COLLEGE BASKETBALL MEN’S CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS
Big East
Dates: March 10-13
Favorite: Villanova
Other contenders: Creighton, Connecticut
The Wildcats have won this event the last three times it was played to completion and once again enter as the top seed, but they’re hardly a lock. Floor leader Collin Gillespie went down with a season-ending knee injury, and Villanova’s final result without him was not promising as they fell in a deep hole early and couldn’t recover against Providence. Second-seeded Creighton will have coach Greg McDermott back on the bench after his suspension for using racially insensitive language with his team. The path might be there for the Huskies in their first year back in the Big East. UConn enters on a four-game winning streak, and standout scoring guard James Bouknight has returned to form coming back from an elbow injury.
Big Sky
Dates: March 10-13
Favorite: Southern Utah
Other contenders: Eastern Washington, Weber State
It would be a surprise if the top three seeds didn’t hold through the semifinals. Southern Utah has the advantage of the top seed and avoiding the other two before the final.
Big Ten
Dates: March 10-14
Favorite: Illinois
Other contenders: Michigan, Iowa The Illini finished second in the conference standings but enters the postseason with 11 wins in 12 games, including an impressive defeat at regular-season champion Michigan without star Ayo Dosunmu. The junior returned in the team’s Saturday defeat of Ohio State. The Wolverines also lost to Michigan State in the final week, so a good showing in Indianapolis is important for their confidence.
Big 12
Dates: March 10-13
Favorite: Baylor
Other contenders: Kansas, West Virginia
Only Kansas was able to knock off Baylor during the regular season as the Bears were the dominant team in the league. They’re led by Jared Butler, who topped the conference in assists and steals and finished third in scoring. Texas could also be in the mix as the Longhorns are playing better after some struggles that coincided with coach Shaka Smart testing positive for COVID-19.
Mountain West
Dates: March 10-13
Favorite: San Diego State
Other contenders: Boise State, Colorado State, Utah State
This figures to be among the most hotly contested tournaments of the second week, with several teams hovering dangerously close to the cut line in most NCAA bracket projections. Only the top-seeded Aztecs are in a safe position.
Pac-12
Dates: March 10-13
Favorite: Southern California Contenders: Oregon, Colorado Oregon won the regular-season title after finishing with five consecutive victories. That nudged out USC, which had a couple of stumbles down the stretch but defeated the Ducks in their lone matchup. UCLA is looking to turn around a three-game losing streak.
SEC
Dates: March 10-14
Favorite: Alabama
Other contenders: Arkansas, LSU This event is usually dominated by Kentucky, which has won four of the last five times it was completed. The Wildcats, however, are the eight seed after disappointing this season. The surprise team is Alabama, which lost just twice in 18 conference games on the strength of its reliance on 3-point shooting. Arkansas dealt the Crimson Tide one of those two defeats.
Southwestern Athletic
Dates: March 10-13
Favorite: Prairie View A&M
Other contenders: Jackson State, Texas Southern
You don’t usually find a conference tournament with two teams with unbeaten league records, but this isn’t a usual season. Prairie View and Jackson State avoided each other in the truncated season.
– Erick Smith and Eddie Timanus