Conference Tournament Countdown: Southland, Big Ten, ACC, and SEC Conference

[Editor's Note: SportsJudge continues it's breakdown of all 30 conference tournaments leading up to March Madness with tonight's preview of the Southland, Big Ten, ACC, and SEC Championships.]

Southland (previewed by Brian Doyle)

The Southland Conference has four teams that are likely to compete for the conference championship: Sam Houston St., Stephen F. Austin, Nicholls St., and Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

On one side of the bracket, the #2 seed Nicholls St. is likely to meet #3 seed Sam Houston St. in the tournament semi-finals. In their lone meeting this season, Nicholls St. eeked out a one point win at Sam Houston St., with leading scorer Ryan Bathie (15 points per game) putting up 19 points against Sam Houston, but it was Justin Payne’s last second drive and layup that gave Nicholls St. the win. Nicholls St. finished conference play with an 11-2 record in their last 13 games and look for them to use that momentum to carry them into the conference championship game. Sam Houston St. finished the conference season with a mediocre 5-3 record and have proven inconsistent of late.

On the other side of the bracket look for Stephen F. Austin to take care of Texas A&M CC. A&M CC finished conference play with a 3-4 record, and Stephen F. Austin, led by Matt Kingsley and Josh Alexander’s combined 30 points per game, should take care of A&M CC and face Nicholls St. in the finals.

Stephen F. Austin, as the top seed and with a formidable offensive duo in Kingsley and Alexander should take care of Nicholls St. in the championship game. The two teams split the season series, with Nicholls St. keeping Alexander to 2 points in their win. That situation is unlikely to repeat itself come the end of this week.

Brian Doyle: Stephen F. Austin
Mike Colligan: Stephen F. Austin

Kevin Fenstermacher: Stephen F. Austin


Big Ten (previewed by Brian Doyle)

Michigan St. is the clear favorite in the Big 10 tournament, but with a league full of teams that can beat each other at any given time, on any given day, and especially in a tournament format, it’s probably more likely than not that Michigan St. won’t end up as the conference tournament champion. As the Big 10 teams descend upon Conseco Field House in Indianapolis on Thursday, the top 3 seeds, Michigan St., Illinois, and Purdue all have first round byes and await the winners from 3 games on Thursday afternoon. Let’s have a look at the teams with the greatest chance of coming out on top by the end of the week.

Michigan St. started the season off slowly, getting shellacked against UNC and losing to Maryland before bouncing back with wins against Texas and Minnesota in their first conference game. Michigan won the Big Ten easily, by four games over Illinois and Purdue, both of whom they have proven they can beat, especially late in the season. They’re led in scoring by Kalin Lucas but Raymar Morgan appears to be a key to the team’s success; Michigan St. is 18-1 when Morgan plays 20 or more minutes. With an outside shot at a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, State may have a lot to play for in this tournament; they’re certainly the team to beat.


Purdue has limped into the conference tournament, losing 3 of their last 4 games of the regular season. The Boilermakers do have three players that are averaging double digits in scoring, including Robbie Hummel, who was the Big Ten preseason pick player of the year, who needs to step up much more than he has so far this season. Much like Purdue, Illinois was sluggish towards the end of the regular season, finishing 2-3 in their last five games. Also much like Purdue, Illinois spreads their scoring across their team, with four players averaging in double digits, and another averaging 9.9 points per game. Depending on which version of these teams show up, they could face Michigan St. in the championship, or very well could be upset before reaching the semi-finals.

Penn St. and Michigan are two teams that need to make runs in this tournament, and both teams are capable of doing so, proving that they can play with the best teams in the conference, and in the country. Michigan is led by Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims, but flying under the radar is freshman Stu Douglass, who has proven that he can show up in big games, like when took over Michigan’s offense in their close loss to UConn in February in Storrs. If Douglass, a threat from behind the arc, breaks out Michigan has a chance to make a serious run in this tournament, a run that they need to make to strengthen their bid for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid.

Meanwhile, Penn St. seems to make no sense whatsoever, beating Illinois twice this season, including a 38-33 win in Champaign, and no, the game wasn’t called at halftime. But Penn St. seems to follow up these quality wins with losses to teams like Iowa, the team they lost to in their final regular season game. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see a Michigan – Penn St. semifinal, while unlikely, the Big Ten has had all kinds of parity this season outside of Michigan St. Similarly, I don’t see Wisconsin or Ohio St. getting past Michigan St. on their side of the bracket. When a tournament is unpredictable and this one, the best way to go is either with the best team, or the worst team, just because well…why not? This year I’m going with the best team, Michigan St., who have proven so far this year that they are a level above the rest of the Big Ten field.

Brian Doyle: Michigan St.
Mike Colligan: Purdue

Kevin Fenstermacher: Purdue

ACC (previewed by Kevin Fenstermacher)

The ever-popular Atlantic Coast Conference is about ready to get its conference tournament started this year, and all the drama of the Duke UNC rivalry is prevalent. There is also the re-emergence of another top ACC team in Wake Forest. The perennial wrong side of the bubble team performing finally performing to its potential in Florida State. Another legendary coach, Gary Williams, with his team on the outside looking in along with three other squads (Miami and Virginia Tech) who probably need a conference championship to make the NCAA Tournament, and I have even mentioned one of the most entertaining teams in the country to watch, the Clemson Tigers. Oh yea, and Boston College should be in the tourney as well. The ACC is year in and year out one of the best conferences in college basketball (even though I feel nobody touches the Big East over the past two years).

There are many teams who need to make a stand to use this tournament as a stepping stone to get into the tournament. Unfortunately for them, the ACC has some very strong teams at the top that I don’t believe these teams will be able surpass. I am counting BC, Maryland, Va Tech, and Miami all out of the NCAAs. Maryland and Miami have the best shot, but there are so many teams on the bubble that are just as viable, it is tough to tell what is going to happen. But then again, that is why they have the conference tournaments. It is the last chance for these teams to bolster their resume and get one of the last spots into March Madness.

As to who will win the ACC Tournament it is quite simple in most minds. North Carolina is the best team in the conference. They have the most talent and one of the best coaches in the college game. They have willing and determined seniors along with young talented players around them. However, there are two things holding UNC back right now. The injuries to point guard Ty Lawson and that they really don’t have a very deep bench. I think Lawson’s injury will affect them on both accounts (his level of play and the thin bench needing more playing time.) For these reasons I think UNC won’t hold up throughout the entire tournament.

The other contenders are Duke, Wake Forest, Clemson, Florida State, and Boston College. I will rule out four for you right now. Duke is too reliant on Gerald Henderson and Kyle Singler. I know Scheyer has put up points as well this year, but he disappeared during a stretch this season. I don’t think Henderson and Singler, as good as they are, can carry this team on their back. Wake Forest is an outstanding team. They are very talented, but at the same time very inconsistent. They have followed up big wins with losses to lesser competition on multiple occasions this season and the same could easily happen in the tournament. Florida State is still Florida State, so they will try and lose their first game of the conference tournament to see if they can get back on the bubble and miss out on yet another tournament. They are a lock so don’t worry about that, but they will try… Boston College just doesn’t have the talent for the ACC Tourney push. That leaves one team left.

The Clemson Tigers.

