ACC Conference Tournament, March 12-16, Washington, D.C.
Following their sweep of Duke, North Carolina got the 1 seed in the tournament. They finished the season 25-6 overall and 17-3 in conference play. Their 3 conference losses came to the hands of Georgia Tech, Clemson, and Syracuse. The swept both Duke and NCSU, their 2 main rivals, along with destroying Virginia, Pitt, and Wake Forest, the 3, 4, and 5 seeds. Through this, RJ Davis has shined. He should probably bring home the ACC player of the year award, and for good reason. He’s averaging 21 points per game, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.5 assists. He’s also shooting 43% from the field and 41.6% from deep. He’s averaging 1.2 steals as well. However, the offense doesn’t revolve around just him. Armando Bacot is averaging14 points per game, along with 10 rebounds. Harrison Ingram has been great in his first year in Chapel Hill, averaging 12.5 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per game. For a team that lost their leading scorer last year to the portal, UNC hasn’t a lost a step and are much better than a team that missed March Madness all together last year. UNC is averaging 81.6 points per game and are shooting 45% from the field. They do very good from deep as well, shooting 36% from deep of 22 attempts per game. Cormac Ryan also transferred in, and had a big game to finish the season against Duke. He had a career-high 31 points in the win, making 6 threes in the progress. He also went 9-10 from the line. UNC has a double-bye, and will take on the winner of the Virginia Tech and Florida State game. That’s the 8-9 game. Second in the ACC is Duke. Although they were swept by UNC, Duke has Final Four potential. Led by Kyle Filipowski, who’s averaging 16.7 points per game and 8 rebounds, Duke finished the season 24-7 and 15-5 in conference. Along with Jared McCain, who’s averaging 13.6 points per game and 5 rebounds, they’re both predicated to go in the first round of the NBA draft according to the NBA’s latest mock draft. Jeremy Roach, Mark Mitchell, and Tyrese Proctor are also averaging over 10 points per game, which has helped Duke lead the ACC in overall shooting and 3-point shooting, while being second in points per game. Duke has been prone to upsets at time, falling to Arkansas, Georgia Tech, and Pitt. Duke has also been injured all year. Proctor and Mitchell have missed a few games, Roach missed 1, and Filipowski was injured in the infamous court-storming incident against Wake Forest. If Duke can stay healthy this tournament, I think there’s a good chance they win it all. Speaking of Wake Forest, they coming as the 5 seed, taking on the winner of the Notre Dame-Georgia Tech game. Notre Dame hasn’t been too good this season, and Georgia Tech has upset many teams. I think GT can beat both Notre Dame and Wake Forest, but lose to Pitt. Pitt is the 4 seed with a 12-8 conference record. Virginia is the three seed, but they’ve had a fall from grace this season. They started 9-1, but then lost 4 of their next 6. They went on to win 8 games, getting as high as 21 in the rankings. They finished the season going 3-4, but beating Georgia Tech. Clemson’s highest ranking was 13, but they finished season at 21-10 and 11-9 in the ACC. They’re the 6 seed and play the winner of the Boston College-Miami game. I think they will win their first game, but lose to Virginia in the quarterfinals. Syracuse is the 7 seed, playing the winner of NC State-Louisville. I think NC State wins, but then loses to Syracuse. Syracuse goes on to lose to Duke. I predict the semi-finals will be North Carolina-Pitt and Duke-Virginia. UNC and Duke come out on top, but UNC wins 3 straight in the rivalry.
