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By Teddy Greenstein

Northwestern vs. Rhode Island, 6 p.m. CT (ESPNU) on Wednesday

What is Jeremy Nash looking forward to about playing in the NIT?

"Winning the whole thing," the Northwestern guard replied. "Making it to Madison Square Garden and winning a championship."

NU's 20-win season has given the seventh-seeded Wildcats a surge a confidence, but their road to New York will be anything but easy.

First up is a Wednesday matchup (6 p.m., ESPNU) against second-seeded Rhode Island, which finished fifth in the Atlantic 10 after going 9-7 in league play and 23-9 overall. The Rams scored non-league wins over Providence, Boston College and Oklahoma State.

And the game will be played at the Thomas M. Ryan Center in Kingston, where Rhode Island is 13-2 this season.

By Brian Hamilton

Notre Dame vs. Old Dominion, 11:25 a.m. CT on Thursday

A big finish led to a big bump in seeding for Notre Dame. But the road out of the Big Easy will be anything but.

The Irish's late-season six-game win streak and run to the Big East tournament semifinals earned them some points in the eyes of the NCAA Tournament selection committee, which placed Notre Dame as a No. 6 seed in the South region.

"I told our guys, they're really to be congratulated on earning a six," Irish coach Mike Brey said Sunday evening. "We thought it was a heck of a run we finished with -- it was probably even better than we thought, to earn a six seed. It says a lot about what this group did to put us in that position."

No. 11 seed Old Dominion will be the first-round opponent in New Orleans on Thursday -- but lurking in the second round is a matchup with No. 3-seed Baylor, a power squad out of the Big 12.

Get your printable blank bracket here

Tribune News Services

Illinois State (22-10) at Dayton (20-12), 6 p.m.

The No. 1 seeds were Illinois, Arizona State, Virginia Tech and Mississippi State, which lost in overtime to Kentucky in the SEC title game on Sunday.

North Carolina was a No. 4 seed in the bracket released Sunday, the second time in the past three years that the defending national champion missed the NCAA tournament. Florida also played in the NIT in 2008 after winning the title.

Connecticut is the other blueblood relegated to the NIT, also picked as a fourth seed after a trying season in which coach Jim Calhoun missed time with a medical condition.

The tournament begins March 16 at campus sites. The championship game is April 1 at Madison Square Garden.

By Chris Hine

CHAMPAIGN -- It's official. The 65-team NCAA field has been revealed, and Illinois is not a part of it.

The Illini, 19-14, will likely be headed to the NIT. The NCAA Tournament committee did not think quality victories over Michigan State, Vanderbilt, Clemson and two over Wisconsin, were good enough to make up for some early stumbles combined with a 10-8 conference mark.

Five teams were selected from the Big Ten: Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Purdue and Minnesota. The Golden Gophers recently knocked off both Michigan State and Purdue in the Big Ten tournament. The NIT selection show is slated for 8 p.m., though if Illinois were selected to host a first-round game, it would not be able to host it because of scheduling conflicts at Assembly Hall.

VOTE: Did Illinois deserve to make the tournament?

Find out where all the other teams landed here.

Get your printable blank bracket here

By Shannon Ryan

The Big East got some major love in the South Region.

Villanova scored a surprisingly high No. 2 seed considering the Wildcats' late-season slide and early exit from the Big East tournament. The Wildcats, which were in the Final Four last season, face No. 15 Robert Morris in Providence.

Notre Dame, which was considered out of the tournament just two weeks ago, earned a No. 6 seed with some impressive late play. The Irish face No. 11 Old Dominion in New Orleans.

No. 9 Louisville, which turned its season around after a rough start, faces No. 8 Cal in Jacksonville.

By Shannon Ryan

Kentucky will head to New Orleans and face another team from its state -- East Tennessee State.

There could be a Big East Sweet 16 if Marquette and West Virginia advance out of their sites. No. 6 Marquette faces No. 11 Washington in San Jose. No. 2 West Virginia faces No. 15 Morgan State in Buffalo.

It's striking how far Texas has fallen. The once No. 1 overall team is a No. 8 seed and faces Wake Forest.

By Shannon Ryan

In the West Region, where Syracuse is a No. 1 seed, three so-called bubble teams found themselves in the field.

No. 12 UTEP play No. 5 Butler in San Jose. No. 10 Florida faces No. 7 BYU in Oklahoma City. No. 11 Minnesota, which was blown out by Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament, faces No. 6 Xavier in Milwaukee.

