Selection Sunday

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Today is the big day. 27 teams have already punched their ticket to the Big Dance by winning their conference tournament (listed below). Only four conference championships remain (SEC, ACC, Atlantic-10, Big 10) today with potential #1 seeds on the line. For teams like Virginia, Maryland, Ole Miss, and Tennessee, who are all on the bubble, today is going to be a day of waiting and hoping to get a chance in the NCAA Tournament. 

Automatic Bids Secured

America East		Albany
Atlantic Sun		Florida Gulf Coast
Big 12		Kansas
Big East		Louisville
Big Sky		Montana
Big South		Liberty
Big West		Pacific
Colonial		James Madison
Conference USA		Memphis
Horizon		Valparaiso
Ivy League		Harvard
MAAC		Iona
MAC		Akron
MEAC		North Carolina A&T
Missouri Valley		Creighton
Mountain West		New Mexico
Northeast		LIU Brooklyn
Ohio Valley		Belmont
Pac-12		Oregon
Patriot		Bucknell
Southern		Davidson
Southland		Northwestern State
Summit		South Dakota State
Sun Belt		Western Kentucky
SWAC West Coast WAC		Southern Gonzaga New Mexico State

For all the matchups and to find out which teams get the 37 at-large bids and which do not, be sure to watch the NCAA Tournament Selection Show tonight at 6 PM ET (5 CT) on CBS, and then come back here for a printable bracket/analysis.

Brandon Paul Lifts Illinois

Ah, the sounds of Gus Johnson calling a March college basketball game. Brandon Paul hits the game winner as Illinois outlasts Minnesota 51-49 in the first round of the Big 10 Tournament in Chicago. The Illini will play top seeded Indiana tomorrow in the quarterfinals, as Championship Week continues around the country, ahead of Selection Sunday this weekend.

NFL Free Agency Frenzy

UPDATE 3/13/2013 4:44 PM CT

Broncos Get Welker
In a stunner, the Denver Broncos sign WR Wes Welker away from the New England Patriots for two years, $12 million.
Seahawks Get Harvin

Seattle boosts its wide receiving core, acquiring WR Percy Harvin from the Minnesota Vikings for a first round pick.

49ers Acquire Boldin

The NFC Champions steal WR Anquan Boldin from the cap-ridden Baltimore Ravens in exchange for a sixth round pick.
Lions Sign Bush, Quin
Detroit signs ex-Dolphin RB Reggie Bush to a 4 year, $16 million deal. In addition, Detroit agrees to terms with former Texan FS Glover Quin.

Dolphins Land Wallace

Miami signs ex-Steeler WR Mike Wallace to a five year, $60 million contract.

Eagles Sign Casey

Former Texans FB/TE James Casey signs with the Philadelphia Eagles for 3 years, $14.5 million.

Indiana Wins Big 10 Regular Season

In a frenetic finish in Ann Arbor, Indiana emerges with a 72-71 win that gives them the Big 10 Regular Season title outright, and keeps them very much alive for a #1 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament. Cody Zeller, who scored the game winning layup for the Hoosiers led all scorers with 25 points and 10 rebounds, while Trey Burke had 20 in a losing effort for the Wolverines, who went just 1 of 4 from the free throw line down the stretch to blow the game.

Regular Season Finale Buzzer Beaters

Vander Blue's game winning lay-up at the buzzer lifted #15 Marquette to a 69-67 overtime win over St. John's at Madison Square Garden, to helped the Golden Eagles claim a share of the Big East regular season title with Georgetown, which beat Syracuse at home today to claim their share of the Big East title.




Meanwhile, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the Crimson Tide, very much on the bubble, got a half-court heave from Trevor Releford to beat Georgia 61-58 and avoid a bad loss as they head into the SEC Tournament.

Ryan Kelly Leads Duke in Return

Welcome to March. After being out 13 games with a foot injury, Duke senior forward Ryan Kelly returns to score an incredible career-high 36 points to lead #3 Duke to a 79-76 win over #5 Miami Saturday night in Durham. The win prevents Miami from clinching the ACC regular season title outright for at least one more game, while showing that Duke, with Kelly back, is a legitimate national championship contender.

Terrence Ross Wins Dunk Contest

In one of the better dunk contests in a while, in my hometown of Houston, Terence Ross of the Toronto Raptors won the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest, beating defending champion Jeremy Evans of the Utah Jazz in the final round in Houston. Pretty impressive, and was refreshing to have a dunk contest that didn't make you want to pull your eyes out, after the ones in 2010 and 2012.

Earlier in the night, Cavaliers PG Kyrie Irving edged the Spurs' Matt Bonner to win the Three-Point Shootout, Blazers' PG Damian Lillard edged 76ers PG Jrue Holiday in the Skills Challenge, and Team Bosh beat Team Westbrook in the Shooting Stars.

In the team competition, Team West beat Team East 140-125.