Although the five conferences used to stretch their tournaments over two weekends, the four power conferences have now decided to play concurrently. This means get your couch and food-delivery app properly prepared because you will be glued to your television from Thursday until Sunday.

This season, with more teams (than we can recall in recent memory) standing as viable contenders, the difference between a No. 1 and a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament is significant. And the fight to earn a top-four seed (getting to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament) is as tight as ever. Consequential games will be played across the country this weekend, with every result adding to their final résumés for the selection committee.

With so many important games happening across multiple conferences, consider this your viewing guide for both how to watch and for whom to watch out. Some teams might be sleepers in their respective conference tournaments, which stand to move up a seed or two (buy), and there are others that, though ranked, might be slipping from their perches (sell).

Conference by conference, we’ll take you through what you need to know.

ACC

How to watch

The Greensboro, N.C., tournament begins on Wednesday, but the top four seeds don’t hit the court until Friday as NC State, Notre Dame, Duke and Florida State received double byes. The first two rounds will be shown exclusively on the ACC Network; the quarterfinals will be split between the ACC Network and ESPN2.

Semifinals: noon and 2:30 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2)

Championship: 1 p.m. Sunday (ESPN)

Buy: Louisville

Sitting at 20-9 (13-5 ACC), it’s clear the Cardinals have had an up-and-down season. But over the final month of the season, Louisville went 5-2, including road wins over ranked Florida State and Duke.

In that stretch, the Cardinals lost by four at home to North Carolina. It was a game in which the Tar Heels hit 10 triples (neutralizing the Cardinals’ 42-27 advantage on the glass), and Tajianna Roberts and Olivia Cochran — Louisville’s second- and third-leading scorers, respectively — went cold from the floor. If Louisville’s big three (Roberts, Cochran and Jayda Curry) can put together a cohesive performance, they’d be looking at a rematch against Duke (a team the Cardinals already beat) in the quarterfinals and a potential rematch with Notre Dame in the semis. The Fighting Irish already took down Louisville twice this season, but the adage goes that it’s tough to beat a team three times in one season.

Sell: Georgia Tech

There were a few options to sell in the ACC. It’s certainly worrisome that North Carolina starters Alyssa Ustby and Reniya Kelly were absent from their final two regular-season games against Duke and Virginia (Ustby had missed the previous two games as well).

Cal has been a weapon this season when hitting from long range, but in seven of its final 11 games this season, the Bears have failed to connect on more than 30 percent on 3-pointers.

Instead, we recommend selling Georgia Tech, which dropped its final four regular-season games after rising as high as No. 13 in The Associated Press poll. The Yellow Jackets’ defense has recently collapsed, conceding an average of 76.8 points over the last five games, and the interior defense has been particularly bad. Opponents are shooting 61.3 percent on 2s during this stretch and scoring 38 points per game in the paint.

Georgia Tech’s midrange-heavy offense — lacking many 3s or free throws — has been ill-equipped to keep up. Georgia Tech at least secured a first-round bye, but its first matchup is against Virginia Tech, which delivered the Yellow Jackets their first loss of the season and scored 105 points in the process, albeit in double overtime.

There is hope for Georgia Tech if Nell Fortner brings back the starting lineup (Kara Dunn, Tonie Morgan, Ines Noguero, Zoesha Smith and Ariadna Termis) that went 13-2 during the regular season. However, that five hasn’t started together since Jan. 12, despite each player being available, and the Yellow Jackets haven’t looked the same since.

Big Ten

Like the ACC, the top four seeds in the Big Ten have a double-bye and won’t see the court until Friday in Indianapolis. Peacock will stream first-round games (No. 12 Washington vs. No. 13 Minnesota, No. 10 Nebraska vs. No. 15 Rutgers, No. 11 Iowa vs. No. 14 Wisconsin), and the Big Ten Network will broadcast Thursday’s second-round games and Friday’s quarterfinals.

Semifinals: 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Saturday (BTN)

Championship: 4:30 p.m. Sunday (CBS)

Buy: Iowa

Don’t expect the Hawkeyes to make a national title appearance run like the last two seasons. But if we’re looking at teams we think might overachieve their conference tournament seeding, Iowa seems like a good bet.

The Hawkeyes drew No. 14 seed Wisconsin in the first round, and the Hawkeyes are coming off a 15-point season-closing win over the Badgers, so there’s certainly a road map to victory. In the second round, Iowa would face Michigan State.

