North Carolina

Three teams (Belmont, Murray State and UNC Asheville) punched their tickets to the NCAA tournament on Saturday.

Saturday's Conference Tournament Primer

NO. 6 NORTH CAROLINA (26-4, 13-2 ACC) AT NO. 3 DUKE (26-4, 13-2 ACC)

 

Time: 7 p.m.

 

#4 Kansas clinched their eighth consecutive Big 12 title with a wild 87-86 overtime win over #3 Missouri, placing head coach Bill Self in some esteemed company. Here are today's "Quick Hitters": 

Late offensive fouls and the foul line made the difference in the first meeting between #5 Kansas (23-5, 13-2) and #3 Missouri (25-3, 12-3), with the Tigers gaining the edge in both categories and ultimately winning 74-71. There's a lot more on the line in the rematch as the Jayhawks can clinch at least a share of the Big 12 regular season title with a win, but a Missouri win would not only move the Tigers into a tie for first but also give them the all-important head-to-head tiebreaker.

NO. 7 NORTH CAROLINA (24-4, 11-2 ACC) AT VIRGINIA (21-6, 8-5 ACC)

 

Time: 4 p.m.

 

This eight-day stretch for Colorado State has the potential to be a season-defining on as Tim Miles' team faces all three of the teams ahead of them in the Mountain West standings. Thanks to Pierce Hornung the Rams are off to a good start, as the senior accounted for 13 points, 15 rebounds and four steals in the 71-63 win at Moby Arena. About a month ago the Lobos embarrassed Colorado State at The Pit, doing whatever they pleased in an 85-52 laugher that was part of a 2-5 stretch for the Rams.

NO. 7 NORTH CAROLINA (23-4, 10-2 ACC) AT NORTH CAROLINA STATE (18-9, 7-5 ACC)

 

Time: 8 p.m.

While Mississippi State's (19-8, 6-6) NCAA tournament prospects won't boil down to just one game there's no mistaking the importance of their game against #1 Kentucky (26-1, 12-0) in light of their three-game losing streak. It's one thing to drop three straight games at this point in the season and another to have those defeats come against Georgia, LSU and Auburn. That's not going to get it done for Rick Stansbury's squad, and their inability to take care of the basketball in recent games has been a big reason why.

ACC - Duke (#4 Coaches Poll, #3 RPI), UNC (#7, 5)

Big 12 - Missouri (#3, 9), Kansas (#5, 6)

Big Ten - Michigan St (#6, 2), Ohio St (#9, 7)

None - This year, no one deserves it

None - On principal, no league should get two #1 seeds