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More conference tournaments enter the fray on Wednesday with the Big 12 and Pac-10 being two of the seven conference tournaments that open. The Big 12 will be of particular interest as two teams playing today can ill-afford a first round loss. Baylor and Colorado are both in need of more wins; how many more is unknown but a loss to either Iowa State or Oklahoma could do irreparable harm to their at-large hopes. The task is simple for the Buffaloes: Alec Burks, Cory Higgins and Levin Knutson need to be on offensively while on the defensive end they have to slow down Diante Garrett.

Three more tickets were punched on Tuesday night with one being snagged by Greg Kampe's Oakland Golden Grizzlies in a 90-76 win over Oral Roberts in the Summit League title game. Regular season and tournament MVP Keith Benson went off for 28 points, 14 rebounds and four assists and Reggie Hamilton added 26 points and six assists as Oakland completed an impressive run through the conference that included just one loss (IUPUI).

In the latest interview in his new "Big Dance" series, CHN writer Jon Teitel spent some time with UNC Asheville head coach Eddie Biedenbach. Coach Biedenbach's Bulldogs won the Big South Tournament last week, winning all three games by double-digit margins including the final at regular season champion Coastal Carolina. Coach Biedenbach has plenty of experience coaching in the NCAA Tournament as both an assistant and a head coach, and in 2003 his Bulldogs made their most recent appearance in the tournament.

It's a mixed bag today as three leagues determine their NCAA Tournament representatives and four others begin their sprint to the finish line. But the preview today will focus on the lone "regular season" game because there's an awful lot riding on it. Rivals Princeton and Pennsylvania meet at the Palestra, and the visiting Tigers need a win to force a playoff with Harvard for the Ivy League title (that game would be played at Yale).

The NCAA Tournament field is now up to seven confirmed members thanks to Monday's results. The two games with the bigger impact on who fills out the field from an at-large standpoint were the CAA and West Coast title games. Out in Las Vegas, Gonzaga regained the crown by beating Saint Mary's behind a balanced effort that saw four players score in double figures. Steven Gray, who had to leave the game in the first half to receive stitches for a cut above his left eye, scored 15 and Robert Sacre added 12 points and eight rebounds (knocking down some crucial free throws late as well).

As we get closer to the NCAA Tournament, CHN writer Jon Teitel will spend some time with players or coaches of teams who have made their way into the field of 68. Today's subject is Belmont head coach Rick Byrd, whose Bruins completed an impressive run in the Atlantic Sun with their conference tournament title game win over North Florida on Saturday. Now 30-4 on the season, Belmont has eleven players averaging at least ten minutes per game and nine average at least five points per game. To say the least there will be concern for whichever team draws the Bruins in the first round.

After Indiana State became the fourth team to punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a 60-56 win over Missouri State in the MVC final, the pace begins to pick up with four more bids on the line tonight. The two biggest games with regards to the field of 68 are likely the CAA and WCC finals, with the possibility of a bid "thief" lurking in the former and a little confusion in terms of whether or not the two finalists have done enough to merit at-large bids in the latter.

By this time next Sunday there will be more than 20 teams guaranteed inclusion in the 2011 NCAA Tournament and the first three tickets were punched on Saturday. UNC Asheville (Big South), Belmont (Atlantic Sun) and Morehead State (Ohio Valley) all won their conference tournament finals while Princeton (Ivy) missed out on a chance to join the fun with their loss at Harvard. Now the Tigers need to beat rival Penn at the Palestra to forge a tie atop the standings, forcing a one-game playoff with Harvard for the Ancient Eight's automatic bid.

With three NCAA Tournament tickets assured of being punched (that number becomes four if Princeton wins at Harvard in a crucial Ivy League tilt), it makes sense to touch on each of those games as opposed to the usual daily preview. The title game in the Atlantic Sun provides a matchup of the prohibitive favorite taking on the underdog, a storyline that usually doesn't come into play for another two weeks.

You know it's March where there's midday college basketball to be discussed. Friday afternoon delivered just six games (one in progress) but there hasn't been a lack of drama. The Colonial, Missouri Valley and Southern conferences all had afternoon doubleheaders in their tournaments, with the MVC in the quarterfinals while the other two leagues are playing first round games today. 

Colonial

(8) Georgia State 58, (9) UNC Wilmington 52