They are so entertaining to watch I can’t pick against them. Their full court press and all out hustle on every play is something that I love and want to see more and more of. K.C. Rivers is the combo guard that seems to be able to do anything on the court. Terrence Oglesby has such range and an unconscious trigger that you never know when he is going to unload a bomb from beyond the arc. You can’t leave him open. Trevor Booker is easily my favorite player in the ACC (yes, if you are wondering I am playing favorites). I’m not a Clemson fan, I just want to make that clear. I just like the way this team plays and think they have the makeup of a surprise team to go deep in the NCAAs and win the ACC. Trevor Booker’s dunk on Kyle Singler and Brian Zoubek in the 74-47 thrashing of Duke is my background to my computer at work. I hope you all saw that play. He has thrown it down with authority on multiple occasions this season.

I know this team has struggled since the before mentioned beating of the Blue Devils, but there is no better time than the revival of the Tigers than now.

Mike Colligan: Wake Forest

Brian Doyle: Wake Forest

Kevin Fenstermacher: Clemson

SEC (previewed by Kevin Fenstermacher)

The SEC is having a down year this year and could see as few as two teams in the NCAA tournament. Florida and South Carolina are hanging on the bubble and only LSU and Tennessee are locks heading into the SEC Tournament. There are a lot of teams that have very similar resumes and conference records, but nobody has stood out the season (besides LSU).

I wonder if Billy Donovan wishes he was in Orlando right now. His team hasn’t performed up to expectations this season and is right in the bubble mix, a place he isn’t too used to. Nick Calathes is one of the best point guards in the conference and has a great blend of skills to his game.

South Carolina has some very strong wins this season, which is why I feel they will make the tournament. A 10-6 conference record in the SEC still looks good even if the conference is having a down year. Devan Downey leads the team in scoring with over 20 a game and can go off at any time.

Tennessee should get a middle seed in the big dance this year (around a 6 or 7). The reason they are so high with just a 19-11 record in the pathetic SEC this year is because they played one of the toughest non-conference schedules in all of college hoops. They faced off against Siena, Temple, Georgetown, Gonzaga, Marquette, and Kansas. 4 of those teams are in the NCAA Tournament and Temple has a very strong chance of being in as well.

LSU wasn’t thought as the powerhouse of the SEC, but here they are on top with a 13-3 conference record and regular season championship. Marcus Thornton has been very versatile for the Tigers scoring inside and out. He can drive on you and get dirty inside getting rebounds or he can stop and pop with what at time seems to be endless range. They should be a team to keep an eye on later in March and should walk away as both regular season and conference tourney champs of the SEC.

Mike Colligan: LSU

Brian Doyle: Tennessee

Kevin Fenstermacher: LSU

Conference Tournament Countdown: Big West, Mountain West, Conference USA, and Pac-10

[Editor's Note: SportsJudge continues it's breakdown of all 30 conference tournaments leading up to March Madness with tonight's preview of the Big West, Mountain West, Conference USA, and PAC-10 Championships.]

Big West (previewed by Mike Colligan)

The Big West conference is never an easy conference to follow. The names all sound alike (UC-_____ & Cal State ______). The conference tournament features single and double byes, along with reseeding every round, making it impossible to really predict any potential matchups. This year, it wouldn't have mattered anyway.

Cal State Northridge snagged the top seed, but were swept by Pacific and lost at Long Beach State. Long Beach State, the #2 seed, not only knocked off the top seed but also swept #3 Pacific. Fourth seed UC Santa Barbara is on fire as of late after winning seven of their past eight. Included in that streak of wins are victories over Long Beach St. and Pacific. Unfortunately UCSB is also terrible on the road. Cal State Fullerton is the returning champ and feature the conference stud Josh Akognon (23.5 ppg), but he has little supporting cast and they are the 7 seed. Confused yet?

Once the smoke clears, I think Pacific walks away with the conference championship. Cal State Northridge is going to be tough to knock off but the Tigers have confidence having done it twice already this season.

Kevin Fenstermacher: Pacific
Brian Doyle: Long Beach St.
Mike Colligan: Pacific

Mountain West (previewed by Brian Doyle)

The Mountain West boasts five 20-win teams and has three teams finishing conference play at the top with 12-4 records. The contenders for the Mountain West tournament are BYU, Utah, New Mexico, San Diego St., and UNLV. Look for four teams to get into the NCAA Tournament from this conference, with the four likely to be decided from the outcome of play in this tournament.

BYU enters the tournament having won 9 of their last 10 games to claim the top seed. They are led by the trio of Lee Cummard, Jimmer Fredette, and Jonathan Tavernari, whom all average at least 16 points per game. BYU awaits the winner of Colorado St. and Air Force before presumably moving on to the semi-finals to face the winner of San Diego St. and UNLV. UNLV has proven to be an achilles heal for BYU this season, having lost to them in both meetings. Furthermore, the Mountain West tournament is being held in Las Vegas, which further aides UNLV against BYU if the Runnin’ Rebels are able to get past San Diego St. in their first round matchup.

UNLV, however, has struggled with San Diego St. this season, losing both matchups, including both teams regular season finale last Saturday. San Diego St., in turn has not been able to get by BYU this season. All of these mental factors involving the inability to beat an opponent play into BYU’s hands. UNLV’s only home loss in conference play came at the hands of San Diego State. After the Aztecs’ recent win over UNLV on Saturday, look for the same to happen in the MWC quarterfinals, and for BYU to eliminate SDSU in the semi-finals.

On the other side of the bracket look for the #2 and #3 seeds Utah and New Mexico to meet up in the semi-finals. It will be too difficult for many teams to keep up with Utah, who spreads its scoring so much that the 6th and 7th men, Tyler Kepkay and Shaun Green, each average over 10 points per game, but look for New Mexico, who finished the regular season on a 10-2 run, to find a way with their own 6th man Chad Toppert averaging 11 points per game. Look for a New Mexico – BYU final that, like most of the games in this conference tournament, could really go either way. I like BYU to come out on top though.

Kevin Fenstermacher: UNLV
Brian Doyle: BYU
Mike Colligan: Utah

Conference USA (previewed by Mike Colligan)

You may as well just rename this the Memphis Conference Championship. Tomorrow will mark 1,105 days since Memphis last lost a game in the conference and this season they were hardly challenged. Only four conference games all year were decided by single digits and all were on the road. That's not much cause for concern considering the tournament will be held at the FedEx Forum in...you guessed it...Memphis, Tennessee.

The real reason you might want to tune in is to see if the UAB Blazers can find their way into the Big Dance. Our resident Bracketologists here at SportsJudge feel their tough non-conference schedule is enough to win over the committee. I think UAB will need to make it into the Championship game in order to snag a spot in the field of 65. That might be a tough task if it means they have to topple #2 seed Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane, led by a nasty defense, enter the tournament as hot as ever winning 10 of their past 12. In their most recent matchup with Rice, the top three-point shooting team in the league, Tulsa held them to only 15% shooting from beyond the arc. Unfortunately a few key losses will likely doom any chance Tulsa has of making the tournament if they can't find a way to upset Memphis. Don't count on that happening.

