The season of college basketball Conference Tournaments are upon us! While the major conferences are wrapping up their regular seasons this week, some of the smaller conferences tip off their Conference Tournaments and the quest to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament begins. Of the conferences starting tournaments this week, only a few have the opportunity to significantly impact the bubble picture. In the West Coast Conference, Gonzaga and St. Mary’s are solidly in the field. If any other team wins the WCC, they would be the only bid-stealer of the first week. Conference realignment in the smaller leagues has taken a toll on some of these conferences and a lot of the traditionally successful teams have moved up to larger leagues.
As conference tournament play heats up, make sure to bookmark our Conference Tournament Tracker to follow along with who has secured automatic bids.
Additionally, I’ll be updating my Bracket Projection much more frequently as we move closer to Selection Sunday.
Atlantic Sun
Feb 27, 28, March 2, 3
Higher seed hosts
Top Seeds: Kennesaw St, Liberty
Sleeper: Stetson
Tournament Format: The top 10 teams qualify for the tournament with the bottom four teams playing first-round play-in games. In the semifinals, the teams are re-seeded with the highest advancing seed facing the lowest seed. Both Bellarmine (who won the tournament last year) and Queens are ineligible for the NCAA Tournament due to their transition from D-II.
Recent History: Even though Bellarmine was ineligible for the NCAA Tournament last year, they were allowed to compete in the ASUN tournament and won the title. In a somewhat controversial move, regular season champion Jacksonville State was awarded the conference’s automatic bid, instead of the Jacksonville team that Bellarmine beat in the title game. Liberty has been a powerhouse since joining the ASUN in 2019, winning the conference tournament in three straight seasons from 2019-2021. Before then, Florida Gulf Coast had appeared in 3 straight A-Sun championship games. The A-Sun Tournament has typically been played on home courts, which has played a role as 10 of the last 12 tournament champions were either the #1 or #2 seed.
Preview: Kennesaw State and Liberty tied for the regular season conference title. Liberty is led by two-time ASUN Player of the Year Darius McGhee who may make it a three-peat this year after leading the conference in scoring (22.5 PPG). McGhee won the 2021 ASUN Tournament MVP and this season passed JJ Redick for 4th on the NCAA all-time 3-pointers list. Liberty had one of the tightest defenses in the nation, holding teams to just 60 points per game. Defending tournament champions Bellarmine along with D-I newcomers Queens will both participate in the tournament even though they are ineligible for the automatic bid. Queens, Eastern Kentucky, and Stetson are the highest-scoring teams in the league, averaging over 77 points per game. Keep an eye out for the Stetson Hatters who have an efficient offense in a slow-tempoed style that could make them dangerous in the postseason. Plus, how could you not root for a team named the Hatters?
Big Sky
March 4-8
Boise, ID
Top Seeds: Eastern Washington, Montana St
Sleeper: Weber St
Tournament Format: All 10 teams qualify for the conference tournament. The bottom four teams play in first round play-in games, followed by a normal bracket.
Recent History: Prior to COVID, Montana and Weber State had dominated the Big Sky Tournaments. At least one of them appeared in 10 straight championship games before the 2020 tournament was cancelled, facing off four times for the league title. The Big Sky has been very successful at getting their top teams to the Big Dance. Only once in the last decade has a team outside the top 2 seeds won the the automatic bid. In fact, the top seed has won 9 of the last 11 tournaments. Defending conference champions Montana State have reached back-to-back title games while Eastern Washington has made the finals in three of the last four tournaments.
Preview: Eastern Washington ran away with the conference this year, starting 16-0 before falling to Idaho State and Montana State in their final two outings. EWU and Montana State have been the recent powerhouses in the Big Sky while the previous frontrunners Weber St and Montana sit at the 3 and 4 seeds. The potential crack in the armor for Eastern Washington that showed up late could be something to watch as we enter tournament play. The Eagles were the highest-scoring team in the Big Sky (77.1 PPG) while defending champs Montana State boasts the best defense (66.1 PAPG). Watch out for Idaho, who had two of the top three scorers in the league in Isaac Jones (19.4 PPG) and Divant’e Moffitt (18.3 PPG).
