Basketball
Basketball Arkansas won its first SEC title since 2000 with a win over Vanderbilt, while Purdue upset Michigan in the Big Ten title game
The final five automatic bids to the 2026 NCAA Tournament were handed out on Sunday. The conferences that crowned a champion are the Big Ten, SEC, American, Atlantic 10 and the American.
The first game of the day proved to be one of the best of the entire week. In the Ivy League Tournament Championship, Pennsylvania defeated Yale 88-84 in overtime to punch its ticket to the Big Dance. Penn star TJ Power, a former Duke and Virginia player, knocked down a 3-pointer at the end of regulation to send the game to overtime.
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Power finished with 44 points and 14 rebounds. Penn is coached by former Iowa coach Fran McCaffery. With the win, McCaffery becomes the fifth coach in Division I history to lead at least five different teams to the NCAA Tournament (Lehigh, UNC Greensboro, Siena, Iowa, Penn).
Bracketology winners and losers: UConn, Houston fumble chance at No. 1 seed before Selection Sunday
David Cobb
In the SEC, No. 3 seed Arkansas defeated No. 4 seed Vanderbilt 86-75 in the SEC Tournament title game. The Razorbacks captured their first SEC title since 2000 with the dramatic victory over Vandy. Stud freshman guard Darius Acuff Jr. finished with 30 points and 11 assists. Arkansas coach John Calipari won his first SEC title since 2018, when he was with Kentucky. Calipari brings the Razorbacks a conference title in just his second year in Fayetteville.
Purdue upset Michigan in the Big Ten title game, while South Florida clinched an automatic bid to the Big Dance with a win over Wichita State in the American championship.
Basketball Sunday’s conference tournament schedule
| AAC | Birmingham, Ala. | Finals | Scoreboard |
| Atlantic 10 | Pittsburgh, Pa. | Finals | Scoreboard |
| Big Ten | Chicago | Finals | Scoreboard |
| Ivy League | Ithaca, N.Y. | Finals | Scoreboard |
| SEC | Nashville, Tenn. | Finals | Scoreboard |
Basketball 2025-26 conference tournament champions
| CONFERENCE | DATES | LOCATION | CHAMPIONSHIP (TV) / CHAMPION |
| America East | March 7, 10, 14 | Higher seed hosts | UMBC Retrievers (24-8) |
| American | March 11-15 | Birmingham, Ala. | South Florida Bulls (25-8) |
| Atlantic 10 | March 11-15 | Pittsburgh, Pa. | VCU Rams (27-7) |
| ACC | March 10-14 | Charlotte, N.C. | Duke Blue Devils (32-2) |
| ASUN | March 4,6-8 | Jacksonville, Fla. | Queens Royals (21-13) |
| Big 12 | March 10-14 | Kansas City, Mo. | Arizona Wildcats (32-2) |
| Big East | March 11-14 | New York City | St. John’s Red Storm (28-6) |
| Big Sky | March 7-11 | Boise, Idaho | Idaho Vandals (21-14) |
| Big South | March 4, 6-8 | Johnson City, Tenn. | High Point Panthers (30-4) |
| Big Ten | March 10-15 | Chicago | Purdue Boilermakers (27-8) |
| Big West | March 11-14 | Henderson, Nev. | Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (24-8) |
| CAA | March 6-10 | Washington, D.C. | Hofstra Pride (24-10) |
| Conference USA | March 10-14 | Huntsville, Ala. | Kennesaw State Owls (21-13) |
| Horizon League | March 2,4,8-10 | Indianapolis | Wright State Raiders (23-11) |
| Ivy League | March 14-15 | Ithaca, N.Y. | Pennsylvania Quakers (18-11) |
| MAAC | March 5-10 | Atlantic City, N.J. | Siena Saints (23-11) |
| MAC | March 12-14 | Cleveland | Akron Zips (29-5) |
| MEAC | March 11-14 | Norfolk, Va. | Howard Bison (23-10) |
| Missouri Valley | March 5-8 | St. Louis | Northern Iowa Panthers (23-12) |
| Mountain West | March 11-14 | Las Vegas | Utah State Aggies (28-6) |
| Northeast | March 4,7,10 | Higher seed hosts | Long Island Sharks (24-10) |
| Ohio Valley | March 4-7 | Evansville, Ind. | Tennessee State Tigers (23-9) |
| Patriot League | March 3,5,8,11 | Higher seed hosts | Lehigh Mountain Hawks (18-16) |
| SEC | March 11-15 | Nashville, Tenn. | Arkansas Razorbacks (26-8) |
| SoCon | March 6-9 | Asheville, N.C. | Furman Paladins (22-12) |
| Southland | March 8-11 | Lake Charles, La. | McNeese Cowboys (28-5) |
| SWAC | March 9-14 | Atlanta | Prairie View A&M Panthers (18-17) |
| Summit League | March 4-8 | Sioux Falls, S.D. | North Dakota State Bison (27-7) |
| Sun Belt | March 3-9 | Pensacola, Fla. | Troy Trojans (22-11) |
| West Coast | March 5-10 | Las Vegas | Gonzaga Bulldogs (30-3) |
| WAC | March 11-14 | Las Vegas | California Baptist Lancers (25-8) |
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