Okay, so we’ve previewed the top half of the country in college hoops, now let’s get down to the other half.\u00a0 The next 8 conferences are more of the third tier, in that they are never looking at multiple NCAA tournament bids, but the top couple of teams in each league could present problems to some of the best teams in the country on a single given night – oh, say, around mid-March…<\/p>\n
The Midnight Snack in the WAC<\/em> This year’s WAC season is probably going to be either a two- or three-team race between the usual suspects.\u00a0 Nevada<\/strong> (9-3, 110 RPI), who hasn’t exactly been churning out NBA talent recently like they have in the past with Kirk Snyder, Nick Fazekas, Ramon Sessions, or JaVale McGee, but they have stayed relevant enough to compete for the WAC title every year or so.\u00a0 And, this year, they were the preseason pick to win the conference and have looked decent in the non-conference, with their only 3 losses coming to decent teams (Missouri State, UNLV, and BYU).\u00a0 They have also been playing their best\u00a0ball as of late, including two wins over Pac-12 foes in Washington and Arizona State.\u00a0<\/p>\n New Mexico State<\/strong> (8-4, 77) is probably the biggest threat to unseat the Wolfpack.\u00a0 The Aggies have played a pretty tough schedule so far and have managed an 8-4 record, but they don’t really have a signature win to their names, as cross-state rival New Mexico is probably their best W.<\/p>\n Utah State<\/strong> (8-5, 159) began the season with a bang – a 69-62 win over BYU, and it looked like they might be the team to beat in the WAC.\u00a0 But, they have not been the same team away from home (1-4 outside of Logan, including some bad losses).\u00a0 But, at 8-1 at home, including really struggled early in the season, including a 19-point beatdown of a good Kent State team means that this team could definitely cause some problems for the two assumed favorites in the WAC this year.<\/p>\n There is not much meat in the rest of the conference, though Idaho<\/strong> (7-6, 230) has been a pleasant surprise so far.\u00a0 Hawaii <\/strong>(4-5, 261) was actually picked to finish ahead of Utah State this year (3rd place), and they did just beat Xavier over the holiday, but the Rainbow Warriors have some shaky losses so far, as well.<\/p>\n The Team to Beat<\/em> Iona<\/strong> (10-2, 18 RPI) is absolutely loaded this year.\u00a0 The Gaels had a loaded roster BEFORE they found out that they were adding the starting point guard on an Elite Eight Arizona team last year in Mo-Mo Jones (who isn’t even one of their best two players).\u00a0 Doogan just ranked their point guard<\/a>, Scotty Machado as the #5 PG in the country, and he may even be overshadowed.\u00a0 Former St. John’s transfer, Michael Glover, is averaging almost 19 points per game and is the biggest threat to Machado for conference POY.\u00a0 This team is loaded.<\/p>\n If there is going to be a team that upsets Iona it will more than likely be either the defending conference champs, Fairfield<\/strong> (7-5, 63) or the up-and-coming Loyola\u00a0<\/strong>(8-3, 103) program.\u00a0 The Stags of Fairfield still have some holdovers from last year’s team that fell devastatingly short of the NCAA tournament and are hungry to give it another run.\u00a0 Loyola, who has been slowly building their program, probably has the best team in school history and has shown some promise in the non-conference.<\/p>\n The only other team that might possibly challenge the favorites is Manhattan<\/strong> (8-5, 142), who, despite being picked near the bottom of the conference in the preseason, had a pretty decent non-conference and started the MAAC season with two very impressive results – a 16-point win at Rider<\/strong> (3-10, 262)\u00a0and a 26-point beatdown of St. Peter’s<\/strong> (2-10, 288).<\/p>\n Speaking of St. Peter’s, they lead a cavalcade of bad teams at the bottom of this conference, which could submit several teams into consideration for worst in the country, including the recently highly successful program at Siena<\/strong> (4-7, 291), which has fallen on some really hard times.<\/p>\n Going Out with a Bang<\/em> Oral Roberts<\/strong> (9-4, 80 RPI) has done wonders to the national attention given to the Summit League.\u00a0 The Golden Eagles have been one of the best low\/mid-major teams in the country for several years now, but they are leaving the Summit League to join the Southland Conference (a much weaker basketball league) next year.\u00a0 The favorites to yet again win the league this year, they are going to try and go out with a bang.