Conference Tournaments Starting on March 12th

The final four conference tournaments began yesterday. I'm honestly too exhausted from Robert Morris and 6 overtime games right now to give my usual 75%. Filling out 30 brackets was as daunting and draining this year as it was last year. But I do feel a sense of accomplishment. As I said last season, nobody else in the country is filling out 30 freaking conference tournament brackets. You're truly getting something unique here. There is something endearing about analyzing the potential of schools like Elon, Drake, The Citadel, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, and Rider. I've loved every second of it. Here are the winners, notable seeds, and props for the last four conference tournaments. As always, my predicted champions are in bold.

• Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) - North Carolina - I'm already regretting this pick, not because I don't like UNC, but because I didn't know Mega-Star Ty Lawson would be sitting out the ACC Tournament. Not to mention that North Carolina has nothing to gain from winning this tournament and may benefit from the Pitt route of laying down and focusing on the Big Dance (I'm still trying to convince myself that the Panther's Big East Tourney loss is inconsequential). A third UNC vs. Duke match-up would be nice, but a meeting in the NCAA Tournament would be much nicer. (The following is for you Matt) Pay attention to Greivis Vazquez of Maryland, he's the player who had a triple-double in Maryland's upset of UNC earlier this season. He's stated his intention to play in the NBA next year as Coach Gary Williams loses yet another star. Georgia Tech is a great first-round sleeper pick against Clemson as their basically playing on their home floor. Notable Seeds: #1 North Carolina (props to Liz), #2 Wake Forest, #3 Duke (props to Brian W.), #4 Florida State, #6 Boston College, #7 Maryland, #12 Georgia Tech

• Big 10 Conference - Michigan State - Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Seriously...this conference tournament is disgusting. Need I bring up Penn St. 38, Illinois 33 again? This league used to provide some really good college basketball. Now they bore people to death. I can't believe the Big 10 might seriously get 8 teams in the dance. Don't get me wrong, there are some worthy candidates here...but not 8. Iowa is in year 2 of a 5 year rebuilding plan. Give them time. Notable Seeds: #1 Michigan State, #2 Illinois, #3 Purdue, #4 Wisconsin, #5 Ohio State, #6 Penn State (props to Fleck, A.J., Bob, Ben S., Bradford, & Pat), #7 Michigan, #10 Iowa

• Southeastern Conference (SEC) - South Carolina - Here's another league that was really down this year. Florida fell hard and fast after their back-to-back championships. The Gators get to play on what amounts to their home floor here. I really thought the South Carolina Gamecocks had the best chance of anyone to win this tournament, but they lost earlier today to Mississippi State. So nuts to that. The most intrigue left is whether or not Bruce Pearl will break out the orange creamsicle suit at some point. One can hope. Notable Seeds: #1w LSU, #1e Tennessee, #2w Auburn, #2e South Carolina, #3w Mississippi State, #3e Florida, #4e Kentucky

• Southland Conference - Stephen F. Austin - I chose Stephen F. Austin last year as the #1 seed to win this conference. They failed me. I'm picking them again in the hopes of redemption for both them and me. This is the 30th and FINAL conference tournament bracket that I had to fill out. It feels like graduation. I'm finally done. Let's PLEASE move on. Notable seeds: #1 Stephen F. Austin, #2 Nicholls State, #3 Sam Houston State, #4 Texas A&M Corpus Christi, #6 UT San Antonio, #7 Texas State

0201

Conference Tournaments Starting on March 11th

(Blake Griffin wants YOU to pick Oklahoma in your bracket)

Let me say it right now...you might be reading the worst post of this year's blog. I'm going to crank this one out with little to no research so I can start writing the epic post about Robert Morris' victory in the NEC Championship game. The Colonials are going to the Big Dance! But before we get there...7 more conference tournaments began on Wednesday. As always, my predicted champions are in bold.

