It’s that time of the year in college basketball.
The snow is melting. The days are lengthening. Games involving Maine and Idaho are gaining importance outside the Pine Tree and Gem States, respectively.
Yes, it’s conference tournament week throughout the land. Play began on Monday and through Sunday, March 15, 31 Division I men’s college basketball tournaments will be staged, and 31 conference tournament champions will be crowned. Each will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, a prestigious honor for any program as well as traditionally the only way into the tournament for members of conferences in the distant past. The full men’s conference tournament schedule can be found here, from the Ohio Valley’s event in Evansville, Ind., to the Big Ten’s in Chicago.
Sunday afternoon’s Atlantic Sun title game pit two programs looking to reach their first Division I NCAA tournament against one another: top-seeded Central Arkansas and third-seeded Queens. Bears senior guard Camren Hunter was unstoppable, scoring 49, but it came in a losing effort, thanks to an impressive outing by the Royals. Chris Ashby was lights out for Queens, knocking down 10-of-19 shots—all from three-point range—en route to 34 points in the 98–93 overtime win. We should have plenty of incredible basketball ahead of us this month, but the ASUN title game could go down on the shortlist of its best games.
Here, in tabular form, is a look at every team that has clinched a bid to the Big Dance thus far—as well as when each team last made the tournament.
NCAA men’s tournament automatic bids won so far
CONFERENCE
WINNER
FIRST TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE SINCE…
Atlantic Sun
Queens
First in program history
Big South
High Point
2025
Missouri Valley
Northern Iowa
2016
Ohio Valley
Tennessee State
1994
Northeast
Long Island*
2018
*Long Island earns autobid regardless of Northeast title game result with Mercyhurst ineligible.
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