March Madness 2023: Tension climbing for bubble teams

March Madness is coming up fast. Here is what to know along withsome key games to watch and who’s on the bubble ahead of SelectionSunday for the NCAA Tournament:

KEY DATES

All eyes will be on the conference tournaments this week:

— The ACC Tournament is March 7-11 in Greensboro, NorthCarolina.

— The Big 12 Tournament is March 8-11 in Kansas City,Missouri.

— The Big Ten Tournament is March 8-12 in Chicago.

— The Big East Tournament is March 8-11 in New York.

— The Pac-12 Tournament is March 8-11 in Las Vegas.

— The SEC Tournament is March 8-12 in Nashville, Tennessee.

MARCH MADNESS

Selection Sunday is March 12, when bracket matchups will be setfor the First Four and first- and second-round games that stretchfrom Florida to California.

Sweet 16 weekend will see games in New York City (East Region),Las Vegas (West), Kansas City, Missouri (Midwest), and Louisville,Kentucky (South).

Where is the Final Four? In Houston, on April 1, with thechampionship game on April 3.

Basketball aficionados, take note: The women’s NCAA Tournamentwill hold its Final Four in Dallas, a four-hour drive up the roadfrom Houston.

BETTING GUIDE

Who’s going to win the national championship? With the regularseason over, the betting favorites as of this week to reach theFinal Four are Houston, Alabama, Kansas and Purdue, according toFanDuel Sportsbook. That matches the top teams in the NCAA’sinitial seed watch. UCLA is in the mix near the top in the AP Top25, too.

WHO’S IN

These teams are already going dancing after landing theirleague’s automatic bid: Kennesaw State (26-8, Atlantic Sun), UNCAsheville (27-7, Big South), Fairleigh Dickinson (19-14,Northeast), Drake (27-7, Missouri Valley), Furman (27-7, Southern),Louisiana-Lafayette (26-7, Sun Belt), Southeast Missouri State(19-16, Ohio Valley), Gonzaga (28-5, West Coast), College ofCharleston (31-3, Colonial Athletic Association), Oral Roberts(30-4, Summit League), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (23-10,Southland), Montana State (25-9, Big Sky), Northern Kentucky(22-12, Horizon League) and Colgate (26-8, Patriot League).

BUBBLE WATCH

Rutgers (19-13). The Scarlet Knights advanced in the Big TenTournament with a 62-50 win over Michigan, another bubble team.Rutgers had dropped five of seven heading into the tournament.

Iowa State (19-12). If the Cyclones still needed a win to crackthe NCAA Tournament field, they got a big one, 78-72 over No. 11Baylor in the Big 12 quarterfinals. It was their third win overBaylor this season and second in five days.

Mississippi State (21-11). The Bulldogs got a much-needed, 69-68overtime win over Florida to boost their candidacy. MississippiState has wins over No. 25 Missouri, No. 22 TCU and No. 18 TexasA&M.

GAME(S) TO WATCH

No. 1 Houston (29-2) vs. East Carolina (16-16), AmericanAthletic quarterfinals, Friday, 1 p.m. Eastern (ESPN2). Leagueplayer of the year Marcus Sasser is trying to lead the Cougars totheir third straight AAC Tournament title. East Carolina advancedwith a 73-58 victory over South Florida.

No. 4 Alabama (26-5) vs. Mississippi State, SEC Tournamentquarterfinals, Friday 1 p.m. Eastern (ESPN). The regular-seasonchampion Crimson Tide have endured slow starts lately but are ledby league player of the year Brandon Miller.

No. 5 Purdue (26-5) vs. Rutgers, Big Ten quarterfinals, Friday,noon Eastern (Big Ten Network). Led by 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey, afavorite to win national player of the year, the Boilermakers areseeking their second Big Ten Tournament championship after winningin 2009.