• Big 12 Conference - Kansas - The Big 12 is a quality power conference, especially at the top. Three teams (Oklahoma, Kansas, & Missouri) are ranked in the top 11 with regard to RPI. Coach Bill Self and his Kansas squad won last year's national championship (you should know this). Oklahoma sports the likely National Player of the Year winner in Blake Griffin (you should probably know this). Iowa State is my aunt's current employer (you probably don't know this). I'm going with Kansas here because they have an easier draw than Oklahoma and Missouri. Also, the Jayhawks defeated Oklahoma on the road a couple weeks ago. Notable Seeds: #1 Kansas, #2 Oklahoma, #3 Missouri, #4 Kansas State, #5 Texas, #7 Oklahoma State, #9 Baylor, #11 Texas Tech

• PAC 10 - Arizona State - The Pac-10 is down this season. They only have one team among the top 25 in RPI (Washington). The Huskies are the easy choice, especially with UCLA being very underwhelming this season. Arizona has been on a nice roll of late, increasing their chances to make their 25 consecutive NCAA Tournament. I'm going against the grain and picking Arizona State. The Sun Devils were thrashing PAC 10 competition before a road trip where they lost to both Washington schools in overtime. ASU swept UCLA and Arizona this season. I like this team as the #4 seed. ALSO...you should know that Oregon State's head coach, Craig Robinson, is President Barack Obama's brother-in-law. Notable Seeds: #1 Washington, #2 UCLA, #3 California, #4 Arizona State, #5 Arizona, #6 USC, #8 Oregon State

• Atlantic 10 Conference - Xavier - I'm copping out and taking the one-seed here. I feel a little bad about it, but oh well. I just don't trust Dayton under any circumstance and Rhode Island is getting WAY too much "sleeper-in-the-conference-tournament" talk. When a non-front running team is getting a lot of hype...never EVER take them in a bet of any kind! I beseech you! Things Xavier has going for them: 1) I liked the name of the school since I was a kid, as any name with an "X" was instantly cool. 2) Xavier is a solid Jesuit institution. 3) As I learned in last year's blog...Xavier is the favorite team of Liz's grandmother, Nonnie. Notable Seeds: #1 Xavier, #2 Rhode Island, #3 Dayton, #4 Temple, #5 St. Joseph's, #7 Duquesne, #9 Saint Louis

• Conference USA - Memphis - It would truly be fascinating to see how Memphis would do in a conference other than this one. Memphis head coach John Calipari deserves some props here because he is a native of Western PA and is a graduate of Clarion University. This endears Coach Calipari to John and Jill...who are also proud Clarion University alumni. I'm not writing about anything else. Memphis isn't going to lose by 10 during this entire tournament. Notable seeds: #1 Memphis (that's it)

• Mountain West Conference - Utah - One wouldn't know it from living in the Midwest or the East, but this is a quality conference full of good teams. Four schools could legitimately win this tournament. San Diego State, the poster-boy for "bubble" teams right now, could win the automatic bid...or lose by 10 in the first round to UNLV. The Mountain West is that deep. My champion is Utah because they have a RPI that's off the charts and they've beaten every quality team in the conference at least once. Notable seeds: #1 BYU, #2 Utah, #3 New Mexico, #4 San Diego State, #5 UNLV, #9 Air Force

• Big West Conference - Long Beach State - I know nothing about this conference except that Pacific beat Pitt in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament. This is known as the "modern-dark" era for Panther fans. Instead of breaking down the conference, I'm going to list every school along with their (VERY) amusing nicknames. Notable Seeds: #1 Cal. State Northridge Matadors, #2 Long Beach State 49ers, #3 Pacific Tigers, #4 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, #5 UC Irvine Anteaters (props to Alex), #6 UC Riverside Highlanders, #7 Cal State Fullerton Titans, #8 UC Davis Aggies

• Southwestern Athletic Conference - Alabama State - Low on info here. Alabama State and Jackson State are the two best teams and should make for a good conference championship game. I'm a big fan of Lewis Jackson, head coach of the Alabama State Tigers. The SWAC has the lowest RPI of any conference. The conference winner will probably be relegated to the "play-in" game again...which will cause me to go off on the hypocrisy and idiocy of the NCAA with regard to this "play-in" game. Give the kids a chance to travel to a regional site and play with the big boys! Notable Seeds: #1 Alabama State, #2 Jackson State, #3 Prarie View A&M, #4 Arkansas Pine-Bluff, #5 Southern, #6 Mississippi Valley State

0201

Conference Tournaments Starting on March 10th

(Pitt Panthers - 2008 Big East Conference Tournament Champions)

Four Conference Tournaments begin on Tuesday...four more brackets for me to fill out. My vision is starting to blur from this insanity, and I still have 11 more to do after today. The biggest tournament beginning today is the Big East. This tournament has expanded to all 16 teams this year, which means that games start on Tuesday, the top four teams get byes until Thursday, and the teams ranked 9th - 16th would have to win 5 games in 5 games to win it all. It's gonna be a difficult feat for the Fighting Irish to pull off. As always, my predicted champions are in bold.

