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We’re coming down to the wire in the 2016-17 college basketball regular season, and teams are starting to wrap up their league championships. While the real prize is earned in the conference tournament, these titles still hold meaning. First off, a regular season championship means the No. 1 seed, and presumably the easiest road, in the conference tournament. It also means an automatic NIT bid in the event that the champ is upset in March.
Here’s where each mid-major conference stands in awarding a championship:
America East:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: VERMONT
Atlantic 10:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: DAYTON
Atlantic Sun:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: FLORIDA GULF COAST
Big Sky:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: NORTH DAKOTA
Big South:
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS: WINTHROP, UNC ASHEVILLE*
* Winthrop owns the tiebreaker and will be the 1 seed in the conference tournament
Big West:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: UC IRVINE
Colonial:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: UNC WILMINGTON
Conference USA:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE
Horizon:
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS: OAKLAND, VALPARAISO*
* Oakland owns the tiebreaker and will be the 1 seed in the conference tournament.
Ivy:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: PRINCETON
MAAC:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: MONMOUTH
MAC:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: AKRON
MEAC:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL
MVC:
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS: ILLINOIS STATE, WICHITA STATE*
* Illinois State earned the 1 seed in the MVC Tournament by finishing the regular season with the higher RPI.
Mountain West:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: NEVADA
Northeast:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: MOUNT ST. MARY’S
Ohio Valley:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: BELMONT
Patriot:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: BUCKNELL
Southern:
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS: UNC GREENSBORO, FURMAN, EAST TENNESSEE STATE*
* UNC Greensboro earned the 1 seed in the SoCon Tournament via tiebreakers. Furman will be the 2 seed and ETSU will be the 3 seed.
Southland:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: NEW ORLEANS
SWAC:
Season ends March 4
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: TEXAS SOUTHERN
Summit:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: SOUTH DAKOTA
Sun Belt:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: UT ARLINGTON
West Coast:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: GONZAGA
WAC:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: CSU BAKERSFIELD