Thirty-two NCAA Division I men's basketball conferences will crown champions over a nine-day stretch that begins Saturday with the Ohio Valley Conference tournament final and comes to an end with five leagues -- the Ivy League, Atlantic 10, SEC, American and Big Ten -- all determining their champions on March 13.
Who will earn the automatic bid in each conference? ESPN's college basketball experts -- Myron Medcalf, Jeff Borzello, John Gasaway and Joe Lunardi -- issued their picks below, with leagues listed in the order that tickets will be punched. Click here for updated Bracketology from ESPN's Joe Lunardi and Bubble Watch analysis from John Gasaway. Follow this link for 2022 NCAA tournament dates, venues and the complete schedule for each round.
(Also, remain on the lookout for ESPN's Champ Week Challenge and ESPN's Tournament Challenge.)
Consensus picks:
American: Houston (unanimous)
ACC: Duke (unanimous)
America East: Vermont (unanimous)
Atlantic 10: St. Bonaventure
ASUN: Liberty
Big East: Villanova
Big Sky: No consensus (Montana State, Southern Utah)
Big South: Winthrop
Big 12: Texas Tech
Big Ten: No consensus (Illinois, Iowa, Purdue, Wisconsin)
Big West: UC Irvine
CAA: Towson (unanimous)
Conference USA: North Texas (unanimous)
Horizon: Cleveland State
Ivy: Princeton
MAAC: Iona (unanimous)
MAC: Ohio
MEAC: Norfolk State
Missouri Valley: Loyola Chicago (unanimous)
Mountain West: San Diego State
Northeast: Bryant
Ohio Valley: Murray State (unanimous)
Pac-12: Arizona (unanimous)
Patriot: Colgate (unanimous)
SEC: Kentucky
Southern: Chattanooga (unanimous)
Southland: Nicholls
Summit: South Dakota State (unanimous)
Sun Belt: Texas State
SWAC: Texas Southern
WAC: New Mexico State (unanimous)
West Coast: Gonzaga (unanimous)