• Big East Conference - Pittsburgh - Look...this might be Pitt's year. And by "year", I mean the season where I finally see them reach the Elite Eight. I gotta go with them to win the Big East. The Panthers have reached 6 of the past 7 Big East Championship games. They love New York. Obviously, this isn't the tournament of highest priority for Pitt...but it would be great to see them dominate their league once more before getting to the Big Dance. Villanova, Marquette, and Syracuse could be dangerous here...but I'm going with P-I-T-T to cut down the nets in Madison Square Garden. Notable Seeds: #1 Louisville, #2 Pittsburgh (props to Chris T.), #3 Connecticut, #4 Villanova (props to Matt), #5 Marquette, #6 Syracuse, #7 West Virginia (props to Chelsea), #10 Notre Dame (props to the WHOLE South Bend crew!), #12 Georgetown, #15 Rutgers (props to Rob)

• Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference - Morgan State - Although Morgan State is HANDS DOWN the best team in this conference...any team could come away with the title. Coppin State won the automatic bid last season as the 7th seed, sporting a 13-20 record going into the MEAC Tournament. Choosing a winner of this league is sort of like playing in one of those NFL "numbers" pools where one picks a bunch of random numbers off a grid. The only way to win, is to win randomly. Picking the MEAC Champion is just like gambling on the Pierogi races during Pirates games...there is no rhyme or reason as to who will win, but betting on it sure makes a lot of fun. Notable Seeds: #1 Morgan State, #2 South Carolina State, #3 Norfolk State, #4 North Carolina A&T, #5 Coppin State, #6 Bethune-Cookman, #9 Howard

• Mid-American Conference (MAC) - Buffalo - Nobody stood out in this conference all season. There are no "sexy" teams in the league this year...such as the Kent State team with current NFL tight end Antonio Gates that upset Pitt a few years back or those Miami (OH) teams with Wally Szczerbiak. Bowling Green is the #1 seed in this tournament but that's only because there was essentially a five-way tie for "first" in the MAC. I'm going with Buffalo because they have the highest RPI of any team and they've NEVER been to the NCAA Tournament. Their nickname is the Bulls by the way. Notable Seeds: #1 Bowling Green, #2 Ball State, #3 Buffalo, #4 Miami (OH) (props to Dave and Kathryn), #5 Akron (props to Kim), #6 Kent State, #9 Ohio

• Western Athletic Conference (WAC) - Utah State - I'm too tired so I'll make this short. Nobody matters here except Utah State and Nevada. My reasons for picking the winner are based on at LEAST two minutes of research. Utah State has a RPI of 27...that's better than UCLA, Marquette, and Gonzaga. They went 14-2 in the WAC with a record of 27-4 overall. But the big reason that I'm choosing Utah State is because of their star player Gary Wilkinson. He's a red-head (BIG points) and he's 26 years old. Wilkinson never played basketball in high school and dropped out. He found God, went on a two year mission in Canada, and is now married. This guy's life story is nuts. Now he's the star on one of the most surprising teams in college basketball this year. When in doubt...go with the #1 seed if they have a red head on their team. Notable Seeds: #1 Utah State, #2 Nevada, #3 Idaho, #4 Boise State, #7 San Jose State.

19 down...11 to go.

0201

Conference Tournaments Starting on March 7th

(Map of the Summit League schools - It makes no sense)

I'm posting these picks a day late...but I swear I had them done yesterday before the games started. Two Conference Tournaments started on Saturday with contests in the Summit League and Big Sky. With these two brackets, I'm officially half way through these emotionally exhausting predictions (15 of 30). But this is a labor of love. I'm not wearing down...I'm just getting started. As always, my predicted champions are in bold.