Big 12 Conference Tournament, March 12-16, Kansas City, Missouri
Houston captured the first seed in the Big 12 after an explosive season, finishing 28-3. Their only losses came to Iowa State on January 9th, TCU four days later, and Kansas on February 3rd. All of these losses were on the road, and Houston’s most impressive win on the road was at Baylor, winning 82-76 in overtime. Houston had had plenty of close calls, including a 2-point win on the road against Oklahoma and a 4-point win over Texas in overtime, also on the road. Its no secret that Houston is not good on the road, but no college basketball team is. Houston, however, has been able to pull out wins on the road, which gives them the first seed in the tourney. The Cougars are led by their stellar defense, allowing 57 points per game, first in the Big 12. On offense, L.J. Cryer does most of the heavy lifting, averaging 15.7 points per game. Jamal Shead is averaging 13, but 4 rebounds and 6 assists per game as well. Shead is also averaging 2.3 steals per game, second in the Big 12. First is Tamin Lipsey of Iowa State, and Iowa State might be the best bet to stop Houston. They’re the second seed, finishing the season 24-7. Just like Houston, their defense is the best part of their game. They’re second in the Big 12, allowing 62 points per game. They’re averaging 10.4 steals per game, first by .1 in the conference. In a matchup against TCU, ISU forced 27 turnovers, with 18 steals. One major difference between Houston and Iowa State, however, is the offense. ISU doesn’t have 1 real scorer. Keshon Gilbert is averaging 13.5 points per game, while Lipsey has 12.5. 2 other players are over double digits, while Tre King is at 9.2. This could be either very helpful or harmful in the long run. It was harmful in their last game of the season, as they fell to Kansas State 65-58. Houstin ended their season on a high note, demolishing Kansas by 30. In ISU’s and Houston’s 2 matchups, the home team has won. Kansas City is much closer to Iowa State than it is to Houston, but the only way these teams face off would be the championship game. The 2 other double-byes in the conference are Baylor, the 3 seed, and Texas Tech, the 4 seed. The first games of the tourney will be Oklahoma State Vs. UCF and WVU Vs. Cincinnati. The winner of the first game will play BYU and the winner of the second game will play Kansas. Kansas has been sliding to end the season, and they finished 6th in the conference, going 10-8. Their overall record was 22-9. Their non-conference loss came to Marquette. Kevin McCullar has been banged up this season, but he should be healthy for the tournament. Hunter Dickinson got hurt in the game against Houston, and could end up missing some games. Kansas needs to have a deep run in this tournament if they want to take part in March Madness. In the second round, OU, the 9 seed, will play TCU, the 8 seed. Out of the 4 set games already, this is the most intriguing, at least to me. Both of these teams have Sweet Sixteen potential. Whoever wins that game will play Houston. Kansas State will also take on Texas. The winner will play Iowa State. As for my predictions, I think it’ll be Houston and Baylor in the Big 12 championship. I do think, however, that BYU and Texas can make the Semifinals. Kansas will win in the second round, but lose to Baylor. Cincy and UCF win in the first round as well. BYU and Texas beat Texas Tech and Iowa State in the quarterfinals. The semi-finals are BYU-Houston and Texas-Baylor. Houston and Baylor will play in the championship, and Baylor, even though the fell to Texas Tech to end the season, will make it close. Ultimately, Houston wins the Big 12 in their first ever season.
Big East Conference Tournament, March 13-16, New York City, New York
UConn has been dominant this season, and they’re rewarded with the first seed in the Big east Tournament and probably a first seed in seed in March Madness. UConn finished the year 29-3 and 18-2 in conference play. Just like Houston, their only losses have come on the road. They lost at Kansas, at Seton Hall, and most importantly at Creighton. That was their second matchup this season, with UConn destroying Creighton 62-48 in the first matchup. Tristen Newton leads the team, averaging 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, leading UConn in all of those stats. Cam Spencer is right behind him, averaging 14.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists. Alex Karaban, Donovan Clingan, and Stephon Castle are also putting up good numbers. If UConn is going to dominate the tournament, they’re going to do it shooting. They’ve shot 49.2% from the field and 36.6% from deep, both slightly first in the conference. This leads to UConn averaging 81.1 points per game and a points differential of +17.1. UConn is going to come out swinging, and with no double-byes, we get to see that early. Another team that will shoot a lot and well will be Creighton, the second seed. Creighton got revenge on UConn in the second matchup, mainly because of Baylor Scheierman. Scheierman is averaging 18.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 4.1 assists, along with a steal. He’s shooting 45.6% from the field and 38% from deep. He had a 15-11-11 triple double against Georgetown, and also led the win over Marquette. He had 26 and 16 in the game Trey Alexander and Ryan Kalkbrenner have also helped Creighton reach the 2 seed. Their shooting 49% from the field and 36.5% from deep, both second in the conference. Marquette is the 3 seed with a 23-8 record, going 14-6 in conference. Marquette ended their season on a bad not, losing 3 of their last 7, 2 of those coming UConn and the other loss coming to Creighton. They can’t win big games, and we saw that earlier in the season when they lost to Purdue in Maui. They did beat Kansas the game prior, but if you watched those games, it seemed like 2 different Marquette teams. Tyler Kolek has led the team all season, averaging 15 points per game, 4.7 rebounds, and 7.6 assists. He’s been great, but he’s hurt and out for the rest of the season, so he won’t play in this tournament. Kolek’s last game came against Providence. Marquette lost their next 2 games before beating Xavier on March 9, 86-80. I don’t know if Kam Jones and Oso Ighodaro can carry this team, but I think they can get past their first matchup and into the Semi-finals. In the quarterfinals, Marquette will play the winner of the Villanova-DePaul game, which will 100% be Villanova. That’s the 6-11 matchup. The 8-9 matchup will be between Butler and Xavier. I think Butler will pull it out, as they beat Xavier in their final game off the season. Butler would then go on to play UConn. Providence and Georgetown play in the 7-10 matchup, and I think Providence pulls it out. They would then go play Creighton. In the quarterfinals, UConn will beat Butler, St. John’s takes down Seton Hall in the 4-5 game, Creighton beats Providence, and Marquette scrapes by Villanova. UConn and Creighton then win big in the semi-finals, and UConn pulls out the win in the championship game.
