The day college basketball fans have been waiting months for has finally arrived.
Before the Selection Sunday show and March Madness dominate the headlines, five conference tournaments had to wrap up.
In the marquee Big Ten championship game, Michigan held on for a 59-53 win after a back-and-forth battle with Wisconsin.
The game was an ugly defensive battle throughout the first half before the Badgers surged to an 11-point lead midway through the second half. But Michigan rallied when it mattered with runs of its own and did just enough to hold off the Badgers.
Florida handled Tennessee in the SEC championship game for an 86-77 win that wasn’t as close as the final score would indicate. The Gators controlled the game for nearly its entirety and pulled away after a brief run by Tennessee in the second half.
In the other conference title games, Yale locked up the Ivy League’s automatic bid with a win over Cornell and VCU held off Georgia Mason to win the Atlantic 10 conference. Then Memphis handled UAB to secure the AAC tourney title.
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Here’s what happened on the final day of college basketball before March Madness begins.
Sunday conference title game results
Ivy League championship: Yale 90, Cornell 84
SEC championship: Florida 86, Tennessee 77
A10 championship: VCU 68, George Mason 63
AAC championship: No. 16 Memphis 84, UAB 72
Big Ten championship: Michigan 59, Wisconsin 53
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Memphis wins AAC tournament championship
Memphis defeats UAB, 84-72, to win the AAC tournament championship.
PJ Haggerty led the Tigers with 23 points and seven rebounds. Dain Dainja followed with 22 points, 12 boards, four assists and five blocks. Memphis goes into the NCAA tournament at 28-5, 16-2 in the AAC.
Anfernee Hardaway wins his second conference tournament title as head coach after the Tigers also won the AAC during the regular season.
The Blazers were led by 17 points from Efrem Johnson off the bench. UAB finishes 22-11 overall and 13-5 in conference.
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FINAL: Memphis 84, UAB 72
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Michigan wins Big Ten tournament championship over Wisconsin
Michigan wins the Big Ten tournament championship. Vladislav Goldin and Tre Donaldson each scored 11 points for the Wolverines, followed by three players getting eight points apiece.
John Blackwell scored a game-high 18 points for Wisconsin, followed by 12 from Max Klesmit.
Michigan finishes 25-9 overall and 14-6 in the Big Ten, while Wisconsin goes 26-9 and 13-7 in conference. Where will each of them end up seeded in the NCAA tournament?
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FINAL: Michigan 59, Wisconsin 53
Michigan wins the Big Ten tournament, defeating Wisconsin 59-53.
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John Blackwell misses a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining. Danny Wolf gets the rebound for Michigan and is fouled with 0.7 seconds left on the clock.
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John Blackwell misses a layup that would’ve tied the game with 24 seconds remaining. Tre Donaldson grabs the rebound for Michigan and is fouled. He makes both free throws to give the Wolverines a 57-53 lead with 14 seconds remaining.
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John Tonje misses a jumper that would have tied the game for Wisconsin. But Vladislav Goldin can’t hold onto the rebound and it goes out of bounds for the Badgers to maintain possession with 30 seconds left. Wisconsin has 29 seconds remaining on the shot clock.
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Michigan leads 55-53
Vladislav Goldin hits two free throws after drawing a foul in the paint to give Michigan a 55-53 lead with 46 seconds remaining in regulation.
Vlad goes 2-for-2 from the free throw line. We’re up 55-53!
— Michigan Men’s Basketball (@umichbball) March 16, 2025
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Michigan appeared to lose the ball out of bounds on an offensive rebound with the ball going off Danny Wolf. But a replay review showed Wisconsin’s John Blackwell was the last to touch the ball.
Then after Tre Donaldson missed a 3-pointer, Wolf again appeared to lose an offensive rebound. But replay showed the ball went out of bounds off Carter Gilmore’s right foot.
Michigan has the ball with with 54.6 seconds left and 18 seconds on the shot clock.
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Tied 53-53
Max Klesmit hits two free throws for Wisconsin and the game is tied 53-53 with 1:20 remaining in regulation.
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Michigan takes the lead
Tre Donaldson hits a 3 to give Michigan a 53-51 lead with 1:53 remaining after John Blackwell misses his 3-point attempt. John Tonje followed up with another miss from behind the arc.
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We’re building toward an exciting end in Indianapolis. Nimari Burnett and Steven Crowl trade 3s, giving Wisconsin a 3-point lead.
Tre Donaldson follows up with a layup to make it a 51-50 game as a TV timeout is taken with 3:31 remaining in regulation.
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Tonje time!
John Tonje has put Wisconsin back up by three points, first with a free throw and then a drive to the basket finished with a ferocious dunk.
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