• Summit League - North Dakota State - The Summit League is the most non-sensical conference in college basketball. As shown in the map above, the Summit consists of 10 schools spread over 9 states. The conference or "league" changed it's name from the Mid-Continent Conference back in 2007. During this transition, North Dakota State finally made the jump to division one basketball. And that folks, is the biggest story involved with this year's Summit League Tournament. The North Dakota State Bison's transition to D-1 was provisional...and this season was their first one as a full fledged member. They went 23-6 this year...16-2 in Summit League play and sport a RPI number of 94. Oral Roberts took this tournament last year...winning the right to lost to Pitt in the first roBund, and provided this blog with many bad puns. This league also includes my dad's alma mater, Western Illinois, but they didn't even qualify for the tournament...only the top 8 teams did. Of those 8...North Dakota State is the #1 seed, the best team, and the best story. The people of Fargo should be very proud. Notable Seeds: #1 North Dakota State, #2 Oral Roberts, #3 Oakland, #4 IUPUI, #5 Southern Utah, #7 South Dakota State

• Big Sky Conference - Weber State - This conference tournament is mildly unique. Only 6 teams make the tourney (from a total of 9), and the top two seeds have a bye until the semi-finals. I'm a fan of rewarding regular season play. Portland State won this last year and earned their first NCAA Tournament appearance ever. They are the two seed this season and should be able to take the title if #1 Weber State falters. Except that's not going to happen. Located in Ogden Utah, the Weber State Wildcats rolled this conference, losing only once (to Montana State), and finishing with a 15-1 Big Sky record...21-8 overall. Their RPI number is 88 and they head into this tournament having won 11 in a row. Weber State last made the NCAA Tournament in 2007. They graciously stepped aside last year to let someone else have the glory. I'm predicting they'll be back in the Big Dance this year and have great first round upset potential depending on their match-up. Notable Seeds: #1 Weber State, #2 Portland State, #3 Montana, #4 Idaho State, #6 Montana State

0201

Conference Tournaments Starting on March 6th

Five...count 'em FIVE Conference Tournaments start on Friday. Thank goodness I'm here to help guide you through them. Leagues of note include the West Coast Conference and the Southern Conference...homes to Cinderella favorites Gonzaga and Davidson. This weekend is going to be HUGE with the Pitt vs. UConn game, the UNC vs. Duke Tobacco Road battle, along with the first Conference Champions being crowned. Should be good times. But first, let's knock out these five Conference Tournament Capsules. As always, my predicted champions are in bold.

• West Coast Conference - Saint Mary's - This league comes down to two teams and two teams only: Gonzaga and Saint Mary's. Gonzaga rolled through the WCC regular season with a perfect 14-0 record. But it has to be said that the Zags were losing on their home floor to St. Mary's on Jan. 29th when superstar Patty Mills got injured for the Gales and Gonzaga stormed back to win. This is the 10 year anniversary for the Zags coming out party when they shocked the nation and reached the Elite Eight. Gonzaga is lead by head coach Mark Few, senior forward Josh Heytvelt, and senior guard Jeremy Pargo. Lots of senior leadership, one of the best coaches in the country, and a bunch of younger skill players. However...Saint Mary's is the desperate team here. Gonzaga will get a NCAA Tournament bid whether they win this tournament or not. It's not so easy for the Gales. St. Mary's played Gonzaga tough both times this season. Patty Mills has been cleared to play in this Conference Tournament and I believe that will give St. Mary's the edge they need to win the whole thing and get the automatic invite to the Big Dance. Notable Seeds: #1 Gonzaga, #2 Saint Mary's, #3 Portland, #4 Santa Clara, #5 San Diego, #6 Pepperdine

• Southern Conference - Davidson - What else is there to say here? Davidson became part of the national consciousness last season when they made an epic run to the Elite Eight, only to lose to the eventual national champion in Kansas. The Wildcats are lead by head coach Bob McKillop and the nation's leading scorer Stephen Curry. (That's Steff-in for those of you living in a cave for the last 15 months) Davidson needs to win this tournament to secure a NCAA tournament bid because they had the audacity to lose two conference tournament games this year. They also didn't have a marquee out of conference win besides beating West Virginia on a neutral court. Davidson is the clear-cut favorite here, but could face challenges from the College of Charleston and The Citadel. We NEED Davidson and Stephen Curry and Dell Curry back in the NCAA Tournament! That's why I'm predicting them to win the Southern. Notable Seeds: #1(s) Davidson (props to Phil, Jordon, & John L.), #2(s) The Citadel, #3(s) College of Charleston, #1(n) Chattanooga, #5(n) Elon, #6(n) UNC Greensboro (props to Emily)