Big South
March 1, 3, 4, 5
Charlotte, NC
Top Seeds: UNC Asheville, Longwood
Sleeper: Winthrop
Tournament Format: All 10 teams qualify for the conference tournament. The bottom four teams play in first round play-in games, followed by a normal bracket.
Recent History: Winthrop has been a dominant force in the Big South Conference for the last 23 years. Since 1999, the Eagles have won the league tournament 12 times and appeared in the championship game 16 times. Winthrop has reached the Championship game in three straight seasons, winning two before losing to Longwood last year. The Big South has been upset central over the last decade with the top-seeded team claiming the automatic bid only four times (including last year when Longwood qualified for the Big Dance for the first time in school history). Other than Liberty’s shocking run from the 10-seed in 2013, the other 9 champions in that time have all come from the top four seeds.
Preview: UNC Asheville dominated the league this year, finishing 4 games ahead of defending champion Longwood. Asheville may not have an easy road to the title game with a potential first round matchup of high-scoring High Point and a semifinal against an efficient Gardner-Webb team that had one of the best scoring margins in the Big South. Asheville’s strength is in their 3-point shooting where they led the league at 39% from beyond the arc. Perennial powerhouse Winthrop made the most 3s of any team in the league, which makes them a threat to go on a run if the Eagles get hot from deep. Asheville’s Drew Pember (20.4 PPG) led the league in scoring by nearly 3 points per game and in rebounding (9.2 RPG) by more than 1 board per game (51 rebounds ahead of second place!).
Colonial
March 3-7
Washington, DC
Top Seeds: Hofstra, Charleston
Sleeper: Drexel
Tournament Format: All 13 teams make the Tournament. The top four teams earn byes to the quarterfinals. The bottom two teams teams play a play-in game with the winner facing the #5 seed in the second round.
Recent History: Hofstra and Northeastern have been forces in the CAA over the last eight years. Northeastern has reached the title game four times and Hofstra three times, including head-to-head matchups in 2019 and 2020. Traditionally, the CAA was not a tournament where you are likely to find a massive upset. However, in the last two years lower seeds have won the league’s automatic bid. In 2021 6-seed Drexel beat 8-seed Elon in the title game and last year 5th seeded Delaware won the title. Before that, one of the top three seeds had won the league’s automatic bid in 19 straight seasons.
Preview: The CAA was one of the beneficiaries of conference realignment, adding NC A&T, Stony Brook, Hampton, and Monmouth. Charleston got most of the press in the league this year, finding themselves ranked in the Top 25 for a portion of the season and finishing with a 28-3 overall record. The Cougars don’t have the resume or metrics to be a likely candidate for an at-large bid, but they are a fun team to watch play with an up-tempo style (averaging nearly 82 points per game). Charleston is a deep team that will play 9 or 10 players per night and all five starters average in double figures. Charleston averages over 10 3-pointers per game and anyone in the lineup is capable of shooting from distance. However, thanks to an 11-game winning streak to end the season, Hofstra claimed the top seed in the CAA Tournament. Delaware’s Jameer Nelson (20.5 PPG) and Hofstra’s Aaron Estrada (20.3 PPG) led the conference in scoring. Drexel had the stingiest defense, holding opponents to under 63 points per game.
Horizon
Feb 28, March 2, 6, 7
Indianapolis
Top Seeds: Youngstown State, Milwaukee
Sleeper: Robert Morris
Tournament Format: All 11 teams with the bottom 6 teams playing in first round play-in games. The bracket is re-seeded each round so that the highest advancing seed faces the lowest advancing seed.
Recent History: In recent years, the Horizon League has been upset central. In 2016, despite the top two seeds getting byes to the semifinals, both of them lost as the #3 and #4 seeds played for the Championship. In 2017 the top three seeds all fell in their opening games and the semi-finals featured the #4, #6, #9 and #10 seeds. In 2018 2 of the top 3 seeds lost their openers and the semi-finals featured the #2, #4, #6, and #8 seeds. The 2020 tournament saw 4th-seeded UIC advance to the finals and in 2021 8th-seeded Milwaukee made a run to the semifinals. Last year, 4th-seeded Wright State defeated #3 seed Northern Kentucky by 1 point in the finals. That was Wright State’s 6th appearance in the Horizon League final in the last decade and Northern Kentucky’s 4th finals appearance in the last 6 years.
