The Big Tournament Is A Week Away But The Madness Has Already Begun!
Conference championship week is much like the rest of March Madness, just with lower stakes.
Is there anything more exciting than the first weekend of March Madness? Probably, but also probably not…. if you’re interested in value. In less than a 96-hour period, 48 basketball games are won and lost in the first two rounds of NCAA championship tournament. Nowhere else in sports do you get that kind of bang for your buck.That is, other than this week, when 32 basketball conferences have their championship tournaments.
Conference championship week is much like the rest of March Madness, just with lower stakes. What it lacks in stakes, however, it makes up for with rivalries. Nothing is more fun than seeing two teams that hate each other play in big games. In March Madness, you don’t always get this. In conference tournament week, you get it almost every night. Odds of Duke vs. UNC in the NCAAs… slim. Odds of Duke vs. UNC in the ACC semis…. pretty good, if Duke can get past Louisville.
There is plenty of reason to be excited.
Here are my picks of the 6 biggest conference tournaments up for grabs this week.
If you love March Madness, join our bracket today for your chance to win a $50 Ottawa Senators gift card!
SEC
Let’s be honest. The SEC only matters when Kentucky is great. This year Kentucky is not great. They’re just very good. Maybe I’m just falling into the trap of measuring them against some of the historically good Kentucky teams we have seen in recent years, but I don’t think so. They have Malik Monk, one of the most talented players in the nation and likely a high lottery pick in the NBA draft. This Kentucky team strikes me a little like the 2014 team. Calipari always has the talent to go the distance. It’s just a matter of whether they can gel in time.
This is the SEC though, and they’ll cruise to finals and defeat a good Florida team that’s trying to prove that they are a real basketball program, not just a couple great Billy Donovan years.
Big 12
It’s Kansas. Much love to Bob Huggins and West Virginia but this is another Rock Chalk Jayhawk year in the Big 12. Nothing to see here.
Big 10
This is the most stunning Big 10 season I’ve seen in a long time.For all the wrong reasons.
Traditional powers Ohio St., and Mich St. are having off years. Wisconsin is good again and so is Maryland (why are they in here), which is nice. Stunningly, Purdue goes into the tournament as the top team, which is great for Purdue putting pressure on Indiana for the best team in the Hoosier state, except that the best team in the Hoosier state isn’t in this conference . Michigan will beat Illinois before losing to Purdue in the quarters, capping off a disappointing season for the Maize and Blue.
Mich St. will win over Nebraska, but Izzo’s team just hasn’t quite had it all year, so they’ll lose to Minnesota. Northwestern faces Ohio St., which is almost unfair. Ohio St. haven’t been their usual selves this year, and Northwestern is quite literally their best team ever. If the Wildcats win, they are a lock for the big tournament, which they are likely in anyhow. I see them losing to Ohio St. and having to sweat it out a little while longer.
Maryland and Melo Trimble handle Ohio St and then go on to avenge their loss to Wisconsin from a couple of weeks ago. The Purdue Boilermakers are too much for Minnesota to handle, and then they defeat Maryland to hold the Terps short of their first ever title in the Big 10. This is Purdue’s first Big Ten championship since 2009 and their 24th overall, the most of all-time. Traditional powers are not at their best but an old traditional power returns to form.
Big East
If Georgetown beats St John’s, it would set up a classic Big East showdown of Villanova vs. Georgetown. However, this year has been a disaster for the Hoyas and that will continue with a loss to St John’s. Creighton will beat Providence to face Butler, who if you’re still wondering is the best team in Indiana this year
Sorry Purdue. Welcome back though.
Seton Hall will handle Marquette and face Villanova, but they are utterly outmatched by Jay Wright’s defending national champs. Butler will take down Creighton in the other semi-final, which falls under the title of “How far west can we push the boundaries of ‘East’?” Jay Wright’s Wildcats have been one of the strongest teams in the nation all year, but Butler is a real test. This Butler team is easily the strongest they have had since Brad Stevens left for the NBA. The Bulldogs take the title of best team in Indiana, but not the best in Big East, and they fall to the battle tested Wildcats.
PAC 12
PAC 12 basketball matters! This feels weird, because this conference hasn’t mattered all too much in March recently. Three teams have real chances to go the distance. Oregon, who has been consistently good, gets the easiest road to the final by beating Arizona St and Utah. Arizona and Sean Miller have another strong team, but they could be this year’s Villanova (a team that is often talented but has a coach that has a penchant for losing in March). UCLA has the most exciting player in the nation in Lonzo Ball who, depending who you ask (his Dad), is already better than Steph Curry. UCLA’s offense will certainly be overpowering against USC, but their lack of defense or even any attempt at defense will have them falling short to Arizona. ‘Zona then defeats the Ducks to set expectations high for a deep NCAA run.
ACC
Saving the best for last, because the ACC has been the best conference all year and has the most interesting teams. In the low side of the bracket, Virginia will stifle Notre Dame in the quarters behind the strength of Tony Bennett’s near impenetrable i defense, but that won’t be good enough to beat Florida St. in the semis, who will survive a difficult test from Wake Forest.
Now that we got that out of the way, let’s focus on the top half of the bracket, which actually matters.
Syracuse (who is so weird to have in this tournament) vs. Miami (Fla.) will feature two coaches with two of the highest win totals of all-time in Jim Boeheim and Jim Larranaga. Miami has been a strong team at times this year, but the zone prevails and Syracuse will advance to set up another all-time coaching matchup. Syracuse faces UNC (how are they allowed to play?) and Roy Williams (how is he allowed to coach?). UNC is too talented, and they will beat Syracuse to potentially set up a high stakes semi-final against an archrival.
Duke will beat NC State to create another iconic coaching matchup when they face Louisville (how are they allowed to play?) and Rick Pitino (how is he allowed to coach). Pitino and the best defense in basketball stifle Duke’s offense and drive Grayson Allen mad. I’m setting the over under for Louisville players he physically assaults at three. This will set up a Louisville and UNC semi that pits two coaches and programs that have been facing scandal. UNC is seemingly in the clear for having players in a fake program only a few years ago, and Louisville still very much in this midst of recruiting/prostitute scandal. It’s a good thing Louisville is so dominant this year, because come tournament time we may not be seeing them for a little while. UNC is loaded and has the more talented roster, but Louisville and Pitino’s press defense will advance to face Florida St. who they will lose to. No one really cares though, because they beat Duke and UNC on the way out and look capable of taking on the world. Until they get banned from the postseason in the year to come.
Those are the six conferences that are worth caring about, and their championships will be filled with thrilling matchups that will determine fates and seeds for the NCAAs in another week’s time. You have to cherish every moment of it. It’s March, it’s Madness. If you don’t pay attention you could miss it, but I bet you didn’t realize that 11 conferences already decided their championship Don’t let yourself miss another!
Ben is theocho.ca’s NCAA correspondent. He’s an avid fan of all things post-secondary. Follow Ben on Twitter at @benny_sauce.
