Start of Championship Week

With Monday kicking off Championship Week and five tournament bids officially being punched, the tournament field is beginning to take shape. As always, this week will really help determine who is in and who is out.

We already saw some bubble action over the weekend as Utah State removed any doubt regarding their inclusion in the tournament. Stan Merrill's three-pointer with 2.5 seconds left gave the Aggies a 59-56 win over San Diego State to claim the automatic bid and ensure the Mountain West will be a two-bid league. They also have knocked the Aztecs down to a No. 2 seed with Dayton moving up to the top line.

Of course, that may work in the Aztecs' favor, as they now can be slotted for the West region rather than the East and potentially set up a Gonzaga-San Diego State battle for a spot in the Final Four.

Other automatic bids were awarded to Bradley (Missouri Valley), Winthrop (Big South), Liberty (Atlantic Sun) and Belmont (Ohio Valley). Monday sees another bid on the line in the Southern Conference as East Tennessee State battles Wofford. ETSU might have an at-large case if they lose, as they own a win over LSU in Baton Rouge. Of course, they'd rather eliminate any doubt and simply punch their ticket tonight.

Let's take a look at the latest field, where the automatic bids are simply the highest seeds in each conference, which is why Cincinnati is now in the field as the No. 1 seed in the American Athletic.

Last Four Byes: Oklahoma, USC, Texas Tech, Richmond
Last Four In: Xavier, Arizona State, Texas, Stanford
First Four Out: UCLA, North Carolina State, Wichita State, Northern Iowa
Next Four Out: Memphis, Mississippi State, Rhode Island, Purdue

Conference Breakdown

Big Ten - 10

Big East - 7

Big 12 - 6

Pac-12 - 6

ACC - 4

SEC - 4

West Coast - 3

AAC - 2

Atlantic 10 - 2

Mountain West - 2

One-bid leagues - 22