Kevin Fenstermacher: Memphis
Brian Doyle: Memphis
Mike Colligan: Memphis

Pac-10 (previewed by Brian Doyle)

The Pac 10 has some intriguing matchups as the tournament begins first round play at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Top seed Washington awaits the winner of Oregon St. – Stanford in the quarterfinals before presumably taking on the winner of Arizona – Arizona St. in the semi-finals. Washington is led by Isaiah Thomas, Justin Dentmon and Jon Brockman, all of whom average 15 points a game. The Huskies spread around their offense, making it difficult for opposing teams to focus on one offensive threat. Washington comes into the tournament on a 5 game winning streak and have won 8 of their last 9, with a loss at UCLA thrown into the mix.

Arizona St. is the largely inconsistent team coming into the tournament. They also had a 5 game conference winning streak before losing to Washington, and then inexplicably to Washington St. and Stanford. However, they face a struggling Arizona team that have lost 4 of their last 5, and who lost both games to Arizona St. this year, although both were close contests. Look for James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph to find a way to get Arizona St. past Arizona and into the semis against Washington.

On the other side of the bracket, if UCLA can get past the Washington St. - Oregon winner in the quarterfinals, they’ll await the winner of Cal – USC. Unfortunately, rapper Lil Romeo (Percy Miller) has only played in six games for USC this season. I still don’t think Taj Gibson and company will be enough to beat Cal, who, if they were on Washington’s side of the bracket, I would pick to play in the championship game in this tournament.

That pits UCLA up against Cal and Arizona St. up against Washington in the semi-finals. Unfortunately, I don’t think Cal can get over the hump against UCLA, the defending Pac-10 champion and an experienced tournament team. On the other side of the bracket Washington has too many scoring options for Arizona St. to handle. Look for last year’s tournament MVP Darren Collison to lead UCLA to another Pac-10 championship, this time over Washington, helped of course by Josh Shipp and Cameroonian forward Alfred Aboya, who I think will have a big tournament.

Brian Doyle: UCLA
Kevin Fenstermacher: Arizona St.
Mike Colligan: UCLA

Conference Tournament Countdown: Big 12, A-10, SWAC

[Editor's Note: SportsJudge continues it's breakdown of all 30 conference tournaments leading up to March Madness with this preview of the Big 12, Atlantic 10, and SWAC Championships.]

SWAC (previewed by Kevin Fenstermacher)

The lowly Southwestern Athletic Conference. A definite one bid league that will more than likely have its champion playing in the play-in game. There really isn’t much to this conference. There are two contenders to take to crown this season, Alabama State and Jackson State.

Behind Brandon Brooks, the Alabama State Hornets finished 19-9 this year with a 16-2 conference record. The two conference losses came at opposite ends of the spectrum. They lost one game to their main competition this year, Jackson State, and the other two the bottom feeder of the SWAC, Alcorn State. I look for a conference final between the Hornets and Jackson State this season.

Jackson State has just 3 losses in conference play this year (15 wins), but only has accumulated a 16-14 record. 1 non-conference win doesn’t look to good when you are a contender for your conference tournament. Grant Maxey (16.2 PPG) and Darrion Griffin (14.8) have been the one-two punch this year (Jeremy Caldwell and Garrison Johnson are also each chipping in over ten points a contest). It should be a good showdown with ‘Bama State for the 65th spot in the field.

Alabama State seems to be the better of the two teams. Both match-ups during the season were close to the end and I don’t expect this one to be any different. Look for Alabama State to nudge past Jackson State by only a few points.

Kevin Fenstermacher: Alabama State
Mike Colligan: Jackson State
Brian Doyle: Alabama State


Atlantic-10 (previewed by Kevin Fenstermacher)

The A-10 has provided us with some entertaining basketball again this season. They could have up to four teams in the tournament after a strong showing in 2008. Xavier is a lock for the field of 65 and Dayton shouldn’t have any concerns beyond seeding as well. The two teams who need this tournament to bolster their final resume are Rhode Island and Temple. Of course there is always the off-chance that another team (like St. Joe’s or LaSalle) pulls off the big upset and wins the conference tourney, but if that happens you won’t be seeing five out of the A-10.

Xavier has been one of the more consistent teams in the nation this year finishing at 24-6 overall and 12-4 in the conference, winning the conference regular season title. Xavier looks to follow up on their great play in March last season with another great year. The Musketeers have good leadership and even thought they have struggled a bit of late, don’t sleep on them to make some noise in your bracket.

Dayton has lost three of their last five games including a beat down by Xavier and an overtime thriller to Rhode Island. They still haven’t lost their spot in the tournament, but they need to pick up their play if they want to be considered a team to look out for. As of now they stand as an 8-10 seed. A conference championship could lock up a better spot for them.

Rhode Island blew a huge game for them to UMASS in the final game of the season. It would have given the URI Rams a share of the conference title and put them in much better shape for the NCAA Tournament (probably in the tourney instead of outside looking in). URI may need to win the A-10 Tourney to get into the big dance, but a conference championship appearance may be enough depending on how the other conferences play out. I know one thing; the Rams don’t want to leave their fate to the Selection Committee.

Legendary Big 5 Coach Fran Dunphy has done an excellent job replacing THE LEGEND of Big 5 coaches, John Chaney. The guy doubled as a mascot and a coach for years. How many other coaches can do that (maybe Coach K). You can’t tell me Chaney didn’t look like the Temple Owl in his last few seasons as coach. I wouldn’t be surprised if the wide-eyed coach wouldn’t be able to spin his head around like an owl too. But, I digress. Temple was a big surprise to get into the NCAA Tournament last year. They have been able to keep up their high level of play this season with good out of conference wins against Penn State and Tennessee (along with a solid 11-5 conference record). The Owls are hoping for Christmas in March. Dionte Christmas might be the most versatile scorer in the A-10. If he gets hot beyond the arc, watch out for the Temple Owls (ask Tennessee).

I might be playing favorites again but I am picking Temple to travel over to Atlantic City (why is this tournament not being played at the Palestra again?) and return home to Philadelphia as the A-10 Tournament winners. Look for Christmas to be the player of the tournament and get the Owls (1-3 against Xavier, URI, and Dayton) over the hump and into the field of 65.

Kevin Fenstermacher: Temple
Mike Colligan: Xavier
Brian Doyle: Dayton


Big 12 (previewed by Kevin Fenstermacher)

The Big 12 can get anywhere up to 7 teams into March this season. Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma State, and Texas A&M are looking good for some extended play come March. Kansas State has an outside chance, but would need to do some serious damage in the Big 12 Championship.

I don’t see any miracles happening for K-State this year, so I’m going to go with just six teams out of the Big 12 this year. While Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, and Texas are all very skilled teams, I don’t think they have enough talent to get through the big three of this conference to win the tourney. Oklahoma is beginning to show cracks in its armor at the wrong time this season. Oklahoma does have the frontrunner for Player of the Year, Blake Griffin, back in its lineup and he is still putting up numbers after his concussion, but they lost three of its last five (@ Texas, Kansas, @ Mizzou). Griffin wasn’t there for the KU game, but Kansas showed some great resiliency against the higher ranked Sooners.