The Spartans have had an impressive season in coach Robyn Fralick’s second year, and they beat Iowa by two in mid-December. But since then, not only has Iowa grown up, but it also moved Hannah Stuelke back to the five from the four, where she was primarily playing in that initial matchup with the Spartans. With Stuelke back in her more natural role, the Hawkeyes play more undersized against opponents, but the offense specifically has established a better flow. Also, Lucy Olsen has settled into her role, leading Iowa in scoring in five of its last six games.

If the Hawkeyes get past Michigan State, it’d be a rematch with Ohio State. These teams faced off in mid-February and after trailing most of the game, Iowa forced overtime by outscoring the Buckeyes 53-40 in the second half. It’s not out of the question that we could see Iowa as a No. 11-seeded team playing on Saturday in the Big Ten tournament.

Sell: Ohio State

There are no obvious underperforming Big Ten teams relative to their seed, but Ohio State has concerns heading into the conference tournament. As the No. 1-seeded team last year, the Buckeyes were routed by 21 points in the first round. That was the third time in the Kevin McGuff era when Ohio State was the top team during the regular season but didn’t win the tournament title, so the Buckeyes aren’t always the safest bet during this particular week.

Ohio State has been upset twice during the Big Ten regular season, including losing to Penn State, which didn’t even make the conference tournament field, though Buckeyes’ freshman star Jaloni Cambridge was unavailable for that game. (On a side note, how did the 18-team Big Ten and ACC decide to limit their conference tournaments to 15 teams? Wouldn’t 16 have been a more natural number for this format?)

Two of the Buckeyes’ last four wins came in overtime — both at home — which indicates their record could be somewhat inflated. Ohio State’s hallmark defense hasn’t been stout in recent games, either.

Big 12

All Big 12 games until the conference championship will be broadcast on ESPN+, and like other power conference leagues, the top four seeds won’t begin playing until Friday. The one difference is that if No. 12-seeded BYU makes the title game, the championship will take place on Monday.

Semifinals: 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Saturday (ESPN+)

Championship: 5 p.m. Sunday (ESPN)

Buy: Iowa State

Kansas City is again hosting the Big 12 championship — an easy three-and-a-half-hour drive from Ames, Iowa. Every year, Cyclones fans pack the arena, making it a relative home court for Iowa State, especially when facing opponents not from Kansas, a matchup that can’t happen until at least the semifinals. Considering how well the Cyclones show at Hilton Coliseum, that’s a big advantage.

Iowa State comes into the conference tournament on a run, winning six of its last seven, including a dominant performance over Kansas State in the regular-season finale. During this stretch, the Cyclones’ offensive rating was 113.1 points per 100 possessions, an improvement on their 20th-ranked offense.

They’ve been on a 3-point hot streak, making 39.6 of their attempts. Audi Crooks has been particularly effective, averaging 23.7 points and 8.6 rebounds while making 65 percent of her shots. A team that can get hot with the crowd behind it will be a tough opponent in March.

Sell: Kansas State

When 6-foot-7 center Ayoka Lee is healthy, Kansas State is one of the toughest matchups because of her efficiency. But herein lies the problem: When Lee is healthy, that is true, but that hasn’t been a consistent trend during Lee’s five-year career with the Wildcats.

She has played in 19 of 31 games this season, and in those, she has played just 18-and-a-half minutes a game (which makes her averages of 19 points, six rebounds and two blocks even more bonkers). When Lee balances the perimeter play of Serena Sundell, Jaelyn Glenn and Taryn Sides, Kansas State is tough. When she’s not playing, the Wildcats are too one-dimensional.

SEC

The SEC Network will broadcast the first two rounds on Wednesday and Thursday. No. 1-seeded South Carolina and No. 4-seeded Kentucky will have their Friday quarterfinal games broadcast on ESPN, while the SEC Network will air the games of No. 2 Texas and No. 3 LSU. The semifinals and the title game are exclusively on ESPN.

Semifinals: 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2)

Championship: 3 p.m. Sunday (ESPN)

Buy: Ole Miss

The SEC’s No. 1 seed was determined by a coin flip, giving South Carolina the edge over Texas. How much of an edge that gives South Carolina is unclear. But another big winner from that coin flip was Ole Miss.

