leagues without tournaments.
American: Wichita State
The Shockers (26-3) will play in the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year, 11th time in program history and first as a member of the American Athletic Conference after securing the league’s regular season title with a sweep of SMU on Sunday. WSU still has two regular season matches remaining, facing Memphis in a home-and-home series on Wednesday and Friday.
Big West: Cal Poly
The Mustangs (26-2) are in after claiming the outright Big West title with a four-set win over UC Riverside on Friday. Cal Poly wrapped the conference season with an undefeated 16-0 mark, a program first and the first time its happened in the league since Hawai’i did so in 2015. The Mustangs ended the regular season on a 22-match win streak, finishing up with a sweep of Cal State Fullerton on Saturday.
Mountain West: Colorado State
The Rams clinched the Mountain West title back on Nov. 4 with a sweep of Boise State. CSU has gone on to a 27-3 overall mark, including a 17-1 record in MW play. Colorado State is set for one final match before the NCAA Tournament, facing off with UC Davis in non-conference action on Saturday.
Pac-12: Stanford
The Cardinal sewed up the Pac-12 outright title with a sweep of USC on Nov. 15. Stanford (24-3) stands at 17-1 in league action with matches remaining vs. Utah on Wednesday and at California on Saturday.
Still up in the air heading into the final week of regular season play are berths from ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC and WCC.
Louisville and Pitt are tied atop the ACC at 16-2 with two matches left. Texas has clinched a share of the Big 12 crown with two matches remaining. Penn State and Nebraska are tied at 17-1 atop the Big Ten each with two matches to play. Florida and Kentucky are knotted atop the SEC at 15-1 each with two matches left. The WCC race is down to BYU and San Diego, each boasting a 16-1 mark with one match apiece on Tuesday.
Tiebreakers for the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC are among those in our breakdown of what it takes to win a conference title.
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