Nothing of concern for bubblers last night, as the auto bids handed out to Portland State and Mount St. Mary’s both came from one-bid conferences. There were a few games of note involving teams on the bubble, so things may be starting to come into focus. Villanova took out Syracuse in the Big East, which likely knocked the Orange out of contention. The win won’t make the ‘Cats breathe any easier yet, but if they happen to pull off the upset today against Georgetown (11 AM CDT, ESPN), then they would be looking quite safe.

The Pac-10 is also setting up nicely for some bubble games, with both Cal and Arizona advancing to the quarterfinals. USC takes on Arizona State (2 PM CDT), while Washington State faces Oregon (8 PM CDT) and Arizona looks to boost its résumé against Stanford (10:30 PM CDT). And although the second quarterfinal of the day has no bubble implications, Cal will be looking for revenge against UCLA after last week’s controversial game in Pauley Pavilion (4:30 PM CDT).

Closer to home, Big 12 tournament play kicks off in Kansas City this morning. We sold our first-round tickets, so we will miss at least the first three games as we drive up today. Personally, we’re pulling for Tech in the first quarterfinal, as Oklahoma State seems to be a more threatening opponent. Sure, the Red Raiders beat Texas just a few weeks ago, but that game was in Lubbock and the Horns had one of their worst defensive performances in months. Oklahoma State took Texas to the wire twice, and we all know the axiom about how hard it is to beat a team three times in one season…

As we’ll be leaving shortly to hit the road, we won’t be around much to discuss the first-round games. You can start your day off with an opening round preview at Burnt Orange Nation or the mini-preview of the conference tourney from Rush the Court.

Luke Winn is back with his four-week Tourney Blog at SI.com. Dude gets to travel the country for March Madness, write about it, and gets paid. Meanwhile, I’m self-financing this gig. I wonder if he needs an intern…

This morning we continue our countdown of the most exciting finishes in NCAA tournament history with number nine.

Unfortunately, today’s video can’t be embedded on the page here, probably because somebody at CBS threw a hissy fit and complained to the person who posted it on YouTube. But at least it’s still online, because you can check it out right here.

In the 1998 East Regional, UConn and Washington were locked in a tight game as time ran down. But despite the close score, the west-coast Huskies didn’t grab their first lead until drilling a three-pointer with 33.2 seconds left. That left Connecticut with the last possession, and it was a crazy one. After two missed bunnies and another pair of wild tips that caromed off the backboard, Richard Hamilton stretched out to control a long rebound in the middle of the lane. And just before the buzzer, he launched the fadeaway that propelled Jim Calhoun’s team to the Elite Eight.

For those who don’t want to watch all of the build-up and skip right to the final possession, click ahead to about the 5:15 mark of the video.

No major disasters for bubble teams last night, as Butler clinched the Horizon’s auto-bid, Oral Roberts won the Summit League, and Western Kentucky took home the Sun Belt title. The Hilltoppers likely weren’t going to make the field anyhow, but as Andy Glockner pointed out in yesterday’s Bubble Watch, they had at least a smidgen of a chance, while MTSU had absolutely none.

Today more of the big boys kick things off in their post-season tournaments, as the Atlantic 10+4, Big East, and Pac-10 start their tournaments with “opening round” play. The MAC, SWAC, Big West, MWC, and C-USA also all get started today, while auto bids will be handed out tonight in the NEC and Big Sky. Those two conference championships are airing on ESPN2 starting at 6 PM CDT.

So much for those Arkansas State/Arkansas games with Nolan Richardson on the wrong sideline. Strollin’ Nolan now says he’s no longer a candidate for the job. It’s a true shame, if only for the fact that we didn’t get to witness the meltdown from Hog fans if he’d reappeared at a school so close to Fayetteville.

The always-excellent Tye over at Bring on the Cats has the most thorough guide to Kansas City you could imagine. Check it out before you hit the road for this weekend’s games, and perhaps we’ll see you down in the Power & Light district.

To count down the days to the Big Dance, we’ll be unveiling the top ten buzzer beaters from the NCAA tournament each morning until the first game. So when you roll out of bed next Thursday, crusty-eyed and anxious for wall-to-wall basketball action, you’ll be met with the early treat of the #1 NCAA buzzer beater of all-time.

This morning we start with #10, which happened just two seasons ago in Greensboro, North Carolina. A lot of pundits had called Tennessee overrated as a 2-seed that had lost four of their last six games, and Bruce Pearl’s team wasn’t doing anything to prove them wrong. Although the Volunteers should have been able to put away 15th-seeded Winthrop early, their largest lead of the game was only six points, and that came just eight minutes into it. But with just 2.9 seconds to go in a tie game, Chris Lofton threw up a shot from just inside the arc to put the Vols up for good.

While the shot didn’t technically come at the buzzer — Winthrop would miss their own game-tying attempt as the horn sounded — it was one of the most exciting finishes in recent memory. And it’s also today’s YouTube highlight, checking in at #10 on the countdown of Top Ten March Madness Buzzer Beaters.

Lots and lots of news for the Horns now that the regular season has come to a close. And that starts with the Big 12 conference awards, where Rick Barnes took home Coach of the Year in a season where his Longhorns set a school record for regular season victories. D.J. Augustin was a unanimous selection to the All-Big 12 First Team, while A.J. Abrams and Damion James were named to the second team. The king of hustle, Justin Mason, was named to the All-Defensive Team.

In the latest Bracketology from Joe Lunardi, the Horns are still a 2-seed playing in the Phoenix regional with UCLA as the 1-seed. God forbid this projection actually holds, as good ol’ Joe has a potential second-round match-up for Texas with Arkansas…in Little Rock. Hardcore amateur bracketologists will be happy to know that Joe is now going daily with his picks from until Selection Sunday.

Andy Glockner’s Bubble Watch — now also a daily feature — has the Big 12 with three “locks” in Texas, Kansas, and OU. He feels that Baylor and K-State are solidly in, and barring a Bear implosion against Colorado on Thursday, I would have to agree. That leaves A&M in the “work left to do” category, which could be something of a misnomer. As long as the bubble doesn’t contract further with cinderella auto-bids, the Aggies should be fine. But while they don’t actually need another win, they certainly can’t afford to somehow lose to Iowa State.

While everybody is focused on seeds and bubbles, there is still that weekly tradition of the polls, which saw Texas climb to 6th in the AP and 8th in the ESPN/USA Today.

Although there’s no Big Monday, there’s more tournament action from Championship Week tonight. Auto-bids will be handed out in the Southern Conference (8 PM CST, ESPN2), where bubble team fans will be pulling hard for Davidson. At the same time, those nervous folks will be hoping that Gonzaga can stave off San Diego in the WCC Championship (8 PM CST, ESPN). And just underway in Albany, Rider and Siena are battling for the MAAC title on ESPN2.