Championship Week Chaos: Recap of the Final Regular Season Weekend

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The final weekend of the 2025–26 regular season concluded on Sunday, delivering a mix of historic milestones, major upsets, and the first wave of automatic bids to the Big Dance. As conference championship tournaments move into full swing today, the NCAA Tournament bracket has never looked more volatile.

The “Blue Blood” Stumble: Top Seeds Toppled

Several projected No. 1 seeds faced reality checks in their regular-season finales, potentially shifting the power balance for Selection Sunday.

#4 UConn Stunned: The Huskies dropped their regular-season finale to unranked Marquette (68–62) after blowing an eight-point lead. The loss likely costs UConn the Big East regular-season title, handing it to St. John’s, and could drop them from the No. 1 seed line.
#15 Purdue’s Slide: The Boilermakers’ late-season “funk” reached a low point with a 97–93 loss to Wisconsin. Purdue has now lost three of its last four games, falling to a No. 7 seed in the massive 18-team Big Ten Tournament.
#14 Kansas Survives: In the “Sunflower Showdown,” the Jayhawks narrowly avoided an upset, defeating Kansas State 65–63 at Allen Fieldhouse to secure a third-place finish in the Big 12.

The “First Five” In: Automatic Bids Punched

While the power conferences battle in their tournaments, five programs have already secured their spots in the field of 68:

Conference	Champion	Result	Note
Ohio Valley (OVC)	Tennessee State	93–67 vs. Morehead St.	First NCAA bid since 1994.
Big South	High Point	91–76 vs. Winthrop	Finished 29-4; first-ever NCAA bid.
Missouri Valley	Northern Iowa	84–69 vs. UIC	The “Panther” pride returns to the Dance.
Atlantic Sun	Queens (NC)	98–93 (OT)	A thrilling OT win to secure their ticket.
Northeast (NEC)	LIU	Automatic	Clinched bid as Mercyhurst is ineligible.

The Bubble Watch: Who’s Sweating?

Selection Sunday is just six days away, and the “cut line” is becoming a graveyard for major programs.

Projected First Four Out: Indiana (Big Ten), Cal (ACC), New Mexico (MWC), and Seton Hall (Big East).
Last Four In: Auburn (SEC), VCU (A-10), Santa Clara (WCC), and SMU (ACC).
Bid Stealer Alert: Keep an eye on USF. Despite winning the AAC regular-season title, they likely need to win the conference tournament in Birmingham to avoid being left at the mercy of the committee.

AP Top 5 Projection (Pre-Tournament)

Duke (29–2) – The consensus No. 1 after sweeping the ACC.
Michigan (29–2) – The Big Ten champions are a lock for a #1 seed.
Arizona (29–2) – Dominated the Big 12 in their first year.
Florida (25–6) – The SEC regular-season kings.
Houston (26–5) – Despite some late road stumbles, their NET rank remains elite.