Big Ten Conference Tournament, March 13-17, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Purdue has once again captured the 1 seed in the tourney, with a 28-3 overall record and a 17-3 conference record. Their losses have come on the road to Northwestern, Nebraska, and Ohio State. The losses to Northwestern and Ohio State were close, but the one to Nebraska wasn’t. they were blown out 88-72, with 14 turnovers. Northwestern has also heckled Purdue all season, as in the game that Purdue won, NU took it into overtime. However, Zach Edey has been playing great as of late. Since the Ohio State loss, Edey has had 25, 35, 32, 28, and 25 points. He’s had 7, 15, 11, 8, and 14 rebounds in those games as well. He even had 4 assists in the Michigan State game. Edey’s averaging 24.2 points, second in the country, and 11.7 rebounds, third in the country. He’s also averaging 2.2 blocks. He’s been dominant, and that shouldn’t slow down in the tournament. Edey isn’t alone, however, Braden Smith and Flecther Loyer had great games in the last game of the season, but both Smith and Edey tweaked their ankles. We’ll see if that slows them down. Lance Jones has also been very productive this season and Mason Gillis is great off the bench. But, Like I said, Northwestern has given Purdue struggles. Northwestern is the 4 seed, so both teams get a double-bye. That means that the only way these two teams would play would be in the semi-finals, if they meet there. Northwestern lost one of their leading scorers, Ty Berry, for the rest of the season. Boo Buie is averaging 18.9 points, but can he really carry Northwestern, especially as a 4 seed? Illinois is the 2 seed, and even though they had a rough patch when Terrence Shannon Jr. was out, I think Illinois makes it far in both this tournament and in March Madness. He’s averaging 21.6 points, while Marcus Domask is averaging 16. Nebraska is the 3rd seed, and I think that if they do match up with Purdue in the final, they have a good chance to win it. The first round of games starts on Wednesday, with Rutgers playing Maryland and Michigan playing Penn State. Rutgers wins a close one and Penn State rolls, but then they both lose in the second round. Penn State will lose to Indiana and Rutgers will lose to Wisconsin. The other 2 games in the second round will be Minnesota-Michigan State in the 9-8 game, and I think MSU pulls it out. The other game is Ohio State-Iowa, and I think Iowa wins. Then, in the third round, MSU gives Purdue some trouble like they always do, but Purdue prevails. Northwestern will take down Wisconsin, and Illinois and Nebraska both win. Just like Michigan State, Northwestern is going to give Purdue a lot of trouble in the semi-final. Illinois wins big over Nebraska. Although it might seem like I’m taking the easy way out, I think Purdue and Illinois get to the final. Just like their first matchup, however, Purdue wins the tournament.