The No. 7-seeded Rebels have a first-round bye but will face the winner of Mississippi State-Missouri in the second round. If they advance, they’ll face the No. 2 seed. Ole Miss lost to South Carolina and Texas during the regular season, but it was a 16-point defeat to the Gamecocks and a three-point loss to the Longhorns. Texas certainly appears to be the more favorable opponent with a trip to the SEC semis on the line.

Beyond the bracket, Ole Miss is a tough team. Its defense keeps the Rebels in almost any game. Of their nine losses this season, only three have come by double-digits and their average margin of defeat was less than eight points a game.

Some losses were head-scratchers (ahem, that two-point loss to Texas A&M), in addition to that close loss to Texas, but they’ve also played competitively against several top-10 teams this season including USC (two-point loss), UConn (13-point loss, but down six heading into the fourth) and NC State (seven-point loss).

Sell: Tennessee

The Lady Vols enter the SEC tournament as the No. 9-seeded team, meaning they’ll have to win five games in five days to capture the title, and that’s a tall task even with Tennessee’s deep rotation. More importantly, the Lady Vols are just not playing well. Tennessee has lost two consecutive games, both embarrassing in different ways, and now its best player, Talaysia Cooper, is dealing with a sprained ankle.

There’s also the issue that SEC teams are starting to catch on to Kim Caldwell’s unique style of play. Every opponent in the conference tournament will be playing the Vols for at least the second time, and that will diminish some of the element of surprise when facing Tennessee’s pressure. Even though the Lady Vols impressed during the nonconference season and could still be a threat to make noise in the NCAA Tournament, their ability to win multiple games against familiar opposition is in question.

Other notable conferences to monitor this weekend

Big East

Championship: 7 p.m. Monday (FS1)

In ’s most recent Bracket Watch, Mark Schindler placed two qualifying Big East teams in the NCAA Tournament — UConn and Creighton. Both are ranked in the top 25, but the real team to watch here — in terms of Final Four implications — is UConn. Does Paige Bueckers crank up her game another level, as she did last year, to push the Huskies deeper into March? Can freshman Sarah Strong continue to play well beyond her years to be their X-factor? Will Azzi Fudd (with her perfect jumper) find another level, as we’ve seen at times this season, to become the scoring threat that makes UConn a serious contender in the national title race?

West Coast Conference

Championship: 4 p.m. Tuesday (ESPN2)

Former Pac-12 members Oregon State and Washington State have found themselves in a must-win scenario. and ESPN project the WCC as a one-bid league, so the only team getting through will likely be the conference champ. Wazzu has been in a similar scenario before, winning the 2023 Pac-12 tournament title as a No. 5 seed. But do the Cougars and Beavers have enough to upset the Zags? Gonzaga has won 19 of the last 21 West Coast Conference tournament titles.

Summit

Championship: 4 p.m. Sunday (CBS Sports Network)

South Dakota State completed its third consecutive undefeated Summit League regular season with a 16-0 record. With that championship, the Jackrabbits entered the AP poll at No. 25.

SDSU has made the Big Dance in 12 of the last 15 seasons, earning its highest seeding in 2019 as a No. 6 (the Jackrabbits advanced to the third round and lost to Oregon). They have wins over Creighton and Oregon this season, as well as a four-point loss to Duke, all of whom are projected to make the NCAA Tournament. Can the Jackrabbits extend their streak through the tournament and shock teams in March Madness?

Atlantic 10

Championship: 4 p.m. Sunday (ESPN2)

Richmond won the regular season for the second straight year under coach Aaron Roussell, but with only one Quad 1 win (against Oklahoma State), it likely still needs an automatic bid to make it back to the NCAA Tournament.

The Spiders’ lone conference loss came against Fordham, which is the No. 8 seed and could be their quarterfinal opponent. Other than that defeat, Richmond’s toughest opponent was No. 4-seeded Saint Joseph’s, which came within eight points in both meetings. If juniors Maggie Doogan and Rachel Ullstrom are shooting as well as they have all season (each made at least 63 percent of their 2-pointers and 38 percent of their 3s), the Spiders should make it through the Atlantic-10 field.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Kansas State Wildcats, Washington State Cougars, Ohio State Buckeyes, Oregon State Beavers, Tennessee Lady Volunteers, Ole Miss Rebels, South Dakota State Jackrabbits, Richmond Spiders, Louisville Cardinals, Iowa Hawkeyes, Iowa State Cyclones, Connecticut Huskies, Women's College Basketball, Women's NCAA Tournament

2025 The Athletic Media Company