Last week of NCAA men’s basketball regular season promises rivalry matchups

The GIST: The gals weren’t the only ones causing regular-season rumbles this weekend — several men’s teams also clinched their conference championships with Saturday wins, while others still hang in the balance.

• Here’s which Power 5 teams are chilling for the last week of the regular season, and which ones still have “lock down prime conference tournament seeding” on their to-do list.

Who’s clinched: St. John’s raised some eyebrows when they hired the ever-controversial Rick Pitino to be their new head coach in 2023, but the turnaround is going strong: The No. 7 Red Storm have won their first outright Big East championship in 40 years, also completing their first undefeated season at home since 1931–32.

• The typically tight Big 12 also resolved early, as No. 4 Houston locked up their second straight title with their 73–64 win over Cincinnati. No surprise that the nation’s best defense does, in fact, win championships.

• And in the SEC, No. 1 Auburn emerged from a chaotic, Anchorman-style melee to take the title in the nation’s rowdiest conference. The Tigers did it by beating blue blood No. 17 Kentucky on the road for the first time since 1988, and it wasn’t even close.

Who’s still hunting: Even though No. 2 Duke is having a phenomenal year while the ACC is having a rough one, the Blue Devils boast just a one-game lead over No. 13 Clemson and No. 19 Louisville, with two games remaining on each team’s schedule. Duke freshman phenom Cooper Flagg is reportedly limping toward the postseason, so this race could get wild quickly.

• And the fight for the Big Ten is the spiciest around: No. 15 Michigan’s 93–73 disaster against Illinois yesterday put them one game back from heated intrastate rival No. 8 Michigan State. Both squads have two to play…including their showdown this Sunday. No pressure.