Big 12 Conference (conference rank: 1st) March 8-11 All games at Kansas City, Mo. kPOY: Johnathan Motley, Baylor Regular season champ: Kansas (preseason #3 / 1st Big 12, current #9) Overachiever: Oklahoma State (preseason #60, current #19) Underachiever: Texas (preseason #45, current #76) One of the main arguments about conference superiority is that the ACC is going to get the most tournament […]

Southeastern Conference (conference rank: 5th) March 8-12 All games at Nashville, Tenn. kPOY: Sindarius Thornwell, South Carolina. Regular season champ: Kentucky (preseason #4 / 1st SEC, current #7) Overachiever: Florida (preseason #17, current #6) Underachiever: LSU (preseason #101, current #159) Kentucky is on an eight-game winning yet their AdjEM rating (and ranking) has dropped slightly over that time. A seven-point home win to […]

Big Ten Conference (conference rank: 4th) March 8-12 All games at Washington, D.C. kPOY: Caleb Swanigan, Purdue Regular season champ: Purdue (preseason #15 / 4th Big Ten, current #13) Overachiever: Minnesota (preseason #71, current #32) Underachiever: Ohio State (preseason #13, current #69) The Big Ten tournament moves to the Verizon Center in Washington this season and the conference appears to have seven […]

Pac 12 Conference (conference rank: 6th) March 8-11 All games at Las Vegas kPOY: Lonzo Ball, UCLA. Regular season champ: Oregon (preseason #6 / 1st Pac 12, current #17) and Arizona (preseason #10 / 2nd Pac 12, current #21) Overachiever: UCLA (preseason #21, current #16) Underachiever: Oregon State (preseason #81, current #272) While the Pac 12 had multiple teams in the AP […]

Big East Conference (conference rank: 3rd) March 8-11 All games at Madison Square Garden kPOY: Josh Hart, Villanova. Regular season champ: Villanova (preseason #2 / 1st Big East, current #2) Overachiever: Marquette (preseason #47, current #28) Underachiever: Xavier (preseason #11, current #43) You still hear people use the term “Power 5” to describe the best basketball conferences, but it is dying. It […]

Mountain West Conference (conference rank: 9th) March 8-11 All games at UNLV. kPOY: Chandler Hutchinson, Boise State Regular season champ: Nevada (preseason #114 / 3rd MW, current #57) Overachiever: Nevada Underachiever: UNLV (preseason #179, current #251) For the second consecutive season, the Mountain West will be a one-bid league so these teams are playing for all the marbles. Nevada is […]

Atlantic Coast Conference (conference rank: 2nd) March 7-11 All games at Brooklyn, N.Y. kPOY: John Collins, Wake Forest Regular season champ: North Carolina (preseason #5 / 1st ACC, current #4) Overachiever: Wake Forest (preseason #76, current #30) Underachiever: N.C. State (preseason #35, current #100) The ACC makes its debut in Brooklyn this week. It appears that eight teams have at-large bids […]

Sun Belt Conference (conference rank: 15th) March 8-11 All games at New Orleans. kPOY: Kevin Hervey, UT Arlington. Regular season champ: UT Arlington (preseason #67 / 1st Sun Belt, current #72) Overachiever: Arkansas State (preseason #281, current #119) Underachiever: Little Rock (preseason #139, current #241) Last season, UT Arlington was flirting with the top 50, having beaten Memphis and Ohio […]

Southland Conference (conference rank: 27th) March 8-11 All games at Katy, Texas. kPOY: Rashawn Thomas, Texas A&M Corpus Christi. Regular season champ: New Orleans (preseason #297 / 7th Southland, current #179) Overachiever: New Orleans Underachiever: Stephen F. Austin (preseason #124, current #232) There couldn’t have many regular-season champions more surprising than New Orleans this season.

Big Sky Conference (conference rank: 26th) March 7, 9-11 All games at Reno. kPOY: Jacob Wiley, Eastern Washington. Regular season champ: North Dakota (preseason #146 / 1st Big Sky, current #184) Overachiever: Eastern Washington (preseason #250, current #186) Underachiever: Idaho State (preseason #238, current #329) Weber State, North Dakota, and Eastern Washington are ranked 183, 184, and 186, respectively, at press time. […]