Syracuse will take on No. 16 Vermont to a friendly crowd in Buffalo, N.Y.

The No. 2 seed in the West is Kansas State.

By Shannon Ryan

Kansas, the overall No. 1 seed, might not have the easiest path to an NCAA title.

The Jayhawks' Midwest bracket features the two teams that beat them this season -- Oklahoma State and Tennessee -- and No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Georgetown. Georgetown lost in the Big East title game and the Buckeyes won the Big Ten tournament.

Kansas faces Lehigh in the first round in Oklahoma City. 

By Shannon Ryan

All four teams picked as the No. 1 seed have a legacy to continue.

Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse and Duke have among the strongest and most storied basketball traditions in the country. Now one of them will try to add to its history with a national title.

Kansas (32-2) is coming off Big 12 regular season and tournament championships are now the overall No. 1 seed of the NCAA tournament headed to the Midwest Region in St. Louis. With blend of youth, experience and intimidating depth, the Jayhawks will go after their second title in three seasons.

Ohio State's David Lighty struggles for control of the ball against Minnesota's Damian Johnson. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Tribune News Services

INDIANAPOLIS -- Evan Turner didn't need any late-game heroics on Sunday.

When it appeared there was nothing more he could do to make his Big Ten tournament performance better, the junior had 31 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 5 Ohio State over Minnesota 90-61 on Sunday in the championship game.

Turner hit a 37-foot shot at the buzzer to beat Michigan in the quarterfinals, then scored 12 of his 31 points after regulation in a double-overtime win over Illinois in the semifinals. On Sunday, he set the tournament record for points in a championship game.

Tribune News Services

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Kyle Singler scored 20 points and Jon Scheyer hit a critical 3-pointer with 18 seconds left to help No. 4 Duke beat Georgia Tech 65-61 in the ACC tournament championship game.

Glenbrook North's Scheyer finished with 16 points for the top-seeded Blue Devils (29-5), who let an 11-point lead with 6 minutes slip all the way to one before Scheyer's big shot. Nolan Smith also had 16 points to help Duke earn a league-record 18th tournament title, breaking a tie with rival North Carolina.

In a tournament filled with upsets, it took a gritty effort from Duke's high-scoring "Big Three" to hold off a determined comeback from the seventh-seeded Yellow Jackets (22-12), who were trying to become the first team in tournament history to win four games in four days.

Duke has won nine of the past 12 ACC tournaments and is in prime position to grab a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Tribune News Services

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- It's like old times in the Atlantic 10, Temple is once again the conference champion.

Ryan Brooks hit four free throws over the final 50 seconds and the top-seeded and 17th-ranked Owls won their third straight conference tournament title, holding off a gutty rally by Richmond for a 56-52 victory in the championship game on Sunday.

Tournament MVP Juan Fernandez scored 18 points and Brooks and Ramone Moore finished with 12 each for Temple (29-5), which earned a third straight automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and its ninth conference title.

Richmond had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds but David Gonzalvez missed a 3-pointer with 7 seconds to play. The third-seeded Spiders (26-8) are likely to get an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament.

Tribune News Services

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- John Wall scored seven of his 15 points in overtime, and No. 2 Kentucky rallied from five down with 2:28 left in regulation to beat Mississippi State 75-74 for the Wildcats' 26th SEC championship.

The Wildcats (32-2) blew earlier chances with their fabulous freshmen Wall and DeMarcus Cousins missing free throws and making youthful mistakes. But they came through at the end as Cousins' layup off Wall's missed 3-pointer from the right corner beat the regulation buzzer to give them some extra time.

Now Kentucky can celebrate its first SEC tournament title since 2004, ending an interminable drought for their fans.

Mississippi State (23-11) lost for the second time to the Wildcats this season after leading late in regulation. The Bulldogs blew a seven-point lead on Feb. 16, and lost that game 81-75 in overtime.

Illinois coach Bruce Weber on his NCAA hopes to ESPN on Sunday:

The Big Ten Network breaks down today's Big Ten title game matchup between Ohio State and Minnesota.

By Shannon Ryan

Get your printable blank bracket here

Some teams' seasons will come to an end, while others' seasons are just getting started.

That's the life of basketball teams living on one side or other of the NCAA tournament bubble.

At 5 p.m., the 2010 NCAA tournament field will be announced. Given the amount of parity in college basketball this season, there will probably be plenty of teams feeling jilted and others vindicated.

Basketball fans eager to fill out a bracket have plenty of questions as they await the unveiling of the 2010 bracket.

