Conference Tournaments Starting March 5th

Two more Conference Tournaments got underway tonight with battles in the Missouri Valley and Northeast. There's some personal attachment going on with both of these leagues.....I'm an alumni of Robert Morris University and I've selected Creighton as one of my Bracket Busters. These are already the 7th and 8th Conference Tournament brackets that I've filled out. It's really time to get down to the business of this blog and focus. This is a marathon, not a sprint. As always, my predicted champions are in bold.

• Northeast Conference - Robert Morris - It's time for the Colonials to shake off the pain from last season's NEC semi-final loss to Mount St. Mary's. Playing as the #1 seed in this tournament for the second year in a row, Coach Mike Rice has this team ready to play title winning basketball. Led by NEC player of the year Jeremy Chappell, Robert Morris (21-10, 15-3) won the conference by three games. The Colonials are solid all-around, having the second best scoring offense and scoring defense in the league. Robert Morris has not made the NCAA Tournament since 1992. They're due. They deserve their moment in the spotlight before Coach Rice moves up the professional ladder. It's time for my alma mater to become a winner. Notable seeds: #1 Robert Morris (props to Chris H. and myself), #2 Mount Saint Mary's, #3 Sacred Heart, #4 Long Island, #5 Quinnipiac, #7 Wagner

• Missouri Valley Conference - Creighton - The Missouri Valley (aka: The Valley) is stacked. They always are. Five or six teams could legitimately win this thing. The Valley's conference RPI is #9...this is ahead of such "decent" leagues as Conference USA and the WAC. Northern Iowa won the #1 seed for this tournament on a tie-breaker...but Creighton and Illinois State are probably the two best programs due to their skill players and athleticism. As wild as this tournament could be, only twice has a seed lower than #3 won the event in 32 previous champions. Over the last ten years or so...this Conference Tournament has been one of the most reliably competitive and entertaining. The Creighton Bluejays are just going to be a little more competitive and a little more entertaining. Notable Seeds: #1 Northern Iowa, #2 Creighton, #3 Illinois State, #4 Bradley, #6 Evansville, #7 Wichita State, #8 Drake

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