What to watch today: Five auto bids, ACC tournament begins

Here are the biggest games to watch in college basketball on Tuesday, March 6.

Pitt vs. Notre Dame, 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2, ACC tournament: The Irish have to win this game to get to Virginia Tech Wednesday. This game won’t do anything for the resume. But it’s a necessary step in the process of convincing the committee that with Bonzie Colson back the Irish should be in the field. Lose to Pitt and the Irish chances are over.

Wake Forest vs. Syracuse, 7 p.m. ET, ESPNU, ACC tournament: The Orange are in a similar situation as Notre Dame. Syracuse doesn’t get in based on beating Wake Forest. But to get to Wednesday’s game against North Carolina this is a necessity. The Orange may have a case without beating Carolina, but they can certainly make it more tense if they don’t even get to that game.

Cleveland State vs. Wright State, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN, Horizon League title game: The Vikings upset Oakland to advance to the Horizon League final and take on Wright State. That’s great for Cleveland State, but could be a disaster for the Horizon League if the Vikings win the tournament. Cleveland State is 12-22 and would be a lock to be in Dayton in the First Four as a 16 seed. If Wright State wins, then the Raiders at 24-9 now would have a chance for a better seed and a chance at a win.

“Cinderella survives again!”

Here are the final seconds from tonight’s big W. #GoVikes pic.twitter.com/q5i9TphIw3

— Cleveland State (@CLE_State) March 6, 2018

LIU Brooklyn at Wagner, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2, NEC title game: Derek Kellogg has a chance to get into the NCAA tournament in his first season at Brooklyn after getting fired at his alma mater, UMass, last year. Wagner has been the best team in the conference all season. Love the homecourt environments.

MORE: Conference tournament schedule & automatic bid tracker

South Dakota vs. South Dakota State, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2, Summit League tournament title game: Love this matchup. The in-state rivalry is up for grabs for the NCAA automatic berth. The Jackrabbits have won 10 in a row. The Coyotes finished second at 11-3 to the Jackrabbits' 13-1. If South Dakota State gets in, then the NCAA tournament gets to see Mike Daum, one of the best scorers in the country.

BYU vs. Gonzaga, 9 p.m., ESPN, WCC tournament title game: The Zags have been rolling, winning 13 in a row. BYU upset Saint Mary’s late Monday night in the WCC semifinals. BYU has traditionally played Gonzaga well, beating the Zags a year ago in Spokane. BYU will steal a bid if the Cougars win from some other team. The question is: Will the bid steal be from its own league and knock Saint Mary’s out of the NCAA tournament? The Gaels only quad 1 win came at Gonzaga. Saint Mary’s finished with 28 wins.

3rd-seeded @BYUbasketball​ outshot 2nd-seeded @saintmaryshoops in the semifinals of the @GorillaGlue #WCChoops Championship, advancing to the title game.@Paramountandco highlights ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/p2XUBJBAY2

— TheW.tv (@TheWtv) March 6, 2018