Welcome to Conference Championship Week, where champions will be crowned, and NCAA Tournament bids will be stolen.
Thirty-one conferences will determine a champion, but what tournaments shouldn’t you miss? Let’s take a look.
5. ACC
Usually a strong basketball conference, the ACC has had a down year with just three teams (Duke, Clemson and Louisville) slated to make the NCAA Tournament. This edition of the ACC Tournament in Charlotte shouldn’t have many unexpected results, with Duke most likely facing either Clemson or Louisville in the final.
Duke has blown through the rest of the conference, except for their loss at Clemson on Feb. 8. The Blue Devils won 10 ACC games by 25+ points this season and have won each of their last four games by 30+ points. Cooper Flagg and Co. show no signs of slowing down anytime soon. The Duke faithful will undoubtedly show up in Queen City to send their Blue Devils to the dance as potentially the No. 1 overall seed.
Pick: Duke
4. Big 12
Houston has been the standard in the Big 12 for quite some time now, and that will continue to be evident next week in Kansas City. Kelvin Sampson, ranked third in KenPom with a top-ten offensive rating and an elite defense, is looking to lead the Cougars to their first Big 12 tournament title.
Projected NCAA Tournament No. 2 seed Texas Tech and No. 3 seed Iowa State can perhaps give Houston some trouble, but Houston beat both teams in back-to-back games during the last week of February.
Houston’s balanced attack, coupled with their jarringly slow pace of play, makes them a tough out in any tournament they play in.
Pick: Houston
3. Big East
Rick Pitino has electrified St. John’s and New York City with his fiery brand of coaching and a tough-minded roster. Madison Square Garden should be a spectacle next week as the Red Storm look to win the Big East tournament for the first time in 2000.
St. John’s will have the advantage of playing on their home floor, but don’t expect it to be a cakewalk. The Big East has plenty of quality teams who can win this tournament. Dan Hurley will have his Huskies ready to repeat as tournament champions and steal an automatic qualifying spot. Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner is a mismatch against any opponent because of his size, and Marquette would not be a surprise either.
Ultimately, another Big East team has yet to match St. John’s toughness. The Johnnies’ defensive style of play will carry them to a Big East tournament title.
Pick: St. John’s
2. Big Ten
The Big Ten will likely have double-digit representation in this year’s NCAA Tournament, so winning the conference title in Indianapolis will be a tall task for any team.
Purdue will be a tough out led by Big Ten Player of the Year candidate Braden Smith. The two-headed monster of Danny Wolf and Vlad Goldin have returned Michigan to the conference’s upper echelon and seem poised for a deep run in March. John Tonje and John Blackwell are leading Wisconsin to an impressive season. And don’t forget about Kevin Willard’s Maryland Terrapins, who are well-coached and rank in the top ten of KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency rating.
But there’s one team peaking at the right time: Michigan State. Tom Izzo always finds a way to prepare his teams for March, and this year is no different. The Spartans were dealt a gauntlet of a late-season schedule. However, they picked up statement victories against Purdue and Wisconsin at home and Illinois, Michigan, Maryland and Iowa on the road. Despite lacking in shooting, Michigan State’s defense ranks best in the Big Ten, allowing them to hang around until the shots start falling.
Izzo will have his men ready to go, and the Spartans’ balanced attack should help them add a seventh Big Ten tournament title to the trophy case in East Lansing.
Pick: Michigan State
1. SEC
This season, the Southeastern Conference was one of the toughest conferences in college basketball history, and next week’s tournament in Nashville will be no different. The conference boasts seven teams in KenPom’s top 20 and will likely have four of the NCAA Tournament’s top eight overall seeds.
Auburn, Florida, Tennessee and Alabama are all bonafide national championship contenders, but they will still be challenged by solid teams like Texas A&M, Missouri, Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Ole Miss in the battle for the SEC tournament crown.
Last week, Auburn fell to the Aggies in College Station, and Tennessee lost to Ole Miss in Oxford. Florida and Alabama duked it out in Tuscaloosa, with the Gators emerging victorious 99-94.
Seven teams could win this tournament, but Florida’s combination of lethal scoring, size down low, overall toughness and clean execution allows them to match up against any team in this conference and the country. The Gators have some of the best wins in college basketball this season, with road wins at No. 1 Auburn at No. 7 Alabama and a 30-point blowout victory against Tennessee when they were ranked first in the nation.
Look for the Gators to be on the stage in Nashville for the first time since 2014.
Pick: Florida
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