Kansas didn’t have the rebuilding year that many expected after its Championship run. They lost a ton of key players from last year (Chalmers, Arthur, Kahn, Rush) but the youth has come in and performed well beyond expectation. It will be tough for such a young team to make it deep in the NCAA Tournament, but they do have some key players who were there last year (Collins and Aldrich). Bill Self is one heck of a coach so I wouldn’t count this young team out of any bracket.

Missouri has also lost 2 of its last 3 (Kansas and Texas A&M), but have shown throughout the year that they are one of the better teams in the country. Carroll and Lyons are the scoring duo for the Tigers, but they get good contributions from many other players. They also hold wins against Kansas and Oklahoma this year. They have shown that they can beat the cream of the crop in the Big 12. Mizzou really doesn’t get much national recognition it seems. Don’t be shocked to see a deep tourney run from the Tigers.

Kevin Fenstermacher: Kansas
Mike Colligan: Oklahoma
Brian Doyle: Oklahoma

Conference Tournament Countdown: MEAC, MAC, WAC

[Editor's Note: SportsJudge continues it's breakdown of all 30 conference tournaments leading up to March Madness with this evening's preview of the MEAC, MAC, and WAC Championships.]

MEAC (previewed by Kevin Fenstermacher)

The Morgan State Bears have all but ran through the competition they face in the MEAC this season. Led by Reggie Holmes (16.5 PPG, 5.4 RPG), Marquise Kately (11.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG), and Kevin Thompson (9.1 PPG, 7.2 RPG) they finished the conference regular season 13-3. They even pulled off an upset win at Maryland midway through the season. They aren’t a team to be taken lightly and barring a surprise slip up they will be in the big dance come mid-March.

Morgan State does, however, have one foe they want to avoid in the MEAC tournament. The 8-8 Hampton Pirates have given Morgan State two of its three conference losses. That would make Hampton (even though finishing 7th in the conference) a strong contender to upset the MEAC regular season champ and head to the field of 65. South Carolina State, Bethune-Cookman, NC A&T (sounds like a phone company), Coppin State, and Norfolk State all finished with better conference records than Hampton. They will all be rooting strongly for Hampton to get their shot at taking down Morgan State before the final round, since none of them have been capable of doing so.

Look for Morgan State to cruise into the tournament this year. They have trounced the MEAC (outside of Hampton of course) and should easily advance into the dance.

Brian Doyle: Morgan State
Kevin Fenstermacher: Morgan State
Mike Colligan: Morgan State

Western Athletic Conference (previewed by Mike Colligan)

On Tuesday, the Western Athletic Conference tournament kicks off from Reno, Nevada. Utah State grabbed the top seed with a 14-2 record but after reeling off a 19-game winning streak earlier this season, the Aggies have lost 3 of their past 6 and seem to be questioning themselves. They were pummeled by #2 seed and tournament host Nevada last week.

Nevada might be the team to watch out for in this tournament and the future, as they feature a slew of talented young players, including super-freshman Luke Babbitt. Unfortunately, lack of focus can affect a young team and this was obviously the case when Nevada fell to last-place Fresno State just two days prior to spanking Utah State.

If there's a team able to pull of a big upset in this year's tournament it's probably #4 Boise State. The Broncos put up a ton of points, including over 100 a few times this season, but defensive lapses will keep them from reaching the big dance. In the end, a hot Nevada team on their home court is too tough for me to pass up.

Brian Doyle: Utah State
Kevin Fenstermacher: Nevada
Mike Colligan: Nevada

MAC (previewed by Brian Doyle)

The Mid-American conference is split into two divisions, with each division winner and the top two non-division winners getting a bye in the first round of the MAC tournament in Cleveland. Coming into today, the last regular season date in MAC play, four MAC teams in the East division sit at 10-5 in the conference, while Kent St. sits in fifth place in the East at 9-6. Meanwhile in the MAC West only Ball St. and W. Michigan have a chance to finish the season at .500 in conference play, heading into Sunday with 7-8 records.

Look for the conference champion to come from the MAC East, where Miami (OH), Akron, Bowling Green, and Buffalo are all tied at the top. Their finals games may make all the difference in their tournament chances, wrapping up a top four seed is the difference between playing four days straight to win the championship versus that extra day of rest. Buffalo limps into the tournament, having lost five of there last six after a nine game winning streak to start conference play off at 9-1. Buffalo shouldn’t be totally discounted, they seem to be streaky, and can play with the best teams in the country as they showed by playing UConn to a tough four point loss.

Similarly, Miami (OH) has played a slew of tough non-conference opponents, including visits to UCLA, Pitt, Xavier, West Virginia, and Dayton, and managed to keep most of those games fairly close. The RedHawks generally prefer to play at a slower pace, keeping most of their games low scoring, but they still do manage to have two players in Michael Bramos and Kenny Hayes who average in double-digit scoring.

Akron, much like Buffalo, had a long winning streak (seven games) earlier this season, but have since shown some inconsistency with a 3-3 record in their last six. Akron spreads their scoring fairly evenly among their players, making them. Meanwhile, Bowling Green is entering the tournament playing the best out of the top teams, heading into Sunday with a 9-3 record in their last twelve games. Bowling Green is led by seniors Brian Moten and Nate Miller, and like other teams in the MAC, they generally play good defense, which means low scoring games. In a conference that could be won by a handful of teams this year, look for Bowling Green to come out on top and get the automatic bid.

Brian Doyle: Bowling Green
Kevin Fenstermacher: Buffalo
Mike Colligan: Buffalo

Conference Tournament Countdown: Big East

[Editor's Note: SportsJudge continues it's breakdown of all 30 conference tournaments leading up to March Madness with today's preview of the Big East Conference.]

Big East Conference (previewed by Kevin Fenstermacher)

The Big East is the Best Conference in College Basketball. That's Right. The BEST! It could almost be a bracket in itself in the NCAA tournament. Take the 16 teams from one region and seed them, then fill the remaining three regions and seed them with all the other conference. It would, work, trust me.

It would be a monumental feat for any team that finished 9 through 16 to win 5 games against some of the best teams in the college game to advance in the tournament so you would think ruling out any of those teams would be a smart idea. Incorrect. The top four teams of the first round all have the ability to surprise a couple of the big names and somehow get past these giants to get into the tournament. Notre Dame and Georgetown were at one point this season (at the start of conference play) ranked high inside the top 25 and would have been considered locks for the NCAA Tournament. They could provide a few upsets and make things really interesting in the tournament.

Now, I don’t expect any Gerry McNamara miracles coming from Cincy, G-Town, ND, or Seton Hall, but the next group of four has a solid chance of making an upset. If you were to be on ESPN’s SportsCenter playing Contender/Pretender alongside Jay Bilas and Dickie V, I think every team in the top eight has enough talent to be considered Contender. I also feel like all eight of these teams will be in the NCAA Tournament field.

Providence got the signature win they needed for their resume with their win over then #1 ranked Pitt. They have a ton of seniors and with that comes experience and leadership. With an RPI of 68 heading into Saturday night, the Friars have three wins against the RPI top 50. A win or two in the Big East tournament and the Big East should be a lock for 8 teams.

West Virginia just missed playing spoiler to Louisville’s Big East regular season title hopes, but couldn’t pull it out in the end. WVU has a respectable resume that should get them in the NCAA’s without any worries. A win in the conference tournament should lock that up. WVU isn’t the most talented team this season, but it is tough to count out a well-coached Bob Huggins team.

