We are now less than a week away from the most important Sunday in the College Basketball season, Selection Sunday. With the regular season now finished, all teams will turn their attention towards their respective conference’s championship tournament.
Most teams who will participate in the NCAA College Basketball tournament already know they’ve secured a spot through an at-large bid, however, there are a number of teams whose fate is still up in the air. With an automatic bid on the line, I am going to be going over the power 6 conference championships, as well as which teams to watch in each tournament.
Big 10
Starting in the Midwest, the Big Ten have enjoyed a pretty successful run this year, as eleven of the 14 teams still have a chance to secure an at-large bid. Among the teams to watch include the teams that need to make noise in order to make the tournament and the teams that have the best chance to win the tournament.
The battle at the bottom of the Big Ten standings has been fierce over the past two weeks, and it seems that it won’t be decided until the conference championship tournament. Currently Wisconsin, Penn State, Rutgers, and Michigan all remain in bubble territory and will need to qualify for at least the semi-finals of the tournament if they want a chance to make March madness.
The top of the Big Ten standings, which currently hold Purdue, Indiana, and Northwestern has all locked up favorable seeds heading into March Madness, but each team will certainly be looking to end their regular season on a high note with a conference championship title. However, as the Big Ten tournament approaches, I don’t see any team other than Purdue hoisting the trophy
Southeastern Conference
There are currently five SEC l teams projected to participate in the 2023 NCAA College Basketball tournament, with a few teams still trying to hold on to their tournament hopes. Among the bubble teams are Auburn, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, and Arkansa, who will all need to make an appearance in the semi-finals of the SEC tournament if they want to find themselves in March Madness.
Among the favorites to win the SEC tournament are Alabama, Texas A&M, Missouri, and Tennessee, all of which boast over 21 wins in the regular season. The SEC has been loaded with talent this year and it will be exciting to see these national powerhouses duke it out in the conference championship tournament. Looking at the breakdown of the tournament, it really is anyone’s game, but with a team as talented as Alabama participating, it will be an uphill battle for all competitors.
Atlantic Coast Conference
Typically one of the best conferences in college basketball, the ACC has seen quite the downfall in the 2022-2023 season. Only five of the fifteen teams are projected to make March Madness, and none of their teams will enter the tournament as a favorite to win it all.
Among the teams vying for a spot in March Madness includes NC State, North Carolina, and Wake Forest. NC State will claim a spot, a tournament win or two, but the other two teams would need quite the spectacular run in the ACC tournament if they hope to make it.
The favorites and teams to watch in the ACC tournament include University of Miami, Virginia, and Duke. While none of these teams have had the perfect season, they’ve all shown their talent and what they can do. If I had to pick one of these three, I would definitely have to go with Miami, their speed in the front-court and size down low makes them difficult to compete with on both sides of the ball.
Big 12
There are currently seven Big 12 teams that are projected to gain a place in the NCAA College Basketball Tournament, with three more hoping to earn a place through the Big 12 Conference Championship tournament. Among these teams include Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma. While Oklahoma State needs to make it to at least the semi-finals, the other two teams will need to win the tournament if they hope to be picked on Selection Sunday.
On the other side of the standings, the Big 12 is home to quite a few powerhouse teams this season, as there are currently four Big 12 teams ranked inside the top ten: Kansas, Baylor, Texas, and Kansas State. The Big 12 tournament will certainly be one of the most action-packed conference championships, but, despite the conference’s strength, I don’t see any team claiming the title over Kansas.
The Jayhawks enter the tournament with only six total losses, five of which came against ranked opponents, and are the number one seed in the Big 12 tournament. Bill Self has guided his squad to another impressive season, and I think they’ll be adding a conference title before they set off to the big dance.
Pac-12
A conference once known for housing a number of powerhouses, the Pac-12 only has two teams with a confirmed spot in the 2023 NCAA College Basketball Tournament. Although the two teams are powerhouses UCLA and Arizona, it’s been a lackluster year for the conference out West.
Among teams still vying for a bid are USC, Arizona State, and Washington State, with the remaining six teams needing a conference championship in order to get a ticket to the dance. USC and Arizona sit in decent spots to qualify, needing one to two wins in the conference tournament to qualify, while Washington State will definitely need to make some noise, and will likely be eliminated with anything less than an appearance in the Final.
The two favorites, UCLA and Arizona, aren’t just favorites to win the PAC-12 tournament, but sit among the odds-on favorites for March Madness as well. Both teams have achieved 25+ win seasons and will likely be a top 3 seed come tournament time. After success in the past few tournaments, it seems that UCLA will return their experienced squad and hope to come away with a trophy this time around.
Big East
Our final conference tournament heads to the Big East, the conference most typically associated with college basketball. Out of the eleven Big East teams, 5 of them have all but secured their places in the 2023 NCAA College Basketball tournament. The remaining five teams have all been eliminated from receiving an at-large bid and will need to win the Big East Conference Championship tournament if they want to participate in March Madness.
Among the qualifying teams are Marquette, Xavier, UConn, Creighton, and Providence. Each of these squads enter the Big East Tournament with at least twenty wins and a legitimate shot to claim the 2023 Big East title.
However, when looking at these teams, its difficult to not choose Marquette, who has the highest winning percentage and has only lost three conference games, the fewest in the Big East. There are definitely teams capable of beating them, but Marquette has by far been the best and most consistent team in the Big East. One thing I do know, is that with everything on the line for over half of the teams, the Big East Tournament is about to bring the action.
For more basketball news and content, read here.
Join our Discord
to leave a question or comment regarding this article. We have sports fans talking betting all day — every day! JOIN THE DISCORD NOW AND QUALIFY FOR PRIZES & BETTING SWAG!
