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Oakland is going to the Dance while San Francisco joins the departed. Long live Oakland!
In the meantime, the number of teams in the hunt for automatic berths in the NCAA men’s basketball tournamenthat has shrunk from 362 to 199.

Mar. 12, 2024 8:06 pm, Updated: Mar. 13, 2024 12:49 pm
(Through Wednesday, 12:45 p.m.)
And then there were 199 survivors for automatic berths in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Meanwhile, Wagner, South Dakota State, St. Mary’s and Oakland earned NCAA men’s basketball tournament berths Tuesday.
San Francisco’s run of seasons without an NCAA title was extended to 68 years Monday night when the Dons were done in by Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference semifinals.
Oakland, however, is going to the big tournament. Bragging rights in the San Francisco Bay Area belong to that much-maligned city. The Golden Grizzlies beat Milwaukee Tuesday in the Horizon League’s championship game in Indianapolis, 83-76.
Er, wait. That Oakland is from Rochester, Mich.
Well, the Grizzlies can still brag. They’re going to the NCAAs and the University of Michigan (59 miles from Rochester) is not, unless it wins five straight games at the Big Ten tourney, starting Wednesday.
Spoiler alert: It won’t.
Wagner, from Staten Island, goes the big tournament with a 16-15 record. That will mean a No. 16 seed. Enjoy Dayton, you plucky Seahawks who were the sixth-seed in your own league.
Charleston is an old dance. It also is going to the Big Dance, after beating Stony Brook in overtime Tuesday at the Coastal Athletic Association title game.
There are 362 Division I men’s basketball teams. Here is the roll call of those that are locked into the NCAA tournament, those on hold, and those who definitely will not be getting at-large berths:
CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS (Locked into the Field of 68)
Charleston (CAA)
Drake (Missouri Valley)
James Madison (Sun Belt)
Longwood (Big South)
Morehead State (Ohio Valley)
Oakland (Horizon)
St. Mary’s (West Coast)
Samford (Southern)
South Dakota State (Summit)
Stetson (Atlantic Sun)
Wagner (Northeast)
LOCKS FOR THE FIELD OF 68 NO MATTER WHAT THEY DID OR WILL DO IN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS (in my humble opinion)
Alabama, Arizona, Auburn
Baylor, Boise State, BYU
Clemson, Colorado State, Connecticut, Creighton
Dayton, Duke
Florida, Florida Atlantic
Gonzaga
Houston
Illinois, Iowa State
Kansas, Kentucky
Marquette
Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Northwestern
Oklahoma
Purdue
St. Mary’s, San Diego State, Seton Hall, South Carolina
Tennessee, Texas, Texas Tech
Utah State
Virginia
Washington State, Wisconsin
BUBBLE O’RILEY?
Colorado
Indiana State, Iowa
Mississippi State
New Mexico
St. John’s, Seton Hall
TCU, Texas A&M
Villanova, Virginia
Wake Forest
ELIMINATED BECAUSE OF LOSSES IN CONFERENCE TOURNEYS
Appalachian State, Arkansas State
Belmont, Binghamton, Boston U., Bradley, Bryant
Cal Poly, Central Arkansas, Central Connecticut State, Charleston Southern, Chattanooga, Citadel, Cleveland State, Coastal Carolina, Columbia
Dartmouth, Davidson, Delaware, Denver, Detroit Mercy, Drexel
East Tennessee State, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Washington, Elon, Evansville
Fairleigh Dickinson, Florida A&M, Florida Gulf Coast, Furman
Gardner-Webb, George Mason, George Washington, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Green Bay
Hampton, Harvard, High Point, Hofstra, Holy Cross
Idaho, Idaho State, Illinois-Chicago, Illinois State, IUPUI
Jacksonville, Jacksonville State
Kansas City, Kennesaw State
Lafayette, Le Moyne, Lipscomb, Little Rock, Long Island, Louisiana, Louisville, Loyola Marymount, Loyola (Md.)
Maine, Manhattan, Marshall, Mercer, Merrimack, Miami (Fla.), Mississippi Valley State, Missouri State, Monmouth, Mount St. Mary’s, Murray State
Navy, New Hampshire, New Jersey Institute of Technology, New Orleans, North Alabama, North Carolina A&T, North Dakota, North Dakota State, North Florida, Northeastern, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, Northern Kentucky, Northwestern State, Notre Dame
Oklahoma State, Old Dominion, Omaha, Oral Roberts
Pacific, Penn, Portland, Portland State, Prairie View A&M, Presbyterian, Purdue Fort Wayne
Radford, Rhode Island, Robert Morris
Sacramento State, Sacred Heart, St. Francis (Pa.), San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Siena, South Alabama, South Carolina Upstate, South Dakota, Southeast Missouri State, Southeastern Louisiana, Southern Illinois, Southern Illinois Edwardsville, Southern Mississippi, Stony Brook
Tennessee State, Texas A&M-Commerce, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Texas State, Towson, Troy
UL Monroe, UMBC, UNC-Asheville, UNC-Greensboro, UNC-Wilmington
Valpariso, VMI
Weber State, West Virginia, Western Carolina, Western Illinois, William & Mary, Winthrop, Wofford, Wright State
Youngstown State
INELIGIBLE BECAUSE THEY ARE TRANSITIONING TO DIVISION I FROM DIVISION II OR DIVISION III
Bellarmine
Le Moyne
Queens
St. Thomas, Southern Indiana, Stonehill
Tarleton, Texas A&M-Commerce
UC San Diego, Utah Tech
ELIMINATED BECAUSE IT’S AN INDEPENDENT THAT WENT 12-18
Chicago State