The first ticket to the Big Dance will be punched Saturday in the OVC Tournament final
The first ticket to the Big Dance will be punched Saturday in the OVC Tournament final
The first ticket to the Big Dance will be punched Saturday as March Madness rolls along and the field of 68 for the 2025 NCAA Tournament begins to take shape. The matchup is set for the championship of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament as No. 1 seed Southeast Missouri State and No. 2 seed SIU Edwardsville will battle for the first automatic bid of this year’s NCAA tourney.
Rob Martin scored 21 points to lead the Redhawks over No. 4 seed Little Rock 78-59 in the first OVC semifinal Friday. In the other semifinal, the Cougars held off No. 3 seed Tennessee State for a 71-69 victory.
Southeast Missouri State, which has won 11 straight games, will be looking to make its second NCAA Tournament in the last three seasons while SIUE has never been to the Big Dance. It will be the fourth OVC final appearance for the Redhawks while the Cougars have never advanced to the tournament championship game.
In other conference tournament action, North Dakota’s Treysen Eaglestaff scored 51 points, the most points scored in a Division I game this season, to lead the No. 6 seed Fighting Hawks to an 85-69 victory vs. No. 3 seed South Dakota State in the Summit League quarterfinals.
Eaglestaff’s 51 points are tied for the second-most points scored in a conference tournament game in the last 20 seasons, after BYU’s Jimmer Fredette scored 52 points in 2011.
SportsLine conference tournament odds, picks: Proven experts share best bets for every tourney
Friday’s conference tournament scoreboard
2025 conference tournaments
| Conference | Location | Dates | Championship game / Tournament champion |
| ACC | Charlotte, North Carolina | March 11-15 | Sat., Mar. 15, 8:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| America East | Campus sites | March 8,11,15 | Sat., Mar. 15, 11 a.m. | ESPN2 |
| American | Fort Worth, Texas | March 12-16 | Sun., Mar. 16, 3:15 p.m. | ESPN |
| ASUN | Campus sites | March 2,3,6,9 | Sun., Mar. 9, 2 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Atlantic 10 | Washington D.C. | March 12-16 | Sun., Mar. 16, 1 p.m. | CBS |
| Big 12 | Kansas City | March 11-15 | Sat., Mar. 15, 6 p.m. | ESPN |
| Big East | New York City | March 12-15 | Sat., Mar. 15, 6:30 p.m. | Fox |
| Big Sky | Boise, Idaho | March 8-12 | Wed., Mar. 12, 11:30 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Big South | Johnson City, Tennessee | March 5,7-9 | Sun., Mar. 9, 12 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Big Ten | Indianapolis | March 12-16 | Sun., Mar. 16, 3:30 p.m. | CBS |
| Big West | Henderson, Nevada | March 12-15 | Sat., Mar. 15, 9:40 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Coastal Athletic | Washington D.C. | March 7-11 | Tue., Mar. 11, 7 p.m. | CBSSN |
| Conference USA | Huntsville, Alabama | March 11-15 | Sat., Mar. 15, 8:30 p.m. | CBSSN |
| Horizon League | Campus sites | March 4,6,10,11 | Tue., Mar. 11, 7 p.m. | ESPN |
| Ivy | Providence, Rhode Island | March 15-16 | Sun., Mar. 16, 12 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| MAAC | Atlantic City, New Jersey | March 11-15 | Sat., Mar. 15, 7:30 p.m. | ESPNU |
| MAC | Cleveland | March 13-15 | Sat., Mar. 15, 7:40 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| MEAC | Norfolk, Virginia | March 12-15 | Sat., Mar. 15, 1 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Missouri Valley | St. Louis | March 6-9 | Sun., Mar. 9, 2:10 p.m. | CBS |
| Mountain West | Las Vegas | March 12-15 | Sat., Mar. 15, 6 p.m. | CBS |
| Northeast | Campus sites | March 5,8.11 | Tue., Mar. 11, 7 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Ohio Valley | Evansville, Indiana | March 5-8 | Sat., Mar. 8, 9 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Patriot | Campus sites | March 4,6,9,12 | Wed., Mar. 12, 7 p.m. | CBSSN |
| SEC | Nashville | March 12-16 | Sun., Mar. 16, 1 p.m. | ESPN |
| Southern | Asheville, North Carolina | March 7-10 | Mon., Mar. 10, 7 p.m. | ESPN |
| Southland | Lake Charles, Louisiana | March 9-12 | Wed., Mar. 12, 5 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Summit | Sioux Falls, South Dakota | March 5-9 | Sun., Mar. 9, 9 p.m. | CBSSN |
| Sun Belt | Pensacola, Florida | March 4-10 | Mon., Mar. 10, 7 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| SWAC | Atlanta | March 11-15 | Sat., Mar. 15, 9:30 p.m. | ESPNU |
| WAC | St. George, Utah / Las Vegas | March 11-15 | Sat., Mar. 15, 11:40 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| WCC | Las Vegas | March 6-11 | Tue., Mar. 11, 9 p.m. | ESPN |