\u00a0 ORU has been pretty successful against a typically tough schedule this year, but may have their signature win (a 22-point pounding of Xavier) discounted because it was helped by the suspensions of Tu Holloway and Mark Lyons.\u00a0 Either way, ORU is the favorite again in the Summit League.<\/p>\n Their biggest threat to supremacy in the past couple of years has been Oakland<\/strong> (7-6, 106), and the Golden Grizzlies are probably in the best position to stand in their way once again.\u00a0 The defending champs lost the best player in school history, but still return a bunch of talent, that has managed relatively well against a brutal non-conference schedule.\u00a0 They did pick up wins over Tennessee (again) and @Valparaiso along the way.<\/p>\n While the Summit League is almost always between the Golden Eagles and the Golden Grizzlies (and once in a while IUPUI<\/strong> (6-8, 246), but they are having a really down year), this year there are a slew of other teams that have had very successful non-conference seasons and could be poised to steal the crown.\u00a0 South Dakota State<\/strong> (9-4, 72) played really well through a tough non-conference schedule highlighted by last week’s 19-point win @Washington.\u00a0 North Dakota State <\/strong>(8-3, 79) also played well through a decent non-conference slate.\u00a0 Even UMKC <\/strong>(7-7, 117) looked decent in the non-conference, despite their .500 record.<\/p>\n The bottom of this conference is pretty bad, but the depth at the top is unprecedented this year, with 5 or 6 teams all with the potential to beat anyone on any given night.<\/p>\n Carrying the Load The College of Charleston<\/strong> (10-2, 45 RPI) is clearly among the best handful of mid-majors in the country and probably is one of the 40 or 50 best in the nation, if not better.\u00a0 Their only two losses are to a good Central Florida team and a very close 7-point loss @Louisville.\u00a0 Among their 10 wins is a win @Clemson, a 24-point shellacking of UMass, a 6-point win over Tennessee, and a 7-point win @ a very good Coastal Carolina team.\u00a0 I could make the case that those four results can stand up against the best four results of just about anyone in any conference.\u00a0 Bobby Cremins’ team is definitely the favorite going into conference play, but not by a lot.<\/p>\n That is because there is a resurgence at Davidson<\/strong> (7-4, 32).\u00a0 The Wildcats didn’t quite become the Gonzaga of the south, like some predicted, but they do still have a very good program and the recruiting boon in the wake of Steph Curry’s magical run is fueling them now.\u00a0 They have played a viscious schedule and picked up a couple nice W’s along the way (most notably the win @Kansas), along with a couple near-misses (@Duke and Vanderbilt).<\/p>\n As I said, the rest of the league might just be speed bumps for the two juggernauts on their way to facing each other for all the marbles.\u00a0 Two teams have surprised a little bit, so far, and that\u00a0is Georgia-Southern<\/strong> (3-7, 305), who had, as expected, a very poor non-conference season, has rebounded for two impressive wins in conference play to start the season 2-0.\u00a0 Elon<\/strong> (7-4, 146) is also 2-0 in conference and\u00a0is also doing that on the heels of a surprisingly solid non-conference.<\/p>\n Other than that, the conference is rife with underachievement and just all-around poor performances.\u00a0 Chattanooga<\/strong> (4-8, 311) was picked to win the North Division, but has fallen on its face with an awful non-conference season.\u00a0 Appalachian State<\/strong> (5-6, 266) was supposed to challenge Chattanooga in the North and might just do so – for the cellar.\u00a0 And, Wofford<\/strong> (7-5, 219), who expected a rebuilding season, has been even worse than anticipated.<\/p>\n New Blood Adds a New Twist<\/em> The Campbell Fighting Camels<\/strong> (8-5, 174 RPI) left the Atlantic Sun for the Big South this year right when their roster was ready to truly compete.\u00a0 The Camels started off white hot this season, at 8-1, including a 16-point win @Iowa.\u00a0 But, a head-scratching loss to Houston Baptist on December 14th sent them into a slide that is still going four games later.\u00a0 And, with their final non-conference game @N.C. State, they are likely going to enter their first Big South season of conference play with a 5-game losing streak.<\/p>\n To make matters worse, they open conference play with the best program in the league over the past couple of years, Coastal Carolina<\/strong> (9-3, 160).