• America East Conference - Vermont - Lots of solid public schools from the Northeastern US in this Conference. Vermont has the best nickname/mascot in the Catamounts. Stony Brook simply has the best name. I really had a hard time picking against Binghamton. If anyone is going to win the title besides Vermont...it's going to be the Bearcats from Binghamton New York. UMBC (University of Maryland-Baltimore Country) was one of my Bracket Busters last season...and while they did go to the NCAA Tournament as league champion...they got crushed in the first round and have fallen on hard times this year. Don't sleep on Hartford...they are the best #9 seed playing in this tournament. Vermont is well known for knocking off #4 Syracuse as a 13 seed back in 2005. I'm going with the Catamounts to win this tournament...but may select them or Binghamton as one of my Bracket Busters. I gotta cover my bases. Notable Seeds: #1 Binghamton, #2 Vermont, #3 Boston University, #4 New Hampshire, #5 Stony Brook, #6 University of Maryland-Baltimore County, #9 Hartford

• MAAC (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) - Siena - This is the third tournament of the day where I couldn't choose between two teams. Unfortunately, Rider University just doesn't have the game this year to make a run. This makes me sad. Rider is one of the best school names in college hoops. I guarantee that the MAAC Tournament Champion will be either Siena or Niagara...I just can't decide which one. Siena had an outstanding regular season, cruising most of the way to a 23-7, (16-2) record. Their #28 RPI is fantastic. Niagara is next in line with a 24-7, (14-4) record and a #57 RPI ranking. What makes this difficult is that Niagara OWNED Siena in their last meeting, a 100-85 victory on February 27th. Ideally...the championship game will feature these two teams and it will be a classic. I might as well flipped a coin, but I'm going with Siena. Notable Seeds: #1 Siena, #2 Niagara, #3 Rider, #5 Fairfield, #7 Iona

• CAA (Colonial Athletic Association) - VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University) - I'm going back to that familiar well again and picking VCU. I chose them to win the "Association" last season and they stabbed me in the back...opening the window for the much hated George Mason squad to win the automatic bid (again). Senior Eric Maynor is STILL at VCU, leading the team to victories. He won a bunch of awards this year and averaged 22 points per game. Maynor is best remembered in the Pittsburgh area because he was on the VCU team that gave Pitt fits during their sweet-sixteen game in 2007...forcing overtime and eventually losing to the Panthers 84-79. I really like the #3 seed Northeastern...but they have too difficult of a draw...one that will probably include the much-maligned George Mason squad. VCU has the easiest draw to the championship game and has the star player and seniors to deliver a championship. Notable Seeds: #1 VCU, #2 George Mason, #3 Northeastern, #4 Old Dominion, #5 Hofstra, #7 James Madison, #11 Towson

0201

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

0201

Conference Tournaments Starting March 4th

Many remember the joy and disappointment provided by a scrappy Belmont squad last season when they took the evil Duke Blue Devils down to the wire in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Located in Nashville, Belmont University became part of the college basketball lexicon for many that night. But if you had been reading this blog...you would have known about Belmont well before that, when I picked them to win the Atlantic Sun Tournament. One of the reasons I fill out 30 Conference Tournament brackets is because the act of doing so is ridiculous. Another reason is that it provides an opportunity (for the readers and for myself) to know about these smaller schools before their coming out party in the Big Dance. You're welcome in advance. Three more Conference Tournaments begin tonight in the Patriot, Atlantic Sun, and Sunbelt. As always, my predicted champion is in bold.

