March Madness bracket tracker: Updated list of automatic bids to 2021 NCAA Tournament

By | March 5, 2021

Conference tournaments are under way in college basketball in advance of March Madness.   

A total of 31 automatic bids will be awarded for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in 2021 with the Ivy League on pause, the only conference that does not have a tournament. (Normally the field of 68 consists of 32 auto-qualifiers and 36 at-large bids). Plans could change given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.  But as of now, it’s all systems go. 

Sporting News will track all of the automatic bids to March Madness below as the bracket starts to fill out. The rest of the automatic bids will be decided on Selection Sunday, which is March 14.  

Here’s a look at the full conference tournament schedule (in alphabetical order). The list below will be updated as teams punch their tickets to March Madness. 

MORE: March Madness COVID-19 replacement rules, explained

March Madness bracket automatic bids 2021

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT DATES
America East Feb. 27-18, March 6-13
AAC March 11-14
ACC March 9-13
Atlantic 10 March 3-14
Atlantic Sun March 3-7
Big East March 10-13
Big Sky March 10-13
Big South Feb. 27, March 1-7
Big Ten March 10-14
Big 12 March 10-13
Big West March 9-13
Colonial March 6-9
Conference USA March 9-13
Horizon League Feb. 25, March 2-9
Ivy League No tournament
MAAC March 9-13
Mid-American March 11-13
MEAC March 10-13
Missouri Valley March 4-7
Mountain West March 10-13
Northeast March 6-9
Ohio Valley March 3-6
Pac-12 March 10-13
Patriot March 6-14
SEC March 10-14
Southern March 5-8
Southland March 10-13
Summit March 6-9
Sun Belt March 5-8
SWAC March 9, 12-13
WAC March 10-13
West Coast March 4-9

After Selection Sunday, the First Four games will tip March Madness off in Dayton, Ohio, on March 18. The real first round begins after that, on March 19-20. The second round follows from March 21-22.  

Until the final bracket is released, follow SN’s expert predictions in our Field of 68 projections released every week leading into Selection Sunday. 

NCAA Tournament bracket predictions

Here are Sporting News’ latest March Madness bracket predictions, according to Ryan Fagan as of March 2:

No. 1 seeds

  • Gonzaga
  • Michigan
  • Baylor
  • Illinois

Last four in

  • Drake
  • Boise State
  • Georgia Tech
  • Saint Louis

First four out

  • Michigan State
  • Seton Hall
  • Duke
  • Indiana

Read the rest of our Field of 68 projections here.

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