Preview: Youngstown State won their first league title since moving up to Division I in 1981 and are looking for their first bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Horizon is typically a high-scoring league and this season was no different. YSU paced the field averaging 83.5 PPG with Wright State (80.3 PPG) and Milwaukee (78 PPG) not far behind. Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis (28.1 PPG) led the nation in scoring this season. The best defensive squads were Northern Kentucky (63.3 PAPG) and Robert Morris (66.6 PAPG). Robert Morris knocked off Youngstown State in the Horizon Tournament last year and ended the season winning 4 of their last 5 (including a 20-point win over YSU). Robert Morris, Wright State, and Detroit Mercy all have to play in the first round play-in games, but could be dangerous threats to pull upsets over their quarterfinal opponents. Northern Kentucky with their slow tempo and stout defense is the #4 seed but capable of making a run as they have in years past. Only 1 game separated the top 4 seeds in the standings, making this one of the most wide open tournaments taking place this week.
Missouri Valley
March 2-5
St. Louis, MO
Top Seeds: Bradley, Drake
Sleeper: Indiana State
Tournament Format: 12 teams with the top 4 receiving first round byes to the quarterfinals.
Recent History: In 2018, Loyola-Chicago swept through the regular season and the conference tournament then became the darlings of the nation as they made a run to the Final Four from an 11-seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Ramblers won a number of close games with the charm of Sister Jean on the sidelines. In 2019 Loyola was the top-seeded team in the tournament but fell in the semifinals to fifth-seeded Bradley who then beat #6 seed Northern Iowa in the Arch Madness final. The 2020 Tournament lived up to the “Arch Madness” moniker as well as the top 3 seeds all fell in the quarterfinals. Bradley repeated as MVC Champions from the #4 seed. Loyola found their 2018 magic again in 2021, claiming the MVC title then upsetting #1 seed Illinois in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to reach the Sweet 16. Loyola won the tournament again last season from the #4 seed but fell in the first round of the Big Dance.
Preview: Arch Madness has lived up to its name as the top seed has only won two of the last eight tournaments. Loyola has left the conference, but the MVC added Murray State and Belmont, former standouts of the Ohio Valley Conference. Bradley beat Drake in the final game of the season to secure the regular season title and top seed in the tournament. Bradley and #3 seed Southern Illinois both held opponents to around 61 points per game, the best defensive mark in the league. The potential quarterfinal between Indiana State and Belmont would match up two of the three highest-scoring teams in the league and definitely be a shootout worth watching. There was a three-man race for the league’s scoring crown with Valpo’s Ben Krikke (19.5 PPG) edging Belmont’s Ben Sheppard (19.2 PPG) and Drake’s Tucker DeVries (19.2 PPG). There is no shortage of offensive play-makers in the MVC and Arch Madness always delivers some great games. Whoever comes out of this league will likely be a trendy upset pick in the Big Dance as any of the top five MVC teams are capable of giving a higher seed fits.
Northeast
March 1, 4, 7
Higher seed hosts game
Top Seeds: Merrimack, Fairleigh Dickinson
Sleeper: Wagner
Tournament Format: Eight teams qualify for the tournament. Merrimack is in the fourth year of their transition from D-II, making them eligible (by NEC rules) to compete in the conference tournament but ineligible for the NCAA Tournament, should they win the NEC.
Recent History: Despite the NEC Tournament games being played on the home court of the higher seed, the top-seeded team has only won the league’s automatic bid three times in the last decade. Three schools have mostly dominated this conference over the last 15 years. Robert Morris won 4 in that timespan, but the Colonials departed for the Horizon League in 2021. Mount Saint Mary’s also won 4 titles but moved on to the MAAC this year. Long Island is the only remaining team from that dominant group, also claiming 4 NEC titles in that span. Before Bryant won the NEC title last year, Farleigh Dickinson’s titles in 2016 and 2019 was the only instances of a different team going Dancing.
