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NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY

With spots in the Dance on the line for many, conference championship games are the proverbial needles that burst bubbles in March.

Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

This is the day that teams sitting on the bubble hate.

Example....Auburn vs Kentucky for the SEC crown. An expected Kentucky win keeps the status quo. Auburn, sitting at 15-19, is not making the tournament save an upset of epic proportions. But if they did pull it off, somebody on the "bubble" gets bumped. Why?

Because teams on the bubble are looking for at large bids, and there are only so many of those since many spots are taken up by guaranteed bids for conference tournament champions. An upset would give Auburn a shot at the automatic SEC invitation, and Kentucky would of course have to get an at large bid, potentially taking one away from everyone else that wasn't expected.

What are some other "bubble bursting" games on the agenda?

Another might be Seattle vs New Mexico State for the WAC title. A Seattle win would likely cost someone another spot as New Mexico State is still probably good enough to get an at large bid.

Here's the latest from Joe Lunardi's who's in, who's out list):

bracketology

This is just one of a number of reasons why it's called "March Madness."

Enjoy!

CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY
Sat, Mar 14, 2015
America East Conference Championship
10 a.m. CT
(3) Stony Brook (23-10, 12-4 AEC) at (1) Albany (23-8, 15-1 AEC)
Big Ten Conference Semifinal
noon CT
(4) Purdue (21-11, 12-6 Big 10) vs (1) Wisconsin (29-3, 16-2 Big 10)
Mid-Eastern Conference Championship
noon CT
(6) Hampton (15-17, 8-8 MEAC) vs (5) Delaware State (18-16, 9-7 MEAC)
Southeastern Conference Semifinal
noon CT
(13) Auburn (15-19, 4-14 SEC) vs (1) Kentucky (32-0, 18-0 SEC)
Atlantic Ten Conference Semifinal
12:30 p.m. CT
(5) VCU (24-9, 12-6 A10) vs (1) Davidson (24-6, 14-4 A10)
Sun Belt Conference Semifinal
1:00 p.m. CT
(4) UL-Lafayette (20-12, 13-7 SBC) vs (1) Georgia State (22-9, 15-5 SBC)
American Athletic Conference Semifinal
2 p.m. CT
(4) Temple (23-9, 13-5 AAC) vs (1) SMU (25-6, 15-3 AAC)
Southeastern Conference Semifinal
2:00 p.m. CT
(3) Georgia (21-10, 11-7 SEC) vs (2) Arkansas (25-7, 13-5 SEC)
Big Ten Conference Semifinal
2:25pm CT
(3) Michigan State (22-10, 12-6 Big 10) vs (2) Maryland (26-5, 14-4 Big 10)
Conference USA Championship
2:30 p.m. CT
(6) MTSU (19-15, 9-9 CUSA) vs (4) UAB (18-15, 12-6 CUSA)
Atlantic Ten Conference Semifinal
3 p.m. CT
(3) Rhode Island (21-8, 13-5 A10) vs (2) Dayton (24-7, 13-5 A10)
Ivy League Playoff
3 p.m. CT
Harvard (21-7, 11-3 Ivy) vs Yale (22-9, 11-3 Ivy)
Sun Belt Conference Semifinal
3:30 p.m. CT
(3) UL-Monroe (21-11, 14-6 SBC) vs (2) Georgia Southern (21-8, 14-6 SBC)
American Athletic Conference Semifinal
4 p.m. CT
(6) Connecticut (19-13, 10-8 AAC) vs (2) Tulsa (22-9, 14-4 AAC)
Big 12 Conference Championship
5 p.m. CT
(2) Iowa State (24-8, 12-6 Big 12) vs (1) Kansas (26-7, 13-5 Big 12)
Mountain West Conference Championship
5 p.m. CT
(4) Wyoming (24-9, 11-7 MWC) vs (2) San Diego St (26-7, 14-4 MWC)
Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship
5:30 p.m. CT
(3) Southern (18-16, 13-5 SWAC) vs (1) Texas Southern (21-12, 16-2 SWAC)
Mid-American Conference Championship
6:30 p.m. CT
(2) Buffalo (22-9, 12-6 MAC) vs (1) C. Michigan (23-7, 12-6 MAC)
Big East Conference Championship
7 p.m. CT
(6) Xavier (20-12, 9-9 Big East) vs (1) Villanova (30-2, 16-2 Big East)
Atlantic Coast Conference Championship
7:30 p.m. CT
(5) North Carolina (24-10, 11-7 ACC) vs (3) Notre Dame (28-5, 14-4 ACC)
Big Sky Conference Championship
8 p.m. CT
(1) E. Washington (25-8, 14-4 Big Sky) AT (1) Montana (20-11, 14-4 Big Sky)
Southland Conference Championship
8:30 p.m. CT
(2) Sam Houston St (25-7, 15-3 Big 12) vs (1) SF Austin (28-4, 17-1 SLC)
Pac-12 Conference Championship
10 p.m. CT
(4) Oregon (25-8, 13-5 Pac-12) vs (1) Arizona (30-3, 16-2 Pac-12)
Western Athletic Conference Championship
10 p.m. CT
(2) Seattle (16-14, 7-7 WAC) vs (1) New Mexico St (22-10, 13-1 WAC)
Big West Conference Championship
10:30 p.m. CT
(4) Hawai'i (22-12, 8-8 Big West) vs (1) Cal-Irvine (20-12, 11-5 Big West)