Conference title games we need to see in men’s college basketball before 2025 March Madness

1. Akron vs. Kent (Middle American)

This has always been one of the most controversial rivals in all of mid-sized basketball, but in recent years things have been brought to another level.

In 2022, the video was stopped for the championship game after four key members of the Kent state team performed a profan “K Akron” song in the locker room after winning the semi-finals.

Akron, a game underdog before the suspension, defeated the Golden Flash in 20 and punched his ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

Kent made the redemption scale accurate after a year, breaking through the zip in the Mac semi-finals before blasting top-seeded Toledo to win the tournament.

Then came last season. After a stunning run to the tournament championship game, as the eighth seed in the league, Kent seemed to have the sweetest upset victory with the second seeded archrival. However, Disaster was sent off after Julius Rollins, one of the players who appeared in the infamous locker room video two years ago, unaware that his team had the lead and intentionally fouled Akron's Greg Tribule. Tribble made both free throws and Zips continued to play against Creighton in the NCAA tournament.

Akron dominates the Mac this season, heading 16-1 for the regular season finale on Friday. With Kent currently at number three, it's a very real possibility that these disliked rivals have shocked us with another March drama next weekend.

2. Gonzaga vs St. Mary (West Coast)

I'm sure there are people who may be tired of this. Those people are fans of other West Coast Conference teams. Or they are losers. These are the only two options.

St. Mary's and Gonzaga have met in five of their last six WCC Tournament Championship games, with the Zags winning four times and the Gaels winning two. With Gonzaga heading for the new Pac-12 next season, Randy Bennett's team loved nothing but sending the packing of the Arch Rivals in a three-game sweep.

One of the wildest Championship Week stats is that Gonzaga has played in all WCC Tournament Championship games since his return in 1997. All WCC tournaments that the Bulldogs have not won since 2008 have been played through the loss of their latest season, the championship game to St. Mary.

In all, the Gonzaga vs St. Mary conference tournament titles have occurred 15 times since 2004. This is the most common conference championship game game in college basketball history (Duke vs. North Carolina is second in 14 conferences).

It is necessary. One last time.

3. UC San Diego vs. UC Irvine (Big West)

These are, without a doubt, two of the best mid-sized teams in the country. Big West has many other strong teams this season, but other conference tournament title games are extremely unhappy.

UCSD will take shots in the NCAA Tournament after losing to Irvine in the title game, but it's far from rock. Despite being number 63 on the net, Irvine almost certainly needs a Big West car to go dance.

The two teams split the regular season meeting, but neither game was particularly convincing. At least not in the court.

Selection Sunday Eve requires Rubber Match Classic.

4. Utah Valley vs. Grand Canyon (WAC)

This is easy.

The two teams combine three meeting losses, both of which have over 20 wins overall, and are the only two teams in the WAC at the moment, with a league record of over .500.

Football-style conference championship games may serve better purposes than full-scale tournaments. This is one of them.

5. Omaha vs St. Thomas (Summit League)

Yes, St. Thomas is not eligible to create an NCAA tournament, but this is still a pre-order TV.

The Tommies have had something like Omaha since jumping to DI, but the two teams split the regular season meetings, with the home team scoring both games with 11 points. These are two of the highest scorers at the Mid-Major level and are classes in this year's Summit League class. Round 3 is required.

Bonus: Southeast Missouri vs. Siu-Edwardsville (Ohio Valley)

They are the two best teams in the meeting and hate each other.

It checks out both major boxes we are looking for here.