Syracuse is one of six Big East teams in the Top 25. The Orange always cause a splash and stir up drama in the Big East Tournament. This talented team could do that again this year led by their guard play and usually strong defense. After struggling midway through the conference season they have rebounded with four straight wins, capped off by an over-time victory at Marquette.

The early surprise of the Big East season was Marquette, who started off conference play with 9 wins (a surprise loss to lowly South Florida ended their streak). The Golden Eagles, however, aren’t flying high anymore after their point guard Dominic James was sidelined with an injury. They have lost four straight games coming into Madison Square Garden. They have the talent (McNeal, Hayward, Matthews) to push on without James, but I feel an early exit from the conference tournament is at hand. Marquette has played the hardest part of their schedule without James running the show, so it is tough to judge if they can win without him. I feel like without James their Big East and NCAA Championship hopes are lost with him.

Another surprise this year has been Jay Wright and his Villanova Wildcats. As usual, this guard oriented offense has been able to play with the best teams in the country and should be feared come NCAA tourney time. This year’s Big East Tournament is going to be Dante Cunningham’s coming out party. He is ready for the big time! Scottie Reynolds and Cunningham have ‘Nova as a good sleeper pick.

UConn is the number one team in the land heading into the upcoming week. They just lost to Pitt for the second time this season, but outside of Pitt and a surprise loss at the start of conference play to G-Town, the Huskies have shown why they are a perennial powerhouse under coach, Jim Calhoun. UConn is not only a favorite for the Big East tournament, but the NCAA Tourney as well.

Pitt, just like UConn, is a favorite for the Big East and NCAA Tournaments. DeJuan Blair has been a force on both ends of the ball this season. Levance Fields does a tremendous job of running the offense (does anybody else think he looks like a chubby Jermain Dupri?) and has the leadership qualities that every team needs. They should be a lock for a 1 seed in big dance.

Louisville was a surprise in a different way this season. Everyone knew this team had talent, coaching, athleticism, experience, leadership, teamwork, and overall ability. They have everything a championship team needs. Then they started off the season with surprising losses the Western Kentucky, Minnesota, and UNLV. People began to question what this team was really made of. A few short months later they showed it by being crowned regular season champions of the toughest conference in basketball. Another team that can score in a variety of ways, the Cardinals finished 16-2 in Big East play (losses to Notre Dame and UConn). It is possible for the Big East to get three 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament with the Cardinals, UConn, and Pitt. What an outstanding year for the “super-conference.”

With all that being said I feel that this is by far the hardest tournament to pick who the champion will be. I feel that the regular season champs, Louisville, has a great shot at taking both the regular season and conference tourney. I also can see Jim Boeheim and his Syracuse Orange making another improbable tourney run. I am going to go in a different direction however. I am going to go with my heart and not my head (a mistake you shouldn’t make when filling out your office bracket) and pick my alma-mater, Seton Hall University. This is the only hope I have left at seeing the Pirates in March Madness this year, and I am going to hold onto the last thread of that hope with this pick! Fight! Fight! Fight! For the Blue and White! For the Glory of Seton Hall!

Brian Doyle: Pitt
Kevin Fenstermacher: Seton Hall
Mike Colligan: Louisville

*Be sure to stop back tonight when the SportsJudge team breaks down the MAC, MEAC, and WAC Brackets.

Conference Tournament Countdown: Big Sky and Summit

[Editor's Note: SportsJudge continues it's breakdown of all 30 conference tournaments leading up to March Madness with this evening's preview of the Big Sky and Summit Conferences.]

Big Sky Conference (previewed by Mike Colligan)

It's hard to dispute that Weber State is the team to beat in the Big Sky Conference. The Wildcats not only possess a first-round bye and homecourt advantage throughout the tournament, but they also finished 15-1 in the conference and are in the midst of a 12-game winning streak. Weber St. is lead by 5'6" Big Sky Player of the Year Kellen McCoy and Freshman of the Year Damian Lillard. They also record second in the league in both scoring and scoring defense.

If you like watching teams firing 3-pointers, this might be the league to check out. Over half the teams in the conference tournament rank Top 50 in the nation in 3-pointers, led by none other than 2-seed Portland State. PSU ranks #4 in the country with 9.7 three's per game and have attempted a ridiculous league record 775 so far this season. Portland State was last year's champion and could possibly give Weber a run for their money if they get hot.

#3 seed Montana, led by Big Sky leading scorer Anthony Johnson (17.5 ppg), were the only team to knock of Weber State this season but they limp into the tournament losing two of their last three games. They are an excellent defensive team and if they can regain their swagger, they could do some damage and possibly sneak into the NCAA Tournament. In the end, Weber State will be too tough to handle and will walk away with their 9th Big Sky tournament title.

Brian Doyle: Weber St.
Kevin Fenstermacher: Weber St.
Mike Colligan: Weber St.

Summit League (previewed by Brian Doyle)

North Dakota St. is in its first year of postseason eligibility in Division 1 basketball (after joining Division 1 in 2004, they were an independent until playing in the Summit League at the start of the 2007 season, they were ineligible for last season’s conference tournament). In 2004 they redshirted their entire freshman class with the promise that when they were seniors they’d have the chance to play for a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Now four and a half years later the Bison have and their fifth-years seniors have the chance to do just that. NDSU has claimed the top seed in the conference tournament being held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and is led by guard Ben Woodside, who averages 23 points a game. The Bison claimed the top seed by going 16-2 in conference play, and finishing ahead of three-time defending Summit League champion Oral Roberts. Woodside, combined with forward Brett Winkelman pack a scoring punch of over 40 points per game for NDSU, making them a formidable duo.

Two other teams look to interrupt NDSU’s run: Oral Roberts and Oakland. Senior guard Erik Kangas, who averages nearly 20 points a game, leads Oakland’s offense going into the tournament. Oakland is also one of the teams that managed to beat North Dakota St. during conference play, a one point home win. Meanwhile, Oral Roberts has represented the conference in the NCAA tournament for the last three seasons, which makes their players well seasoned in the art of winning a conference tournament. But what those players have in conference tournament experience is negated by the experience and maturity of NDSU players, many of whom are 22 or 23 years old. This set of NDSU players also have the experience, and the skill set, that had them beat highly ranked teams like Wisconsin and Marquette in years past. North Dakota St. players have been waiting five years for this opportunity; look for them to make the most of it by beating Oakland in the Summit League championship game.

Brian Doyle: North Dakota St.
Kevin Fenstermacher: Oakland
Mike Colligan: North Dakota St.

Conference Tournament Countdown: CAA, America East, MAAC, WCC, and the Southern Conference

[Editor's Note: SportsJudge continues it's breakdown of all 30 conference tournaments leading up to March Madness with this evening's preview of the Atlantic Sun, Northeast, and Missouri Valley Conferences.]

Colonial Athletic (previewed by Brian Doyle)

The CAA tournament will be a fun tournament to watch. Unlike most smaller conferences where one or two teams are the clear favorite, there are easily four or five teams that have a legitimate chance of winning this tournament.

