NCAA Conference Tournaments 2015: Predictions, Results for Sunday's Top Games

We've reached the finish line of Championship Week in college basketball, Selection Sunday, culminating in the unveiling of the 68-team NCAA tournament field later on.

But before we can start filling out our brackets, there were still a few more automatic bids to hand out.

Five conferences had their title games on the docket Sunday, and every game was a great one. While most of the teams playing in these finals are projected to be in the NCAA tourney, there were still seeding considerations to be made. Could a strong result today bump a team up a line or two, or will a poor showing lead to a reduced ranking?

Heading into Sunday, we made predictions on all five games—we were 3-2 in that category—and now have replaced those picks with recaps of the conference finals. Click through to see how the final games before the bracket played out. 

American Athletic Conference Final

Jim Rogash/Getty Images

Results

(1) SMU 62, (6) Connecticut 54

The Mustangs were left out of last year's NCAA tournament because of a weak resume, so they made sure that wouldn't happen again by winning their first conference tourney since claiming the Southwest Conference championship in 1988. In the process, they likely ended any hopes that Connecticut would have to defend its national title.

SMU (27-6) led throughout despite shooting 35.3 percent, but it held the Huskies (20-14) to just 32.7 percent from the field and kept UConn star Ryan Boatright in check. Boatright was just 1-of-12, including 1-of-9 from three-point range.

Markus Kennedy led SMU with 15 points off the bench, while Nic Moore and Yanick Moreira had 11 each.

Rodney Purvis scored 29 of UConn's 54 points, making five three-pointers.

Updated by Brian J. Pedersen

Atlantic 10 Final

John Minchillo/Associated Press

Results

(5) VCU 71, (2) Dayton 65

The Rams (26-9) won their first A-10 tournament title, doing it without star guard Briante Weber by winning four games in as many days, including three straight victories over higher-seeded teams.

A Doug Brooks steal with 58 seconds proved to be the difference. He then fed a streaking JeQuan Lewis for a basket that gave VCU a 63-59 lead in a game that was almost always within one score.

VCU had four players in double figures, with Treveon Graham scoring 20 points (along with 13 rebounds), Lewis adding 15 and Terry Larrier and Mo Alie-Cox chipping in 13 each. Alie-Cox made all six of his field goals, helping VCU win its third straight game against a team it had lost to in the final two weeks of the regular season.

The Rams beat fourth-seeded Richmond in the quarterfinals. They then knocked off No. 1 Davidson in the semifinals before taking out No. 2 Dayton (25-8).

The Flyers got 16 points from Scoochie Smith, while Dyshawn Pierre added 14 points and 11 rebounds, but Dayton shot just 38.2 percent and made only 2-of-12 three-pointers.

Updated by Brian J. Pedersen

Big Ten Final

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Results

(1) Wisconsin 80, (3) Michigan State 69, OT

The Badgers (31-3) outscored Michigan State by 22 points over the final 12-plus minutes of play, holding the Spartans scoreless in overtime to win their first conference tournament title since 2008.

Wisconsin trailed 57-46 with just over seven minutes left in regulation before going on a 21-7 run to take a 67-64 lead on Frank Kaminsky's three-pointer with 1:45 remaining. Denzel Valentine hit a three and Travis Trice made a jumper with 44 seconds to give MSU (23-11) a 69-67 lead, but Bronson Koenig hit two free throws with 15 seconds left to force OT.

In the extra session, Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes had seven of his game-high 25 points while the Badgers forced MSU into seven missed field-goal attempts.

Kaminsky had 19 points and Koenig added 18 for Wisconsin, while MSU got 16 apiece from Valentine and Branden Dawson.

 

Updated by Brian J. Pedersen

SEC Final

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Results

(1) Kentucky 78, (2) Arkansas 63

The Wildcats (34-0) kept their unbeaten run going with another impressive performance against a strong opponent, breaking open a close game midway through the first half with a 16-4 run and then never looking back.

The Razorbacks (26-8) tied the game at 19 with 10:19 left on a Michael Qualls three-pointer, but after that it was all Kentucky. The Wildcats scored on four straight possessions and then kept the foot on the gas to take a 41-25 lead into halftime.

Kentucky shot 51 percent and went 7-of-12 on three-pointers, with Aaron and Andrew Harrison combining to go 6-of-8 from outside. Andrew Harrison had 15 points, as did Willie Cauley-Stein (along with 10 rebounds), while Aaron Harrison chipped in 11.

Qualls had 18 points off the bench for Arkansas, while Bobby Portis had 13 but made just 3 of 7 shots.

Updated by Brian J. Pedersen

Sun Belt Final

USA TODAY Sports

Results

(1) Georgia State 38, (2) Georgia Southern 36

In an ugly clash that had critics of low-scoring games going crazy, the top-seeded Panthers (24-9) got two free throws from star R.J. Hunter with 21.6 seconds remaining to earn their first NCAA tournament bid since 2001.

Hunter—son of Georgia State coach Ron Hunter—had just nine points on 3-of-15 shooting after scoring 32 points in the Sun Belt semifinal win over Louisiana-Lafayette, but he managed to draw a shooting foul just before the shot clock expired on the Panthers' final possession. Those were his only free throws of the game.

With Hunter struggling and second-leading scorer Ryan Harrow out with a hamstring injury, the Panthers got a huge lift from Louisville transfer Kevin Ware. The senior scored 18 points on 8-of-17 shooting.

Georgia Southern (22-9) had two chances to win it, but both long three-point attempts fell short. The Eagles, which made it to the final after winning 44-43 in the semifinals against Louisiana-Monroe, shot only 23.4 percent from the field.

Updated by Brian J. Pedersen