Championship Week is upon us, one of the very best weeks of the year. To some, it’s more enjoyable than the actual NCAA Tournament because everyone is involved.

Disappointing teams can turn their seasons around. Bubble teams can eliminate doubt. Quality teams can set themselves up for a big March. And it all leads into Selection Sunday.

With that in mind, here are four teams to keep an eye on:

Arizona State: One of the most disappointing teams in the country has shown life of late, entering the Pac-12 Tournament with seven wins in its past eight games. It has defeated tournament teams UCLA and Creighton, and with five players who average in double figures, has the scoring depth needed to make noise in Las Vegas. Remember, last year’s Pac-12 Tournament was won by Oregon State, which came out of nowhere as the fifth seed and made a wild run to the Elite Eight. A quarterfinal meeting with second-ranked Arizona should be interesting. The two regular season games between the in-state rivals, both won by the Wildcats, were competitive.

Davidson: Bubble teams, beware. No, not about the Wildcats stealing a bid, but about them losing in the Atlantic 10 Tournament and taking away a tournament spot. Davidson, courtesy of its 5-4 record in Quad 1 and 2 games highlighted by a victory at No. 25 Alabama and NET rating of 47, is most likely safe. But nobody else in the league would be without winning the conference tournament. Bob McKillop’s team is coming off a loss at Dayton, and the other top schools in the league — VCU, St. Bonaventure, St. Louis and the aforementioned Flyers — are capable of knocking them off. VCU and St. Bonaventure, in particular, are dangerous having both won eight of their last nine games, but lack the résumés to go dancing without an automatic bid.

Memphis: Suddenly, Penny Hardaway’s Tigers look like the best team in the AAC, not only worthy of a tournament bid, but a scary double-digit seed. Ask No. 14 Houston, which was swept by Memphis in a pair of double-digit losses. It has won 10 of its last 11 games and could play its way into a single-digit seed by winning the AAC Tournament. Hardaway has this group defending, sharing the ball and living up to the sky-high expectations of its No. 12 preseason national ranking. Coincidence or not, this run has taken place without prized freshman Emoni Bates, who has been out with a lower back injury since Jan 27.

Michigan: Between Juwan Howard’s return from suspension and Michigan’s on-the-bubble status even after Sunday’s win at No. 23 Ohio State, the Wolverines will be a fascinating team to follow this week. They probably can’t afford an early-round setback in the Big Ten Tournament to add to four sub-Quad 1 losses, but this does have the makings of a team that can do damage with recent victories over Iowa, Rutgers, Michigan State and the Buckeyes. There is also the question of how Howard’s return impacts Michigan after he missed the last five games following the Feb. 20 incident at Wisconsin, and it responded so well under interim coach Phil Martelli.

Traditionally, Monday night would be the night of the year in the MAAC. The mid-major conference took center stage with its championship game before the major conferences began play on one of ESPN’s major networks. But in recent years, the tournament was pushed back, since the new host, Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, had a pre-existing contract to host the New Jersey State wrestling championships.

Since the tournament was canceled two years ago due to COVID-19, last March was the first year the league held the tournament in this new slot, with the title game the day before Selection Sunday on ESPNU. Commissioner Rich Ensor recently said the conference is in talks with Boardwalk Hall to extend the deal, which would be a major mistake, and has already agreed to have the tournament there next year in part because the past two years were either limited attendance or canceled.

The MAAC is only hurting itself. It is losing eyeballs and coverage. Its tournament gets lost amongst the big boys this way. It has better options. Find another site or play the games at the home of the higher seed, like the Northeast Conference does. The status quo can’t be in the best interest of the league.

Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden, March 9-12

Starting Wednesday night, the Garden will be rocking for the first true Big East Tournament in three years. Two years ago, it was called off on Day 2 due to COVID-19. Last year, it was played at a mostly-empty arena. But this week, it is not only back, but this is the best the league has been since realignment. There are seven projected NCAA Tournament teams and two potential sleepers — No. 7 St. John’s and No. 10 DePaul — at the bottom part of the bracket looking to make a big run. With the ACC Tournament at Barclays Center being held at the same time, serving as an appetizer to the main event, this is a heavenly week for local basketball junkies.

1: Gonzaga, Baylor, Arizona, Auburn
2: Kentucky, Kansas, Duke, Purdue
3: Villanova, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Texas Tech
4: Arkansas, Illinois, Providence, UCLA

Up: North Carolina

This isn’t just about the big upset Saturday night, although the Tar Heels ruining Mike Krzyzewski’s big night was obviously unexpected. This team has gotten off the mat after a mostly underwhelming regular season, and is playing its best basketball, a credit to first-year coach Hubert Davis and his players. North Carolina has now won 11 of its past 13 games after its 13-point beatdown of Duke. It isn’t just safe to make the NCAA Tournament, but appears capable of advancing.

Up: The RAC (Jersey Mike’s Arena)

Rutgers improved to 14-3 in its own building on Sunday, likely locking up an NCAA Tournament bid with a last-second win over Penn State on an emotional Senior Day. Over the past three years, the Scarlet Knights are 42-8 there, with nine victories over ranked opponents. In one 12-day span this year, they took out Michigan State, Ohio State and Illinois in succession. There isn’t a better college basketball atmosphere in the area. There isn’t even a close second. Rutgers’ home now goes by Jersey Mike’s Arena, but I’ll always think of it as the RAC. Either way, opponents must hate the place.

Down: Georgetown

The Hoyas made history on Saturday, and not the kind anyone associated with this program can be proud of. Georgetown completed a winless league season with its loss at Xavier, falling to stunning depths under Patrick Ewing less than a year after winning the Big East Tournament and becoming the first Big East program to go winless in league play since DePaul in 2008-09. Last week, athletic director Lee Reed offered Ewing a vote of confidence, and on Friday the Hall of Fame player tweeted that he was planning on sticking it out on The Hilltop. It’s become abundantly clear this isn’t working, but Georgetown and Ewing aren’t ready to admit that yet. Even a 6-24 regular season, and 0-19 league record, isn’t enough evidence.

Down: Frank Martin

Barring an unlikely SEC Tournament title, South Carolina will miss its fourth straight NCAA Tournament. In the COVID-19 year, the Gamecocks weren’t going dancing either. They have as many Quad 1 wins (two) as Quad 3 losses (two), and haven’t been nationally ranked since reaching the 2017 Final Four. And the notoriously intense Martin has taken out some of his frustration on his big men. He benched top forward Wildens Leveque in Saturday’s loss to fifth-ranked Auburn, and when asked by reporters about the move, said: “Watching him play has hurt my eyes. So you can say the injury is my eyesight.” He has called the play of his frontcourt “embarrassing.” Ripping his players publicly seems to be Martin’s last hope at jump-starting his inconsistent team.