Virginia Commonwealth
The top seed is led by star Eric Maynor who averages 22 points per game. VCU has shown some flashes, but at the same time has shown some inconsistency over the course of the season. One thing to their advantage is that the entire tournament will take place in Richmond, giving them home court advantage. Despite those inconsistencies, VCU has shown that it can beat the other top teams in the CAA, with the exception of Northeastern, whom they lost to in Richmond in February. That said, VCU is still the odds on favorite given their top seed and home court advantage.

George Mason
GMU comes into the tournament having won their last four conference games, but they seem to struggle away from home. They played Dayton to a tough 4-point loss earlier this season but lack a go-to scorer if they fall behind in a game, despite three players averaging roughly 10 points per game. Their struggles away from home will likely be exacerbated over the course of the conference tournament.

Old Dominion
Over the course of the season Old Dominion has proven that it can beat any team in the conference and are led by Finnish center Gerald Lee (who doesn’t sound nearly as Finnish as his home town, Uusikaupunk). Lee is slowed by a sore foot though, and that could play a factor in the tournament. Old Dominion has won nine of their last ten and look to use that momentum when they likely face Hofstra in their first tournament game. If Lee can stay healthy, look for the Monarchs in the CAA championship game.

Northeastern
Northeastern started the season off strong, winning non-conference games at Providence and Indiana (I guess Indiana doesn’t count so much). They started conference play off even better with a 9-1 start but now find themselves hobbling into the CAA tournament after losing 5 of their last 8 games. If Northeastern is looking for something optimistic to turn to, it can be that they beat George Mason, Old Dominion, and VCU in succession earlier this season, two of those games were away, including the game at VCU, which is where this tournament is held. The Huskies will need Matt Janning to step up for them offensively. Defensively they led the CAA by allowing fewer than 60 points per game. If they can regain their intensity that they had mid-season when they beat the other top seeds in the tournament in succession, they’ll be in the championship game.

In the last game of the regular season Old Dominion beat Northeastern in overtime. Despite VCU’s home court advantage, look for a rematch in the championship game,. The Huskies are sound in two key areas, defense and free throws. This time Northeastern, the preseason favorite, may be able to hang on for the win.

Brian Doyle: Northeastern

Kevin Fenstermacher: Virginia Commonwealth

Mike Colligan: Old Dominion

West Coast Conference (previewed by Brian Doyle)

Gonzaga finished the conference season undefeated at 14-0 and seem well positioned to win the conference tournament with two byes that place them directly into the semi-finals. Joining them with two byes and a place in the opposite semi-final is St. Mary’s. This is likely to result in a Gonzaga – St. Mary’s final, due to both teams being fresh compared to their semi-final opposition, and due to both teams being more talented. St. Mary’s was well on their way to beating Gonzaga in the teams’ first meeting this season before Australian guard Patty Mills left the game with a broken hand. Gonzaga came back to win in the second half. St. Mary’s then lost four of five games. Since then the Gaels have won five in a row, with Diamon Simpson and Omar Samhan holding down the offense. In their second meeting with Gonzaga, St. Mary’s lose by just two points, even without Patty Mills.

Gonzaga is led by very good players from center Josh Heytvelt to guards Matt Bouldin and Jeremy Pargo. They’ve shown that they can play with the best, beating a whole slew of quality non-conference opponents, including Tennessee twice, Oklahoma St., and Maryland. They played an amazing game against UConn only to come up a little short, and the only game where they appeared to be clearly outplayed was when they hosted Memphis in early February. One thing is for sure, no matter what happens with their WCC tournament Gonzaga is certain to be in the NCAA tournament field.

In regards to the WCC championship game, it’s not certain that the top two teams will face each, despite both having byes to the semi-finals. Last year, for instance, San Diego ended up winning the tournament. The #3 seed, Nik Raivio-led Portland, could very well beat St. Mary’s, like they did earlier this season when St. Mary’s was without Mills. However, now with Mills cleared to play, even if he isn’t as effective as he was before the injury, him combined with his surrounding cast should be enough to put them past Portland (or whomever they end up playing in the semis) and Gonzaga.

Brian Doyle: St. Mary's

Kevin Fenstermacher: St. Mary's

Mike Colligan: Gonzaga

America East (previewed by Brian Doyle)

Vermont last made an impact four years ago, in ESPN analyst Tom Brennan’s last season at the helm, when they were led by star Taylor Coppenrath and point guard T.J. Sorrentine hitting three pointers from the DCU Center center court logo in their upset of #4 seed Syracuse. This season, Vermont is again at the top of the pack in the America East alongside Binghamton. Vermont is led in scoring by Mike Trimboli and Marquis Blakely and have won 15 of its last 16 games, the lone loss coming by 2 points to Binghamton where the Catamounts blew a 23 point halftime lead.

Binghamton, the top seed, rides an eight game winning streak into the conference tournament, and have a psychological edge over Vermont having beaten them in both meetings this season. Out of conference Binghamton beat Rutgers at the RAC. Their only other somewhat notable win would be a one point win at Tulane. Led by D.J. Rivera’s 20 points per game, Binghamton’s entire starting lineup averages in double digits.

The wildcard in all this is Boston University. BU is the #3 seed, which means they’ll likely have to go through Vermont to reach the finals. Vermont has handled BU with ease this season, winning by 14 and 28 points in their two meetings this season. BU is a threat to surprise the field, but with Vermont likely in the way their chances are limited.

The likely scenario is a Vermont-Binghamton final, which would be held at Binghamton. Both teams are at the top of their game, each bringing long winning streaks into the conference tournament. While Binghamton has won both meetings this year, the first, at Binghamton, took overtime and the second took a monumental second half comeback. Look for Vermont to get over the hump by defeating Binghamton in the finals where both teams should easily reach 80 points. I predict that the Catamounts will be representing America East in the tournament.

Brian Doyle: Vermont

Kevin Fenstermacher: Vermont

Mike Colligan: Binghamton

MAAC (previewed by Brian Doyle)

The MAAC is a very top-heavy league, with only 3 teams over .500 in conference play. The conference tournament will be held at the Albany Times Union center, home court of #1 seed Siena. Siena comes into the tournament with a first round bye, and an impressive non-conference schedule that includes the likes of Tennessee, Pittsburgh, Kansas and Oklahoma State and includes wins over St. Joseph’s, Ivy League champion Cornell, MVC leader Northern Iowa, and the WAC’s Boise State. Siena, who has three scorers, is led my Kenny Hasbrouck, who averages 15 points a game and is joined by Edwin Ubiles and Alex Franklin who both average 14 points a game.

The two main challengers to Siena are the other two top teams in the conference, Niagara and Rider. Niagara beat Siena, albeit at home, last week and are led by Tyrone Lewis’ 16.5 points per game, but also have three other players to complement him who average double digits in scoring. Their best non-conference win came against South Florida and are not nearly as tested as Siena. Meanwhile, #3 seed Rider also has four scorers that average 10 points or more a game, but Rider has been remarkably inconsistent this season (despite finishing the season on a 7-2 run), so don’t be surprised if they get bumped before the semi-finals.

