Indiana lost to lowly Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament, and that may be enough to keep the Hoosiers out of the NCAA Tournament. Indiana was a bubble team to begin with before losing to the 15th-seeded team in its conference. The Indiana men haven’t reached the Big Dance since 2023. Luckily for the Hoosiers, they weren’t the only bubble team that took a rough loss. Texas fell to 15th-seeded Mississippi in the SEC Tournament, and Cincinnati went down in overtime to UCF in the Big 12. SMU nearly beat Louisville in the ACC, but the Mustangs lost by four.

Cincinnati coach Wes Miller insists that his team deserves an NCAA Tournament spot after losing in overtime to UCF on Thursday at the Big 12 Tournament. The Bearcats blew an eight-point lead in regulation. That loss will make Selection Sunday tense, even though Cincinnati won six of its last eight regular-season Big 12 games and beat Utah in the conference tourney. Miller has had five winning seasons at Cincinnati but has yet to take the Bearcats to the NCAA Tournament. He went twice with UNC Greensboro.

Louisville freshman Mikel Brown Jr. is hoping he'll be ready to play in March Madness. The high-end NBA prospect is sitting out the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament due to a back injury. He had missed eight games earlier this season with the injury. Then he missed the last two games of the regular season. Brown spoke to reporters Wednesday after the 24th-ranked Cardinals beat SMU in the ACC Tournament's second round. Brown says he's focused on rehab work in hopes of being ready to play in the NCAA Tournament next week.

Jamichael Stillwell had 17 points and 15 rebounds, Riley Kugel added 15 points and eighth-seeded UCF beat No. 9 seed Cincinnati 66-65 in overtime in the Big 12 Tournament. John Bol also had 13 points for the Knights, who trailed by as many as 12 in regulation. They had to watch as the Bearcats’ Jalen Celestine missed a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left in overtime to earn a date with top-ranked Arizona on Thursday. Moustapha Thiam had 18 points and 16 boards to lead the Bearcats, while Day Day Thomas had all of their seven points in overtime and finished with 15.

Zuby Ejiofor has won the Big East Player of the Year award after powering St. John’s to its second consecutive regular-season championship. Shaheen Holloway of Seton Hall was selected the league’s Coach of the Year, and Marquette guard Nigel James Jr. took Freshman of the Year honors. Ejiofor and Holloway were unanimous choices in balloting by conference head coaches, who were not allowed to pick members of their own teams. The prizes were presented during a ceremony at Madison Square Garden about 2 1/2 hours before the Big East Tournament tipped off. The same trio was feted with similar league accolades Tuesday by The Associated Press.

Ryan Conwell hit two key shots in the final 1:17 and finished with 16 points as No. 24 Louisville battled back to beat SMU 62-58 and advance to the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament quarterfinals. Adrian Wooley added 14 points and Isaac McKneely had 10 for the Cardinals (23-9), who’ll face Miami on Thursday. Jarron Pierre Jr. had 17 points and Jaden Toombs added 13 points and nine rebounds for SMU (20-13), which led by six in the second half before Louisville stormed back behind three inside baskets from Vangelis Zougris. Louisville played without star freshman Mikel Brown Jr., who is out for the tournament with a back injury.

The Miami RedHawks have already reached a milestone by becoming the fifth men’s Division I program this century to go undefeated during the regular season. However, Travis Steele’s team knows the stakes rise when the Mid-American Conference tournament begins Thursday morning in Cleveland against UMass. The No. 20 RedHawks (31-0) are the first squad since Gonzaga in 2020-21 to not have a loss going into the conference tournament. St. Joseph (2003-04), Wichita State (2013-14), and Kentucky (2014-15) also went unbeaten through the regular season. St. Joseph in 2003-04 is the only team this century to get tripped up in its conference tournament.

Otega Oweh scored 23 points, including a key jumper with 1:12 remaining, and Brandon Garrison added 17 points off the bench as No. 9 seed Kentucky beat 16th-seeded LSU 87-82 in the opening game of the SEC Tournament. Kentucky (20-12) advances to play No. 8 seed Missouri in the second round on Thursday. The Wildcats had not played on a Wednesday at this tournament since the SEC brought the event back in 1979. Garrison, who entered with just two made 3-pointers on the season, made back-to-back 3-pointers during an 8-0 run that gave Kentucky a 73-64 lead with 9:32 remaining. Oweh grabbed his own miss and brought it out to the 3-point arc before sinking a jumper from the free-throw line for an 83-76 lead.

The NCAA selection committee says it sticks to the usual rules for the March Madness bracket, even with travel and injury issues. On Wednesday, chair Keith Gill said organizers see more pressure on charter flights and security this year. He pointed to the partial government shutdown, spring break travel, and heavy demand for planes. The NCAA has already warned schools about fewer charter options and possible TSA delays. Teams still have to travel, and winners get priority during the busiest times.

Wright State wins the Horizon League title with a late rally and holds off Detroit Mercy, 66-63. On Tuesday night, the top seed trails by 12 and then explodes on a 25-7 run. Logan Woods hits back-to-back threes to push the Raiders ahead late. Detroit Mercy pulls within two on a TJ Nadeau three with nine seconds left. Michael Cooper misses two free throws, so the Titans get one last chance. Kellen Pickett blocks Orlando Lovejoy at the rim. TJ Burch leads the comeback with 19 points.