\u00a0 The Chanticleers, through suspect means, have built a Big South dynasty and have another stacked roster this year.\u00a0 They have wins over LSU and @Clemson already this year, but did lose to a bad @FIU team and by 25 @E.Carolina, so they too are entering Big South play on a bit of a skid.\u00a0 That being said, there is no reason to think that this team isn’t going to be in the mix all year in this conference.<\/p>\n The preseason pick to win the conference has played a nasty non-conference schedule, that including losses @N.C. State, UNC, UConn, CofCharleston, and @Tennessee.\u00a0 But, UNC-Asheville<\/strong> (6-5, 123) believes that it made them battle-tested enough to not only to repeat as tournament champs, but win the regular season title this year, as well.<\/p>\n One more wrench in the works is the biggest surprise of this conference, Charleston-Southern<\/strong> (7-4, 96).\u00a0 While the Buccaneers haven’t actually beaten a team with much clout, they have been impressive in defeat on a number of occasions this year, most notably a 5-point loss @Kansas St. and a 2-point loss @CofCharleston.\u00a0 They also have started conference play at 2-0, including a 33-point beatdown of a VMI<\/strong> (4-7, 296) that was picked to finish 3rd in the conference.<\/p>\n Other potential sleepers in this relatively deep conference include Winthrop<\/strong> (4-9, 244), who took Georgia to OT the other night, and Presbyterian<\/strong> (6-5, 231), who is trying to make the best of their first year of postseason eligibility.<\/p>\n How Many Teams Have a Shot?<\/em> Yes, the Bruins are the clear favorites to repeat in the A-Sun, considering they have everyone back and cruised through the conference last year.\u00a0 But, they aren’t the only teams that are better this year than they were last – and it’s some surprising names, even to the most ardent of A-Sun followers.<\/p>\n In the first place, the resident league doormat is currently all alone in first place.\u00a0 USC-Upstate<\/strong> (8-5, 147) was picked 7th in the league in the preseason, which is saying something considering they have never finished higher than 8th, but they had a very solid non-conference slate and have rode that into conference play to the tune of three straight wins to start the season, including a 16-point road win over Stetson<\/strong> (4-6, 240) – who happens to be another somewhat surprising team, considering they were picked last in the conference.<\/p>\n North Florida<\/strong> (6-7, 137) was expected to (and scheduled like they would) have a team that could possibly challenge the Bruins this year.\u00a0 And, while the only won 5 of their 12 non-conference games, they had a brutal slate and looked real good at times.\u00a0 East Tennessee State<\/strong> (5-6, 208) is always in the mix in the conference and had a really good non-conference before dropping their first 2 conference games on the road.\u00a0 One of the teams that got them is the hugely surprising Florida Gulf Coast<\/strong> (4-7, 238).\u00a0 The Eagles have never played a postseason game in D-I (every year of their D-I existence, they failed to even qualify for the A-Sun tournament), but they had a promising non-conference against really good competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n But, the biggest surprise of all has been just how good Mercer<\/strong> (8-5, 101) has been this year.\u00a0 Picked 8th in the conference, they were off to\u00a0a decent non-conference when they took the annually\u00a0brutal\u00a0trip to Nashville for the conference openers.\u00a0 They beat Lipscomb<\/strong> (6-8, 245) on December 1st and then, two nights later, nearly knocked off Belmont.\u00a0 They took that momentum back to the non-conference with a win @Samford, an 11-point win over Chattanooga, close losses @Seton Hall and @Georgia, before the capper last week: \u00a0a 6-point win @Georgia Tech.<\/p>\n The biggest disappoinment of the A-Sun season thus far has to be Jacksonville<\/strong> (2-9, 312).\u00a0 The Dolphins are always one of the best teams in the league, and this year was supposed to be no different, as they were picked 2nd in the conference.\u00a0 But, they have had an absolutely disastrous non-conference followed up by a pair of poor showings in conference play.\u00a0 The Dolphins have the talent to compete, but they just haven’t shown it.<\/p>\n Half and Half<\/em> The clear team to beat in the Sky this year is Weber State<\/strong> (8-3, 102 RPI).\u00a0 The Wildcats, led by Damian Lillard (ranked as the #11 point guard<\/a> in the country by Doogan this week) have pretty much their whole team back from last year and is expected to not only win the Big Sky, but possibly make some noise in the Big Dance.