I don’t see any of the lower teams in this league making a run. They lack the consistency and scoring ability to stay with the teams at the top of the league. Look for the top two seeds, Siena and Niagara, in the championship game. Last year Siena represented the conference as a #13 seed and beat up on Vanderbilt in the first round. Based on their non-conference resume, their home dominance in league play, and their seasoned postseason experience, look for them to beat Niagara in a hotly contested, high scoring championship game on Monday night. If they win, Siena is likely to improve on last year’s seeding, jumping up to a #12, or even a #11 seed.

Brian Doyle: Siena

Kevin Fenstermacher: Siena

Mike Colligan: Siena

Southern Conference (previewed by Mike Colligan)

"I can do all things." Davidson Junior guard Stephen Curry reportedly wrote this on his shoe before a recent game with Georgia Southern where Curry set the Davidson all-time scoring record. If you know one player from the Southern Conference, you probably know Davidson's Steph Curry. Curry led the Wildcats in on an incredible upset path last season over Gonzaga, Wisconsin, and Georgetown before falling to eventual champ Kansas. This year the cat is out of the bag and Curry has drawn 2, 3, and what seems like 4 defenders at a time on a nightly basis. Throw in the fact that Curry suffered a serious sprained ankle a few weeks ago and one would think the clock struck midnight on this Cinderella.

Think again. Curry is finally back to full health and I think Davidson will once again win the Southern Conference and head to the field of 65. College of Charleston is a solid team, especially on the road, that could make a serious run and come into the tournament winning seven of their last eight games. Unfortunately, one team that has their number is The Citadel. This is the team you need to watch out for as a sleeper. They are one of the hottest teams in the country, swept Charleston, beat Davidson, and has only lost one game since January. I think Davidson comes out on top but they will need a great game from Curry to hold off The Citadel in the finals.

Brian Doyle: Davidson

Kevin Fenstermacher: Davidson

Mike Colligan: Davidson


*Stop back tomorrow when the SportsJudge team breaks down the Big Sky Conference and Summit League. You can also find all of the SportsJudge team's picks so far right here:

Conference Tournament Countdown: Atlantic Sun, Northeast, Missouri Valley

[Editor's Note: SportsJudge continues it's breakdown of all 30 conference tournaments leading up to March Madness with this evening's preview of the Atlantic Sun, Northeast, and Missouri Valley Conferences.]

Atlantic Sun Conference (previewed by Mike Colligan)

The Atlantic Sun conference tournament begins tonight with three teams having a legitimate chance of grabbing that prized automatic bid into the Big Dance. Jacksonville finds themselves with the #1 seed and the only first-round bye after winning a thriller over Belmont just days ago. In a way, it couldn't have worked out any better for Belmont. Jacksonville will likely face red-hot #4 seed Lipscomb in the second round, a team that is on an eight-game winning streak (including wins over all three top seeds), and which will also be played on Lipscomb's home court. Talk about a bonus for winning your conference regular season! If Lipscomb can stay hot they could be a big sleeper in this tournament.

On the other side of the bracket, #2 ETSU brings a solid defense but might have trouble stringing together a series of wins in crunch time. I think #3 Belmont has the best chance to win it all despite the fact on paper it looks like Jacksonville has their number. Jacksonville squeaked out two victory's this season over Belmont on last-second plays and as I mentioned above, they likely won't have to face Lipscomb "on the road" in their barn. What's interesting, is should Belmont advance to the Championship game against Lipscomb, it will give a new meaning to "backyard brawl". Belmont is in fact located less than a mile down the road from Lipscomb. Maybe it's just me dreaming here, but I have a feeling that will be your finals matchup.

Brian Doyle: Belmont
Kevin Fenstermacher: ETSU
Mike Colligan: Belmont


Northeast Conference (previewed by Kevin Fenstermacher)

The Northeast Conference is another small conference one bid league. Leading to conference this year has been Robert Morris (21-10). They had a big three point win against Mount Saint Mary’s in the final game of the regular season, sweeping the season against one of their top competitors in the NEC and grabbing their fifteenth win to finish 15-3 in NEC play. Senior guard, Jeremy Chappell, leads the way with his forth straight season scoring 14+ points per game (16.6 PPG).

RMC has a lot of veteran leadership with Chappell and a slew of juniors who start game in and game out for the Colonials. There are some contenders for the NEC crown, but they have handled the next four top teams in the conference (Mount Saint Mary’s, Long Island, Sacred Heart, Quinnipiac) with a 7-0 record against them this year.

Sacred Heart, fresh off their first ever NEC Conference Championship in 2008, is the Colonials toughest foe. They have the experience of winning this tournament last season and that could give them an edge and confidence boost to pull it off again this year. In the long run I don’t think it will be enough to topple the conference powerhouse this season, but they are the best dark horse in the field. Robert Morris may have some decent competition in their conference, but expect the regular season champions to be dancing come March.

Brian Doyle: Sacred Heart
Kevin Fenstermacher: Robert Morris
Mike Colligan: Robert Morris


Missouri Valley Conference (previewed by Kevin Fenstermacher)

The Missouri Valley has an outside chance at two teams in the NCAA Tournament this season. The Creighton Blue Jays have played some fantastic basketball this season and are riding a ten game winning streak into the conference tournament. They have 10 top 100 wins this season as well. They are right on the inside of the bubble according to ESPN resident “Bracketologist” Joe Lunardi. I think that they need to do some damage and should at least make the conference final to have a chance at the at-large bid.

They have been hot at the right time this season, but only had a share of the regular season title with Northern Iowa. UNI split the season series with Creighton as both teams won away from home. They have slipped late in the season when they lost 4 of 5, including their loss to Creighton and a loss in a “Bracket Busters” against Siena. UNI has a very balanced scoring attack and can come at you from all angles on the floor. You can’t key in on one player to stop them.

The only other two teams to get slight consideration in the conference tournament this season is Bradley and Illinois State. I’m going to count Bradley out right away just for ruining my bracket a few seasons ago for knocking out Kansas in the first round. At least Rock Chalk got it done for me last season after being picked as my champion for the 5th straight year. Illinois State has 22 wins and is a solid team, but I don’t think they will be able to do enough to topple the two conference power houses and get into the field of 65.

I am going with Northern Iowa to win the MVC Tournament. Their balanced attack is what I believe gets them past Creighton in the conference championship game and into the tournament. I feel the MVC hurts all the power conference teams on the bubble, as Creighton get an at-large to push the MVC into a two-bid league.

Brian Doyle: Northern Iowa
Kevin Fenstermacher: Northern Iowa
Mike Colligan: Creighton

*Be sure to stop back tomorrow when the SportsJudge team breaks down the MAAC, Colonial, West Coast, America East, and Southern Conferences.

Conference Tournament Countdown: Big South, Horizon League, Ohio Valley, Patriot League

Ah yes, March Madness. With Selection Sunday less than two weeks away, SportsJudge wants to get you ahead of the curve with an inside look at the "other brackets". Conference tournaments kick off tomorrow Tuesday, March 3rd and the NCAA Basketball team of Brian Doyle, Kevin Fenstermacher and Mike Colligan plan to break down all 30 tournaments leading up to the Big Dance. Today, we'll take a look at the Big South Conference, Horizon League, Ohio Valley Conference, and the Patriot League.

Big South Conference (previewed by Mike Colligan)

Winthrop has typically been the cream of the crop in the Big South Conference, winning 8 of the past 10 tournaments, but a changing of the guard looks to be on tap as the Eagles limped to a 9-9 conference record this year.