Preview: With Robert Morris and Mount St Mary’s gone and Long Island entering the tournament as the #8 seed, it is likely we will see another new team from the NEC go dancing. Top-seeded Merrimack is ineligible for the NCAA Tournament in the fourth year of their transition from D-II. Stonehill moved up from D-II to join the NEC this year. This means that two of the top three finishers in the league are ineligible for the NCAA Tournament. If Merrimack wins the NEC Tournament, the runner-up will get the league’s automatic bid. The NEC Champion is almost guaranteed a 16-seed as all 9 teams finished in the bottom 50 in the nation in KenPom’s efficiency ratings. Only Fairleigh Dickinson and Wagner enter postseason play with a winning record overall. FDU led the NEC in scoring (78.3 PPG) while Wagner had the league’s best defense (61.5 PAPG). Saint Francis (PA)’s Josh Cohen (22.0 PPG) led the NEC in scoring, winning the title by over 4.5 points per game.
Ohio Valley
March 1-4
Evansville, IN
Top Seeds: Morehead State, Tennessee State
Sleeper: SIU-Edwardsville
Tournament Format: The 8 teams eligible for the NCAA Tournament. The top two seeds are given double-byes to the semifinals. The #3 and #4 seeds receive byes to the quarterfinals.
Recent History: Belmont and Murray State had been the dominant forces in the conference over the last decade. However, conference realignment decimated the Ohio Valley. Nearly all of the recent league champions have departed for greener pastures and the conference has had to adjust. The only remaining team that has previously claimed an Ohio Valley conference title in the last 25 years is Morehead State.
Preview: All of the teams in the Ohio Valley Conference have a NET ranking in the 200s, which essentially guarantees the conference champion a 16-seed. This has been one of the more exciting and fast-paced tournaments over the years, but with Belmont, Murray State, and Eastern Kentucky all gone to greener pastures, the OVC has lost some of its luster. Morehead State paced the field this season. winning the league title by 3 games. The bottom two seeds in the tournament (Southern Indiana and Lindenwood) are ineligible for the NCAA Tournament due to their transitional period into D-I. Morehead State claimed the title on the back of their defense, which held opponents to just 66.5 points per game, a full 5 points better than second-ranked SIU-Edwardsville. UT Martin (81.1 PPG) was the highest scoring team and best on the boards and will look to their offense to take them to the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever. Tennessee State has the league’s most dynamic playmaker in Jr Clay who led the OVC in scoring (18.8 PPG) and assists (5.6 APG). The 10 OVC teams all rank in the bottom 100 of KenPom’s efficiency rankings, which nearly guarantees the league champion will find themselves as a 16-seed in the NCAA Tournament. That said, 6 OVC teams rank in the Top 75 in the nation in pace of play, so while they might not be overly efficient, this should still be a fun tournament of up-and-down action.
Patriot
Feb 28, March 2, 5, 8
Higher seed hosts game
Top Seeds: Colgate, Navy
Sleeper: Army
Tournament Format: 10 teams with the bottom 4 playing in two play-in games followed by a normal bracket
Recent History: Bucknell has won 8 of the last 13 regular season titles but has only reached the Big Dance four times in that span. However, due to coaches continually being snatched up for bigger gigs, the Bison failed to claim at least a share of the regular season title each of the last three seasons (breaking a streak of 7 straight). Colgate has become the new class of the conference. The Raiders have reached the title game in five straight seasons, winning 3 of the last 4.
Preview: Colgate has solidified their status as the new powerhouse in the Patriot League. The Raiders have won 3 of the last 4 tournaments and reached the finals in five straight. Colgate claimed their fourth regular season title in the last five years and has homecourt advantage for the Tournament where they are 9-0 against Patriot League foes this season. Colgate is the highest-scoring team in the league, averaging 77.7 points per game while shooting over 40% from beyond the arc. The Raiders won the regular season title with a 17-1 mark in conference play, a full 6 games ahead of second place Navy. Holy Cross’ Gerrale Gates led the league in scoring (16.3 PPG) and rebounding (8.6 RPG). Colgate shares the ball very well and has two players in the top five in the league in assists – Tucker Richardson (5.2 APG) and Braeden Smith (4.5 APG).
