March Madness

Welcome to one of the most exciting times in college basketball...March Madness! Which means, its conference tournament time, and right here you have a winner for each conference along with some small side notes. Let's jump right into it starting with....

ACC
Winner: North Carolina. Of course, arch rival Duke may have something to say about it, however I am not sold on the Blue devils. They rely too much on three point shooting, and in the tournaments, that is just not going to cut it. Carolina is lead by player of the year candidate Tyler Hansbrough, who averages 23 points, 10 rebounds and is shooting 55% from the field. He put the team on his back when injured captain Ty Lawson was out. Now that Lawson is back, the Tar Heels are not simply looking to win the conference, they are eyeing a national title.

Of Note: The University of Miami has been the surprise team in the ACC this year. They play excellent defense, and they beat Duke for the first time ever in a victory on February 20th. The hurricanes will make some noise in the conference tourney.

BIG 12
Winner: Texas. The conventional thinking is that Kansas will win this conference, but I'm not buying it. Everyone knows how good PG DJ Augustin is, averaging almost 20 points and 6 assists per game. What everyone doesn't know is that the Longhorns have lots of other speed and athleticism in guard AJ Abrams (16.4 ppg) and forward Damon James (13ppg, and 10.5 rpg).

Of Note: You cannot talk about the Big 12 without mentioning Kansas State freshman Michael Beasly who is averaging 27 points and 12 rebounds per game. He broke Carmello Anthony's freshman record for double-doubles, and is set to be the number one pick in the NBA draft. He alone is going to be good enough for an upset or two throughout this tournament.

BIG EAST
Winner: Louisville. The Cardinals are lead by David Padgett as one of the most well-rounded teams in the country. They have four players who average double figures in scoring each game, and could be bound for the Final Four.

Of Note: This is the most wide open conference in the country. The Georgetown Hoyas are tied with Louisville for best in the conference before the tournament, but they seem to be lacking the hustle and tenacity to win it. Next in line is where it gets sticky. Notre Dame, UConn, Marquette, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh all are talented teams that can play with anyone. This is going to be fun to watch.

BIG 10
Winner: Indiana. This has been the year of the freshmen, and the Hoosiers have a good one in guard Eric Gordon (21ppg). He has great backup in forward DJ White (17ppg/10rpg) and they are playing inspired basketball. They have had an emotional year and lost coach Kelvin Sampson. They have Sampson's initials on their shoes and have been playing in his honor since he left. They use this as motivation and will use it in this tournament, and the big dance.

Of Note: Although currently Wisconsin is atop the standings in the Big Ten, they seem very vulnerable. They lost both games against Purdue and could have easily lost a handful of others. Although they did not actually lose those games, the way they have been winning will not be good enough to win the conference title.

C-USA
Winner: Memphis. No conference opponent has been able to knock off the Tigers this season, and the tournament will be no different. Memphis is the only team in the conference that will have multiple players playing in the NBA (Chris Douglas-Roberts, Derrick Rose, Joey Dorsey). They use their superior talent to impose their will on every conference team.

Of Note: UAB is the only team to come close to a victory over Memphis, when they lost in the final seconds 79-78 after a traditional three point play by Chris Douglas Roberts. The Blazers are lead by guard/forward Robert Vaden, he averages 22ppg. Memphis only shoots free throws at a pathetic 58%, and also appears a bit immature. Although UAB could pull the upset, they won't.

SEC
Winner: Tennessee. Honestly, the SEC is having a down year overall and Tennessee was the number one team in the country...for one day. After winning a huge game against Memphis in Memphis, they lost to Vanderbilt. That being said, Bruce Pearl has quite possibly his best team ever since he has been the coach on the Rocky Top. Guard Chris Lofton will lead his team to a SEC championship.

Of Note: Kentucky is 11-4 in conference play this season after a rocky start to the season. Vanderbilt is also looking to make some noise in this tournament. The Commodores have 25 wins this season, and have Shane Oliver averaging 20.6ppg. Both these teams have struggled at times, but are still very capable of making a run.

PAC 10
Winner: UCLA. The Bruins have a fantastic freshman in big man Kevin Love (17ppg/11rpg) and also have a great guard in Darren Collison. The Pac 10 has a few good teams, but none good enough to knock off the Bruins. They have been road warriors this season, with and astounding 9-1 record on the road. Their controversial victory over Stanford shows me that the ball is bouncing their way, and they will ultimately come through.

Of Note: It can be said that the refs beat Stanford instead of UCLA but, the calls were bad on both sides throughout the game. Washington State plays great team basketball, and USC has OJ Mayo. But none can top the combination of Love and Collison.