Instead, Radford enters the 2009 tourney as the #1 seed with the potential of playing the entire tournament at home in the Dedmon Center (bracket can be found here). With much of the team's starters returning from last season, and the addition of junior transfer Artsiom Parakhouski, the Highlanders completed the greatest turnaround in Big South history, rising from 7th to 1st in one year's time.

#2 seed VMI, led by twins Chavis and Travis Holmes, managed to record the second-most wins in team history. Their 22 wins rank only behind the 1976-77 squad which advanced to the Sweet 16. Should VMI advance past the first round, they will likely find themselves faced with Liberty and preseason Player of the Year Anthony Smith. Liberty was pummeled by the Keydets 109-72 last week on their home court but found a way to recover and knocked off top seed Radford on the road to finish the season. If Liberty can find a way to advance past VMI, which is no small challenge, they should feel comfortable after winning 2 of their past 3 trips to Radford.

As for Winthrop, they find themselves in a first round rematch of last year's Championship game against UNC-Asheville. You might remember last year Asheville featured 7'7 360-pound Kenny George. Unfortunately, George's career came to a screeching halt this October after a staph infection resulted in partial amputation of his right foot. Winthrop enters the tournament on a five-game winning streak but in each game they have battled huge deficits early on, only to rally for wins. A slow start on the road at UNC-Asheville could lead to a quick tournament exit.

In the end, I think Radford should be able to find their way to the NCAA tournament as Big South Champions. Despite homecourt advantage being minimized by a pedestrian 5-2 record at home (9-0 on the road), the Highlanders have been on fire in 2009 (14-2 since Jan 1) and seem to be peaking at just the right time.

Brian Doyle: VMI
Kevin Fenstermacher: VMI
Mike Colligan: Radford

Horizon League (previewed by Brian Doyle)

This is one the tournaments for teams on the bubble to keep an eye on. With Butler just about guaranteed a spot in the field, they face tough competition in Wisconsin–Green Bay, Cleveland St., Wright St., and even Wisconsin-Milwaukee who has shown flashes earlier this season. If there’s an automatic bid that’s likely to burst a power conference team’s bubble, the level of competition in this league puts the odds in favor that this tournament will create one of them.

The first round of the Horizon League Championship starts tomorrow with higher seeds hosting (see the bracket here). Butler clinched the #1 seed in the Horizon tournament with a hard fought two point win at home against Cleveland St. on Saturday which means the Bulldogs will host the second half of the tournament, including the championship game, in Indianapolis. Wisconsin-Green Bay and Butler, the top two seeds, have byes into the semi-finals, meaning both should be well rested as they await competition that played the night before. Wisconsin-Green Bay just lost a close one at Wright St. on Saturday. Consider it a wake up call for the the tournament. If they can get by a likely tired Cleveland St., who just showed Butler to be vulnerable at home, look for Ryan Tillema-led Wisconsin-Green Bay, a team that would have everything to play for, to upset Butler, a team that’s only playing for a seed, in the championship game a week from tomorrow.

Brian Doyle: Wisconsin-Green Bay
Kevin Fenstermacher: Butler
Mike Colligan: Wisconsin-Green Bay

Ohio Valley Conference (previewed by Kevin Fenstermacher)

The Ohio Valley Conference has a lot of teams that could come out as the champion of their conference tourney this year. I feel that five teams (Tennessee-Martin, Murray State, Morehead State, Eastern Kentucky, Austin Peay) have a legit shot at winning the 8-team tournament (see the bracket here). This will be a one bid league as no teams have any significant wins and none have a shot for an at-large bid. Let's take a quick look at a few of the contenders...

Tennessee-Martin: The Skyhawks ended the conference regular season with a solid 21-8 record and a regular season conference championship after finishing 14-4 in OVC play. They are lead by the leading scorer in the conference, guard Lester Hudson. Hudson has helped Tennessee-Martin to the top points per game in the conference by dropping in over 26 points per game (7.7 RPG and 4.2 APG bolster his gaudy stat line).

Murray State: Murray state has put together a strong end of their season with ten wins in their last twelve games. I expect no problems in the first round for Murray State, but two losses to Austin Peay this year makes me feel like they have their number. I wouldn’t count them out after finishing 13-5 in the conference and 18-11 overall, but their defensive style might not be able to handle the stronger scoring teams throughout the OVC tournament.

Morehead State: Morehead State was looking very strong before losing their last four games heading into the conference tournament. It will be very hard for them to rebound and grab three straight wins against, especially with their first round game being against an Eastern Kentucky team that started their four-game skid. Morehead State is 11-1 at home this season (they beat EKU 68-64 at home) so it benefits them for the first round of the OVC tournament to be held at campus sites of the top-seeded teams.

Eastern Kentucky: Mike Rose leads the Colonels with 20.2 PPG and 5.4 APG. The senior forward has consistently lead EKU, scoring 30 or more four times this season. He also shown he can put up big point totals against the top teams in the OVC. If EKU can pull out a big win in the first round at Morehead State, they are another strong candidate to take the tourney crown.

Austin Peay: The Governors fought through a hard stretch during the middle of the season losing three conference games in a row (2 in overtime) at the end of January. Led by senior Drake Reed, Austin Peay is a team that has to be taken seriously in the OVC Tournament. Reed has been a force for Austin Peay ever since a Freshman and has improved into the superstar they need. Reed reached 30 points seven times this season averaging 22.4 per game. He also worked the board with 7.7 boards per game and shown that he can dish the ball as well with 2.2 APG.

I think that Austin Peay, led by Drake Reed, will be the team to come out of this conference on top. Tennessee-Martin has a strong case, but I think that Reed is the driving force that will bring the Governors into the tournament. The Lester Hudson / Drake Reed shootout I think will make for an entertaining final. Look for Austin Peay guard Wes Channels (16.8 PPG) to be the wildcard for the Governors as he can get hot from beyond the arc and provide some more scoring.

Brian Doyle: Tennessee-Martin
Kevin Fenstermacher: Austin Peay
Mike Colligan: Murray State

Patriot League (previewed by Brian Doyle)

After years of classic Holy Cross-Bucknell battles in the championship game (that matchup is now a first round matchup this year), American won last year’s Patriot League tournament and look to be the favorites to do the same again this season, entering the tournament with a 13-1 conference record. The higher seed hosts all games in the tournament, so look for the championship game to be held down in Washington D.C..

Navy, the #3 seed (check out the bracket here), will likely have to visit Holy Cross in Worcester in the semi-finals, which is not an easy place to win, despite Holy Cross’ terrible start to this season. That is if Holy Cross can get by Bucknell, who traveled to beat them in February. No matter the competition, I like the Midshipmen, led by the backcourt scorers of Chris Harris and Kineo Kila to advance to the championship game at American. But senior Garrison Car and American have been in this position before, look for them to make another appearance in the NCAA Tournament, likely as a #15 seed again, and again as champions of the Patriot League.

Brian Doyle: American
Kevin Fenstermacher: Holy Cross
Mike Colligan: American

*Be sure to stop back Wednesday when the SportsJudge team breaks down the Atlantic Sun, MAAC, Missouri Valley, and Northeast Conferences.