• Patriot League - American - I'm predicting them to win the Patriot League Championship game...providing a dramatic conclusion to my "Props To The Patriot League #2" column. Unfortunately for Bill Simmons, Bob Casey Jr., and many other Holy Cross alumni, American University is better. Should be a good tournament though...last year, all four first-round games were decided by three points or less. Notable Seeds: #1 American, #2 Holy Cross (props to Chaz), #3 Navy, #5 Lehigh, #7 Bucknell (props to Josh)

• Atlantic Sun - Belmont - Jacksonville is somehow the #1 seed in this tournament, but I GUARANTEE they don't win it all. Belmont has won this conference tournament and reached the NCAA's for three consecutive seasons. Mercer is a very intriguing 6 seed as they defeated both Alabama and Auburn on the road this season. Lipscomb is a great sleeper pick here as the #4 seed. They have won 8 games in a row, including victories over all three teams above them in the seeding. I'm going with Belmont to do it again. They've been here many times before and they know what it takes. This class of seniors will cap off their careers by making the Big Dance four times. Notable seeds: #1 Jacksonville, #2 East Tennessee State, #3 Belmont (props to Ben), #4 Lipscomb, #6 Mercer

• Sun Belt - Western Kentucky - South Alabama was one of my bracket busters last season, but they have fallen on hard times. Most of these teams are of no consequence except for Western Kentucky or Troy. Located in Alabama, Troy University is on fire...losing only 2 games since New Year's Day, by a total of 3 points. Western Kentucky is notorious for defeating my adopted Drake team last season in a classic #5 vs. #12 upset. If I can't beat them, I'm going to join them. Notable Seeds: #1 Western Kentucky, #2 Arkansas-Little Rock, #3 Troy, #4 North Texas, #6 South Alabama, #7 Denver, #10 New Orleans, #12 Arkansas State

0201

Conference Tournaments Starting March 3rd

The first three Conference Tournaments get underway tonight as things kick-off in the Horizon League, Big South, and Ohio Valley. Again, I'm printing out brackets for all Conference Tournaments and making my picks. For those of you scoring at home (or even if you're alone) that's 30 conference tournaments to keep track of, 30 brackets to fill out, 30 automatic bids to the Big Dance. (The Ivy League has no Conference Tournament. Cornell is in line to make the field of 65, thanks to a regular season championship.) The Cinderella stories don't start in the NCAA Tournament, they start in these little, under-publicized Conference Tournaments. The first of which, begin tonight. My predicted champions are in bold.

• Horizon League - Butler - Simply look back to my first official March Madness bet and you'll know who I'm taking here. Butler is not as dominant as they were last season, but they're still the clear-cut favorite to win this league. They have a league best RPI of 19. The next closest team is UW Green Bay at 69. I am a little worried because although Cleveland State got swept by Butler during the regular season, they lost both games by a mere two points. However...I'm still quite confident in this pick. I love the structure of this Conference Tournament. The #1 and #2 seeds get byes until the semi-finals...meaning those teams need only win two games to clinch a bid to the NCAA Tournament. This rewards regular season play and regular season dominance. Nicely done Horizon League. Notable Seeds: #1 Butler, #2 UW Green Bay, #3 Cleveland State, #4 Wright State, #5 UW Milwaukee, #9 Valparaiso

• Big South - Radford - Of note in this conference: 7-foot-8 center Kenny George put UNC Asheville on the map last season, but will probably not play college basketball again as he had part of his right foot amputated last fall due to a staph infection. Winthrop is probably the most recognizable school in this conference having made the NCAA Tournament each of the past two years and upsetting Notre Dame two years ago. Liberty is powered by the world-famous (thanks to this blog) Seth Curry, who led the nation in freshman scoring. The Flames and Mr. Curry would have a chance to win this conference tourney if they could avoid VMI, problem is...that second round match-up is all but guaranteed. VMI and Radford are the best teams and both can score a ton of points. Radford plays slightly better defense and will host the games throughout. Notable Seeds: #1 Radford, #2 VMI, #3 Liberty, #4 UNC Asheville, #5 Winthrop

• Ohio Valley - Murray State - Call this one a hunch...or a very uneducated guess. Murry State has won 10 of their past 12. They're hot. I didn't feel like choosing all of the #1 seeds on the first day of Conference Tournament predictions. I also didn't want to chose #2 Austin Peay, who won this conference tournament last season. Next in line was the Murray State Racers sitting there at the #3 seed. They also crushed #1 seed UT Martin 74-59 just over a week ago. Seems like a decent pick to me. And just to add some Dave Barry humor...none of these teams actually reside in the state of Ohio. Notable seeds: #1 UT Martin, #2 Austin Peay, #3 Murray State, #4 Morehead State, #7 Eastern Illinois

3 down...27 to go.

0201