Conference Predictions

It is time for the best time of the year in my opinion, college basketball conference play. I really enjoy the regular season because you are really help to see who is well-coached, who is over/underachieving, and there are always plenty of surprises along the way.

There are three keys to winning the regular season conference championship. First you have to avoid injuries. Typically by the start of conference play, coaches have trimmed their rotation down to 8 or 9 guys. So an injury to anyone, especially a starter or leader among the team can really hurt the team. The second key to winning a conference championship is to get pleasant surprise from one of your players that you had not counted on being a major contributor. The third and final key to winning is protecting your home court. It is so tough to win on the road, especially in conferences such as the Big Ten and the Big East that anytime you are at home, you have to help yourself out and get wins. If you can win all of your conference games at home and then go at least .500 on the road, you should be in contention for a championship.

So overall, I picked 10 conference winners and if I get 5 or 6 correct, I will be impressed. Here are my predictions for the regular season champions:

A10
Xavier
(Should be able to grind out a 13-3 conference record as their talent and coaching is far superior to anyone else in the conference. Dayton and Temple will compete as well)

ACC
North Carolina
(This has to be the easiest pick of the year. North Carolina's talent is head and shoulders above anyone else's in the conference)

Big 12
Oklahoma
(This is a tough call between Texas and Oklahoma, both very good teams that are well-coached and have a star player...AJ Abrams and Blake Griffin. However, I give the edge to OU because of Griffin, the best player in the conference and possible number 1 pick in the NBA draft next year)

Big East
Pittsburgh
(This is the toughest conference to pick a winner from. There are easily 6-8 teams that could win the conference. I am taking Pitt because of their defensive toughness and rebounding ability. Plus they have two very good seniors in Levance Fields and Sam Young and to be able to compete in this conference you are going to need leadership and experience and Pitt has that)

Big Ten
Michigan State
(This is a tough call between Purdue and Michigan State but I give the edge to State because of their talent and Tom Izzo. Did anyone realize that MSU has not won a Big Ten regular season title since the 2000-2001 season? It is time for them to reclaim their rightful spot on top of the Big Ten)

MAC
Buffalo
(Several very capable teams of winning the MAC this year; Akron, Kent State, Buffalo, Miami. I am going to go with Buffalo as my winner. They have played a very solid non-conference schedule, beating Temple, Pepperdine, and Colorado so far, and should be battle tested and ready to roll going into conference play)

Missouri Valley
Creighton
(Illinois State is the trendy pick and rightfully so as they are currently 12-0. But I think that Dana Altman is a tremendous coach and will always have his guys ready to go. The final game of the regular season schedule is Illinois State at Creighton...could be a possible conference championship game)

Mountain West
BYU
(A really solid conference from top to bottom. UNLV should push BYU for the regular season conference championship; but I think in the end BYU wins out because they have the best player in the conference, Lee Cummard, and the best home court advantage, currently riding a 54 game home winning streak)

Pac 10
UCLA
(A very down year for the conference as compared to recent years. UCLA's talent is far superior to anyone else in the conference; add in the fact that Ben Howland is a terrific coach and I just don't see how anyone else can knock off the Bruins who are competing for their 4th consecutive Pac 10 Championship)

SEC
Tennessee
(Tennessee kind of wins by default. A very average year for the SEC as no one really stands out above the rest. Tennessee has some decent talent and should be able to prevail over the course of the season. Keep an eye on Florida and Arkansas as well)