Southern
March 3-6
Asheville, NC
Top Seeds: Furman, Samford
Sleeper: Chattanooga
Tournament Format: 10 teams with the bottom 4 playing in two play-in games followed by a normal bracket
Recent History: The SoCon Tournament has been dominated by the top seeds. In the last 15 years, no team seeded lower than 3rd has won the conference tournament and the top seed has won 11 times, including Chattanooga last year. East Tennessee St and UNC Greensboro have each reached 4 of the last 7 SoCon title games and have claimed 4 of the last 6 titles with each team winning twice.
Preview: The SoCon has been a three team race between Furman, Samford and UNC Greensboro who finished just a game apart in the standings. Furman has not been to the NCAA Tournament since 1980 and Samford’s last appearance was in 2000. While all signs point to this being a three-team race, there are plenty of talented squads in the SoCon, which should make it one of the best tournaments of the first week. Furman and Samford rely heavily on their offense with the Paladins leading the way (82.2 PPG) and the Bulldogs (78.6 PPG) not far behind. On the flip side, Greensboro has gotten it done with defense, holding opponents to under 65 points per game. Chattanooga, the defending tournament champions who beat Furman on a buzzer-beater last year, have the third best offense but are the 7th seed after losing their final 3 outings. Furman has a deep team and this could be the year they finally break through. Mike Bothwell (17.9 PPG) leads the SoCon in scoring with Jalen Slawson (15.7 PPG) also in the Top five. The Paladins also have players in the top five in the league in rebounding (Slawson with 7.3 RPG), assists (JP Pegues with 4.1 APG), and blocks (Slawson with 1.6 BPG).
Southland
March 5-8
Lake Charles, LA
Top Seeds: Texas A&M-CC, Northwestern State
Sleeper: Southeastern Louisiana
Tournament Format: 8 teams qualify for the tournament. The top two seeds receive double-byes to the semifinals. The #3 and #4 seeds receive byes to the quarterfinals.
Recent History: The Southland lost four members to conference realignment (Abilene Christian, Central Arkansas, Sam Houston, Stephen F Austin). Those 4 had accounted for 6 of the last 8 Southland Tournament champions. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is the defending champions and won the regular season title again this season.
Preview: The Southland looks destined to see their champion on the 16-seed line as only one team (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) is ranked in the Top 200 in KenPom’s efficiency ratings. Corpus Christi also led the league in scoring (80.2 PPG) and was second in defense. The Islanders were barely edged out by Northwestern State in the scoring defense rankings. Northwestern State’s Demarcus Sharp (18.9 PPG) is the Southland’s leading scorer. Only four teams will enter the postseason with non-losing records. In addition to the top two teams, Southeastern Louisiana and Nicholls are the only others on the right side of .500.
Summit
March 3-7
Sioux Falls, SD
Top Seeds: Oral Roberts, San Diego State
Sleeper: North Dakota State
Tournament Format: All 10 teams qualify for the conference tournament. The bottom four teams play in first round play-in games, followed by a normal bracket. St. Thomas will participate in the tournament even though they are ineligible for the NCAA Tournament.
Recent History: Over the last decade, two teams have dominated the Summit League. Defending champions South Dakota St have won 6 titles (including three straight from 2016-2018) and North Dakota St has won four, including back-to-back titles in 2019 and 2020. The two teams have met 4 times in the conference championship game over that span (including last year) with South Dakota St appearing in 7 of the last 10 league title games. North Dakota State has reached the finals in four straight seasons. The only break in the last decade was in 2021 when Oral Roberts heroically won the semifinal and title games by 2 points each (over the aforementioned powerhouses South Dakota St and North Dakota St) then went on to upset #2 seed Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament and beat Florida in the second round to reach the Sweet 16 where they fell by just 2 to Arkansas. The 4-seed has been a popular seed for Summit League success with 3 of the last 6 champions coming from the 4-seed.