Teams like Illinois, Rhode Island, Mississippi State and Virginia Tech will be among the last teams left in or out. The Bulldogs are battling Kentucky for the SEC crown and have a chance at automatically qualifying.

VOTE: Does Illinois deserve to make the tournament?

Video from ESPN.com

Get a printable NCAA bracket here

By Teddy Greenstein

INDIANAPOLIS -- For Purdue, bad was getting obliterated in the first half by the score of 37-11.

Worse was the moment that leading scorer E'Twaun Moore rolled his left ankle after colliding with Minnesota's Damian Johnson. The crowd at Conseco Fieldhouse, 60 miles from Purdue's campus, went silent as Moore hobbled off the floor without the aid of a trainer.

Moore did return to the game and played four minutes in the second half.

By Teddy Greenstein

Can you tell which team is playing for its NCAA tournament life? That would be Minnesota, which is obliterating Purdue in the second semifinals of the Big Ten tournament.

Here's the halftime score: 37-11. Seriously.

Purdue shot 5-for 27 (18.5 percent) with eight turnovers and failed to score during an 11-minute, 20-second stretch.

Did Northwestern really take that much out of Purdue yesterday?

Photos: Big Ten tournament action

By Chris Hine

INDIANAPOLIS -- Illinois lost to Ohio State 88-81 in a thrilling double-overtime game in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament.

Now, the Illini (19-14) will wait for Selection Sunday to see if they have earned a spot in the NCAA tournament. If there was ever such a thing as a good defeat, Saturday was it. Illinois survived a 20-0 run from Ohio State in the second half to come back and take a 66-64 lead following a pair of Demetri McCamey free throws.

Ohio State's Evan Turner converted on a layup with 12 seconds to play. The Illini had the final shot, but Mike Davis' layup attempt missed. It likely would have been disallowed since it appeared the shot came after the buzzer.

Photos: Big Ten tournament action

By Chris Hine

INDIANAPOLIS -- A thrilling game gets an extra five minutes.

Ohio State and Illinois are tied 66-66 in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament after regulation.

Illinois took a two-point lead on a pair of free throws from Demetri McCamey with 31.6 seconds left, but then Ohio State's Evan Turner converted a reverse layup with just over 12 seconds to play to tie the game.

Illinois had the last shot, but Mike Davis layup attempt missed, but likely would not have counted as it appeared to come after the final buzzer.

By Teddy Greenstein

Minnesota has far more to gain in its semifinal game with Purdue, which tips 25 minutes after Illinois-Wisconsin concludes.

The Gophers are in the ultimate do-or-die situation, with ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi saying that if they beat the Boilermakers, they're in the field of 65. And if not, the NIT's their best bet.

Minnesota, which upset Michigan State last night, is 0-2 against the Boilers this season. The game in West Lafayette wasn't close (79-60, with Purdue shooting 52.3 percent) but the Feb. 24 duel in Minneapolis was (the Gophers' Devoe Joseph missed a shot in the final seconds).

By Chris Hine

INDIANAPOLIS -- There are certainly no problems with Illinois' energy level today. The Illini are ahead on Ohio State 37-31 at halftime and are playing like a team possessed.

Freshman D.J. Richardson has 11 points for Illinois, but more importantly, Richardson has slowed down Ohio State's Evan Turner. Turner does have 10 points, but he also has five turnovers, a product of Richardson's intense defensive effort on Turner.

Ohio State was ahead 15-7, but Illinois used a 14-0 run to gain a 21-15 lead. Mike Tisdale picked up two early fouls, but freshman Tyler Griffey stepped in and Illinois hasn't missed a beat. Griffey has seven points, including a key 3-pointer on Illinois' last possession of the half. Illinois is 15-for-32 from the field, 6-for-13 from 3-point range.

Tribune News Services

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Kelvin Lewis scored 28 points and Houston surged past No. 25 UTEP down the stretch to claim its first NCAA tournament berth in 18 years with an 81-73 victory in the Conference USA tournament title game that snapped the Miners' 16-game winning streak.

National scoring leader Aubrey Coleman struggled through a 4-for-20 shooting performance for the seventh-seeded Cougars (19-15), but came up with a critical steal and fast-break layup in the final minute as they won their fourth game in as many days.

Houston trailed by nine with 8 minutes to play, but came roaring back against the top-seeded Miners (26-6), who were riding their longest winning streak since their "Glory Road" run to the national title in 1966.

Randy Culpepper scored 20 points and Derrick Caracter added 18 for UTEP.