\u00a0 They haven’t shown a lot in the non-conference, though, as their only three real tests (@St. Mary’s, @BYU, and @Cal), they got hammered, but they have the talent and experience to really cause some problems in and outside of the Big Sky.<\/p>\n The normal contender to Weber in the Sky is Montana <\/strong>(7-5, 168), and this year is no different, as the Grizz have had a decent non-conference.\u00a0 One of the biggest surprises of the non-conference in the Big Sky has been Eastern Washington<\/strong> (6-6, 124), who picked up a couple okay\u00a0wins @Hawaii and @Idaho, and looked good in losses @Gonzaga and @Oregon.\u00a0 One of the most interesting teams heading into conference play this year is\u00a0defending champion\u00a0Northern Colorado<\/strong> (3-8, 143). \u00a0The Bears have some talent returning from their tournament team a year ago and have scheduled a brutal non-conference, but haven’t really picked up many wins along the way.<\/p>\n Other teams to watch might be Sacramento State <\/strong>(5-6, 313), the perennial doormat of the league, who may actually be okay this year, and Northern Arizona <\/strong>(4-8, 294), who are unusually underappreciated going into the season this year, but have the potential to be a lot better than what they have shown thus far.<\/p>\n Look Who’s Got Some “Big Boys”<\/em> The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders<\/strong> (11-2, 91 RPI) have been the underrated story of the low-major non-conference season this year.\u00a0 They are 11-2, with the only losses being a 3-point loss to Belmont and a 10-point loss\u00a0@UAB.\u00a0 And, their 11 wins have been very impressive – a 20-point win @UCLA, a 24-point win over Akron, a 3-point revenge win over Belmont, and, most recently, a 12-point win over Ole Miss.\u00a0 Wow!\u00a0 This team can flat-out play and should be the clear winner of the Sun Belt’s North Division.<\/p>\n But, the South Division has a bit of a juggernaut itself in the Denver Pioneers<\/strong> (10-2, 31).\u00a0 The Pioneers have only lost 2 games – @Cal and a 2-point OT loss to Iona.\u00a0 They have already beaten Southern Miss and St. Mary’s (by 12).\u00a0 This team is for real and can make a real case as being the best team in the state of Colorado.<\/p>\n While Mid Tenn and Denver are the clear favorites in their respective divisions, there are a couple of other teams that can make some noise this year.\u00a0 Don’t let\u00a0the record fool you about\u00a0Florida Atlantic <\/strong>(4-9, 122), as they have played a monstrous schedule and were actually picked to finish ahead of Middle Tennessee this year.\u00a0 South Alabama <\/strong>(8-3, 111) has been playing real well as of late, and one can never count out Western Kentucky<\/strong> (4-9, 198), even in the proverbial “down year.”<\/p>\n Down in the South Division, there are a couple teams chasing Denver that can play.\u00a0 Perennial contender, LA-Lafayette <\/strong>(6-8, 205), was picked to win this division and has been up and down in the non-conference.\u00a0 The always dangerous Mean Green of North Texas<\/strong> (7-6, 228) should hang around all year, as should the defending tournament champs, AR-Little Rock<\/strong> (3-10, 309), despite a really slow start.\u00a0 And, the one team that should not be overlooked as maybe the biggest threat to Denver in the South is Arkansas State<\/strong> (6-7, 139).\u00a0 The Red Wolves never seem to garner the respect they might otherwise deserve and maybe it’s their year to reach up and grab the title.<\/p>\n Okay, so we’ve previewed the top half of the country in college hoops, now let’s get down to the other half.\u00a0 The next 8 conferences are more of the third tier, in that they are never looking at multiple NCAA … Continue reading
\nNot sure what this title means, but for anyone around my age that grew up a college basketball fan, I’m guessing the first thing you think of when anyone mentions the WAC is the old ESPN feature, “Midnight Snack in the WAC,” where one day a week they would play a WAC game after the 11:00pm SportsCenter.\u00a0 Okay, maybe I’m the only one who remembers it, but whatever.<\/p>\nOVERALL<\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0 While USU has absolutely dominated this conference in the past couple of years, they lost a ton to graduation and find themselves the underdogs this year.\u00a0 Nevada and NMSU both look solid and this could be a real battle all year for the top spot.<\/h4>\n
THE MAAC<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