Pac 12 Conference Tournament, March 13-16, Las Vegas, Nevada
Even though they lost to USC in their final game, I’m not overreacting to Arizona’s loss. They finished the Pac-12 season with a 15-5 record, and went 24-7 overall. Caleb Love is playing on a National Player of the year level as well. He’s averaging 18.7 points per game, 5 rebounds, and 3.4 assists. He’s also averaging 1.2 steals. Oumar Ballo and Pelle Larsson are both averaging 13 points per game, and Ballo is averaging exactly 10 rebounds. Keshad Johnson and Kylan Boswell are also averaging over 10 points per game. Zona leads the Pac 12 with 89.5 points per game, and are shooting 49.2% from the field, second in the conference. Their point differential is also first in the Pac 12, at +16.2. There are no double-byes in the Pac 12 tournament, which could lead to a rematch with USC in the second round. USC’s season has been in the media a lot with star freshman Isaiah Collier, who’s averaging 16.6 points and 1.5 steals this season, and Bronny James, who in 23 games, he averaged 19.4 minutes and 4.8 points. I don’t expect Bronny to do too much in the tournament. USC has been heavily injured this season. Collier has played in 25 games, Boogie Ellis has played in 27, and Kobe Johnson had played in 29. Only 1 player has played in all 31 games for USC this season, that being Oziyah Sellers, who’s playing about 15 minutes every night. USC has been really good when healthy, and we saw that in the win over Arizona. Another team that was on their A-game when playing Arizona this year was Washington State, and they notched the 2 seed. Wazzu swept Arizona this year, winning 73-70 and 77-74. These games happened when Arizona was ranked 8 and 4, respectfully. Just like Arizona, Washington State also lost in their last game of the season. Just like Arizona though, I’m not overreacting. Colorado did get the three seed, but they were swept by Arizona and lost to Wazzu once. They did have a nice end to the season, but their so-called best player, Cody Williams, didn’t always look the best, and missed some games in the stretch. Hopefully he can play in the tournament. In the first round, I think USC beats Washington in the 8-9 game, UCLA takes down Oregon State in the 5-12 game, Cal beats Stanford in the 7-10, and Utah beats Arizona State in the 6-11. Then, in the second round, Arizona beats USC, Oregon beats UCLA, Wazzu beats Cal, and Utah upsets Colorado. Arizona destroys Oregon in the semi-finals, and Wazzu beats Utah. Then, in the final, Arizona finally gets over the hump and beats Washington State, winning the conference.
SEC Conference Tournament, March 13-17, Nashville, Tennessee
The SEC was stacked this year, with 5 teams having a good shot at getting the 1 seed down the stretch. 10 teams were also ranked at one point this year as well. Tennessee ultimately captured the 1 seed, with Kentucky getting the 2, Alabama the 3, and Auburn the 4. South Carolina got the 5 seed as well. I’ll start at the top with Tennessee, who went 24-7 overall and 14-4 in conference. Dalton Knecht will probably make sure the Zach Edey doesn’t sweep all of the national player of the year awards, as he’s averaging 21.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists. He’s also averaging .7 steals and blocks. Tennessee has been great on offense, especially Knecht. However, they also excel in defense, allowing 67.7 points per game, second least in the conference. They also average 39 rebounds per game, 4th in conference. They also force opponents to shoot 38.5% from the field, first in the SEC. Jonas Aidoo and Zakai Zeigler have come up big for Tennessee at times this year, which could be clutch in this tournament. Tennessee lost to Kentucky in their last game, which, once again, I’m not overreacting to. Kentucky is absolutely star studded, with Antonio Reeves averaging 20.2 points, Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard are the star freshman, while Tre Mitchell and D.J. Wagner are also averaging over 10 points per game. Kentucky hasn’t lived up to their expectations this season, but I think they have enough talent to make it to the Elite 8. As for Bama, they filled the hole Brandon Miller really well. Mark Sears has broken out, averaging 21.1 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists, along with 1.7 steals. Aaron Estrada, Grant Nelson, and Rylan Griffen are all averaging over 10 points per game and are putting up good numbers consistently. Auburn is the 4 seed, and just like Kentucky, Alabama, and South Carolina, they went 13-5 in the conference. Auburn went 15-1 at home, which helps the March Madness tournament resume a lot. Johni Broome leads Auburn, with 16.3 points per game and 8.5 rebounds. Auburn has 2 other 10 ppg scorers, but Auburn still averages 83.5 points per game and shoot 47.3% from the field. Auburn can do a lot of damage secretly, which is going to be very dangerous. South Carolina is the 5 seed, but have the best overall record out of any SEC team. Unlike the rest of the SEC, SC does not put up a lot of points. SC averages 72.3 points per game, second worst in the conference. They are lockdown defenders, allowing 66.4 points per game, first in the SEC. In the first round of the SEC tournament, Arkansas beats Vanderbilt and Georgia forces Missouri to go 0-19 in conference. Then, Mississippi State beats LSU, SC destroys Arkansas, Texas A&M beats an overhyped Ole Miss, and Florida beats Georgia. Tennessee beats Mississippi state in the quarterfinals, South Carolina takes down Auburn, Kentucky beats A&M, and Florida upsets Alabama. In the semi-finals, Tennessee beats South Carolina and Kentucky beats Florida easily. Then, in the finals, Tennessee gets revenge against Kentucky.