2022 NCAA Tournament: Teams that punched their tickets

Arizona Wildcats. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Arizona Wildcats. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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Here is the list of the teams that have punched their tickets into the 2022 NCAA Tournament.

One great way to ensure a basketball team is heading to the NCAA Tournament is to win its conference championship.

More. Blank printable March Madness bracket. light

This is the one of the very best parts of March Madness. Unless a team is ineligible for the postseason, every team that wins its conference championship (assuming it has one) will be going dancing. Even if a team gets trounced in the first round, making the tournament is and always will be a big deal. More importantly, this is when Cinderella stories begin to manifest themselves.

So … who is going dancing this year?

2022 NCAA Tournament: List of teams who have punched their tickets in

Here is the list of each team that is deemed an automatic qualifier for the 2022 NCAA Tournament. This list will be updated as more conference championships have been decided.

  • ACC: Virginia Tech
  • America East: Vermont
  • American: Memphis/Houston
  • Atlantic Sun: Jacksonville State (Bellarmine is ineligible)
  • Atlantic Ten: Richmond
  • Big 12: Kansas
  • Big East: Villanova
  • Big Sky: Montana State
  • Big South: Longwood
  • Big Ten: Iowa/Purdue
  • CAA: Delaware
  • CUSA: UAB
  • Horizon League: Wright State
  • Ivy League: Yale
  • MAC: Akron
  • MAAC: Saint Peter’s
  • MEAC: Norfolk State
  • Missouri Valley: Loyola-Chicago
  • Mountain West: Boise State
  • Northeast: Bryant
  • Ohio Valley: Murray State
  • Pac-12: Arizona
  • Patriot League: Colgate
  • SEC: Tennessee
  • SoCon: Chattanooga
  • SWAC: Texas State
  • Southland: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
  • Summit League: South Dakota State
  • Sun Belt: Georgia State
  • WAC: New Mexico State
  • WCC: Gonzaga

With Selection Sunday rapidly approaching, all but two automatic qualifier spots have been filled. The Tennessee Volunteers and the Richmond Spiders are the two most recent teams to punch their tickets in as SEC and A-10 conference tournament champions, respectively. The only two AQ spots still up for grabs are in the AAC (Memphis vs. Houston) and in the Big Ten (Iowa vs. Purdue).

The other very important thing to know with automatic qualifiers is some conferences only get one team in. A better squad who did not get it done in a conference tournament could be playing in the NIT or CBI this March. With underdogs winning bigger conference tournaments, it also puts even more pressure on teams who are sitting on the bubble. It is why every tournament matters.

The 68-team field will be rounding into form in short order, as March Madness is upon us, baby!

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