Conference Tournament Predictions:

Conference tournaments start next week! I’m only human, so I can’t watch every team play throughout the year, but from what I have seen, here are my predictions for who wins the conference tournaments this year, with some brief thoughts on each!

• A-SUN: Liberty. I don’t like that Kennesaw plays fast but has mediocre AdjO/D and Liberty’s top 60 in both. Also, Colin Porter’s from my hometown, so I feel obligated.

• American East: Vermont. Their offense is better than UM Lowell, and the defenses are similar.

• AAC: Houston.

• A-10: Dayton, I’m not super confident in this, but I’ll roll with the Flyers to figure it out.

• ACC: Duke, our outlook on the Blue Devils is much different if the refs make a correct call in Virginia.

• Big 12: There are about 10 teams who could push to win it all. I’ll take Kansas until someone proves they can knock them off.

• Big East: My gut feeling is Creighton, who's coming on hot right now, so I’ll take them for the time being. Villanova’s a sleeper pick to steal a bid at MSG

• Big Sky: Eastern Washington.

• Big South: UNC-Asheville. If Winthrop can stop being a traffic cone on defense, they may have a shot, and Longwood will be tough.

• Big Ten: I legitimately have no idea who shows up for this one. It’s wide open, but I like Indiana; TJD is going to show up big time in these moments; they just need to take their shooting with them.

• Big West: This should be a really fun tournament. Right now, three UC teams look like frontrunners, but Hawaii could also push and make a run. I’ll take UC Irvine, though, because they are solid on O/D per KenPom, and that travels well.

• CAA: Charleston. I like the cougars, and I think their pace of play and offense will make it hard for them to be beaten on a neutral site. They also have the best defense per KenPom this year.

• C-USA: First, there’s a slim chance that C-USA gets 2 bids. Both FAU and UNT are in the mix for an at-large, and FAU’s a 9 for me right now. If UNT beats FAU in the championship game, there’s a solid chance FAU will make it in. With that, I’m taking FAU to win.

• Horizon: It depends on which version of Youngstown’s offense shows up, but I believe the Penguins get the AQ. I could also be talked into Cleveland State/NKU/Milwaukee winning it. It’ll be fun, and I believe I’m attending a home NKU matchup if they get one.

• Ivy: The Ivy tournament’s awesome, 4 teams total = pure madness. I’ll take Yale for now, but if Cornell can sneak into that 4th spot, the Yale vs. Cornell matchup could be the place Yale trips up.

• MAAC: Iona. Pitino’s potentially moving on; he needs to show he can win a tournament and get his players motivated to do it.

• MAC: I’m desperate for a Kent St/Toledo matchup; Toledo has the #13 offense, and Kent State has the #32 defense. It would be a GREAT game. I’ll take Toledo for the AQ.

• MEAC: Norfolk State

• MVC: Drake

• MWC: This year’s tournament in Vegas is going to be electric. I’m tuning in for each game if I can. Give me Utah State and their 3pt shooting to cut down the nets.

• Northeast: This may be the only conference I haven’t watched this year, so I truly don’t know. I’ll take Merrimack.

• OVC: Morehead State

• Pac-12: UCLA, but we could very easily see a bid-stealer from here, specifically looking at Washington State/AZ State.

• Patriot: Colgate.

• SEC: I’m fading Alabama for now until more clarity on the Miller situation is brought forward, so with that, give me Texas A&M to make a run and win the SECT.

• Southern: Samford.

• Southland: Since conference play started, Texas A&M CC has been the most consistent, leading both O/D in conference play. I’ll take the Islanders.

• SWAC: Grambling State they have a solid defense, and I think that it’ll travel well.

• Summit: Oral Roberts.

• Sun Belt: Give me Marshall; they play fast and are top-100 in Both offense and defense per KenPom.

• WCC: Gonzaga. I don’t like SMC’s offensive struggles at times.

• WAC: I’m taking Utah Valley; I think they can match up well with most teams, and their defense will keep them in each game.