Preview: Oral Roberts is the only team in the nation to go undefeated in conference play, finishing the year with a perfect 18-0 mark. Max Abmas, the hero of the 2021 team that pulled off two massive upsets in the NCAA Tournament, wrapped up his senior season by leading the league in scoring (22.3 PPG) and in 3-pointers made. Oral Roberts was one of the highest-scoring teams in the nation, averaging over 84 points per game. This looks to be the Golden Eagles tournament to lose after they dominated the regular season, but don’t sleep on the perennial powers of South Dakota State and North Dakota State. The Jackrabbits have leaned on their defense, holding teams under 70 points per game, while the Bison have one of the best big men in the league in Grant Nelson (17.9 PPG, 8.9 RPG).
Sun Belt
Feb 28, Mar 2, 4, 5, 6
Pensacola, FL
Top Seeds: Southern Miss, Louisiana
Sleeper: Old Dominion
Tournament Format: All 14 teams qualify. The bottom four teams play in first round play-in games. The top 4 teams receive byes to the quarterfinals.
Recent History: For a period in the early 2010s the Sun Belt Tournament was rife with upsets. From 2011-2017, 4 of the 7 tournament winners were seeded lower than 5th. Troy and Western Kentucky both won the “Fun Belt” from the 6th seed and teams have also claimed the title from the #7-seed and #9 seeds. From 2015-2019 one of the top two seeds claimed four of the five titles, but the “Fun Belt” returned in 2021 as 7-seed Appalachian State won the title. The Mountaineers won 3-point games in overtime in the quarterfinals and semifinals en route to the title game. Last year, 3-seed Georgia State defeated 8-seed Louisiana in the Championship Game.
Preview: This one has all the makings of being the “Fun Belt” once again. Southern Miss claimed the regular season title, but the top four teams were only separated by 2 games. Louisiana, Marshall, and newcomers James Madison are all ranked in the Top 100 of KenPom’s efficiency ratings and capable of winning this tournament. Offense drives the show in the Sun Belt as the top four teams were also the four highest-scoring teams, though Southern Miss was the only one that also ranked in the top four in defense. Marshall led the way (8.2. PPG) followed closely by James Madison (81.2 PPG) and Louisiana (79.1 PPG). Incredibly, Marshall boasts the top two scorers in the league in Taevion Kinsey (22.2 PPG) and Andrew Taylor (20.2 PPG) along with the top rebounder Micah Handlogten (9.9 RPG) and the top two in 3-point shooting (Kamdyn Curfman and Andrew Taylor).
West Coast
March 2-4, 6, 7
Las Vegas, NV
Top Seeds: Gonzaga, St Mary’s
Sleeper: Loyola Marymount
Tournament Format: 10 teams qualify for the tournament. The top two seeds receive byes to the semifinals while the #3 and #4 seeds receive byes to the quarterfinals. The 7th-10th seeds play in the first round with the winners advancing to play the #5 and #6 seed in the second round. The tournament does not have games scheduled on Sunday because BYU can not play games on Sundays.
Recent History: Gonzaga has dominated the West Coast Conference tournament, winning 11 of the last 14 titles. The last time Gonzaga did not appear in the Championship Game of the WCC Tournament was in 1997. Since the tournament moved to the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas in 2009, St. Mary’s has been the only other team to earn the league’s automatic bid. In fact, Gonzaga and St. Mary’s have faced off in 10 of the last 14 WCC title games.
Preview: Gonzaga and St Mary’s tied for the regular season title, splitting their head-to-head matchups. St. Mary’s was awarded the top seed in the tournament by virtue of having a higher NET ranking than the Zags. Both teams finished 14-2 with a loss to 4th place Loyola Marymount. Gonzaga and St Mary’s are a stark contrast of styles, with the Zags playing up-tempo and high-scoring (87.4 PPG) while the Gaels a slow, methodical, and defensive, holding opponents to under 60 points per game. Santa Clara and BYU are both outside the NCAA Tournament bubble picture but could make some noise here with their inside play. Gonzaga and St Mary’s are both looking at seeing their name be no worse than a 5-seed on Selection Sunday and are once again the clear favorites. Gonzaga’s Drew Timme and Loyola Marymount’s Cam Shelton tied for the conference scoring title, both averaging 21.2 PPG.