\nLike many of these mid-major conferences, there seems to be a sharp distinction between the contenders and the pretenders in the MAAC this year.\u00a0 However, there is a subtle difference here.\u00a0 Even among the contenders, there is one clear-cut favorite that everyone else is chasing.<\/p>\nOVERALL<\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0 Anything short of an Iona title here this year would be a pretty hefty surprise.\u00a0 If the Gaels are upset in the conference tournament, though, they will, most likely, garner at least a whisper of at-large support, as they should.<\/h4>\n
THE SUMMIT LEAGUE<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
\nThis year looks like it is going to be the best Summit League ever.\u00a0 And, that is good because they are losing one of their “Big Two” next year.<\/p>\nOVERALL<\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0 As usual, this conference will probably come down to Oral Roberts vs. Oakland, but before we pencil that in (a la the Big West), we should at least keep an eye on some of the teams chasing the two big boys.<\/h4>\n
THE SoCON<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
\n<\/em>The SoCon is usually a somewhat decent league – at least with a handful of teams that can at least compete with some of the better programs in the country.\u00a0 And, once in a while, a SoCon team will pop up and make a statement (see:\u00a0Curry, Steph).\u00a0 This year is a bit bizarre on both ends of the spectrum.\u00a0 The good:\u00a0 there are TWO teams who can not only compete with some of the better programs, but ought to be considered two of the best mid-majors in the country and should both garner at least a little at-large consideration.\u00a0 The bad:\u00a0 the other 10 teams are pretty bad.\u00a0 This is not typical of the usually well-balanced SoCon, but that’s what they’re staring at this year.\u00a0 And, the weakness of the league will probably seal the deal for the unfortunate team that doesn’t win the SoCon tournament.<\/p>\nOVERALL<\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0 No one in this conference can really compete with CofC or Davidson.\u00a0 Fortunately, for us, they are in the same division and will get to battle it out twice before the all-important conference tournament.<\/h4>\n
THE BIG SOUTH<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
\nThe Big South stole a team from their neighboring conference, the Atlantic Sun, at seemingly just the right time\u00a0– making for what could be one of the better multiple-team races.<\/p>\nOVERALL<\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0 This is one of the more interesting conferences this year because of its depth at the top.\u00a0 Neither C.Carolina nor UNC-Asheville probably have the horses to run away and hide, so there should be drama all year, especially if Campbell and Charleston-Southern can continue the starts that they have had.<\/h4>\n
THE ATLANTIC SUN<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
\nGive a list of teams in the A-Sun to any somewhat involved hoops fan, and they will tell you that this is a no-brainer…and they might be right.\u00a0 But, I’m not quite ready to hand the trophy over to anyone, even Belmont<\/strong> (8-5, 89 RPI), in December.\u00a0<\/p>\nOVERALL<\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0 As you can tell by the length of this section, the A-Sun is much more wide open and interesting than you might think if you just want to hand the title to Belmont.\u00a0 That being said, if the Bruins didn’t win the conference, it would be a huge upset, but there is a whole stable of teams that can possibly pull it off.<\/h4>\n
THE BIG SKY<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
\nThe Big Sky is often configured the way it seems to be configured again this year – with about half the league in contention, and the other half just kind of there.<\/p>\nOVERALL<\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0 This is Weber State’s conference to lose, but if they are to lose it, it will most likely be to Montana.\u00a0 E.Washington and the defending champs, N.Colorado, might make a push, but it remains to be seen if they can put it all together.<\/h4>\n
THE SUN BELT<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
\nThe Sun Belt has produced some madness in March in the past, but it has almost always been reserved to two programs that we affectionately call the Hilltoppers and the Ragin’ Cajuns.\u00a0 But, this year, the Sun Belt actually might have a pair of powerhouses that go by “Blue Raiders” and “Pioneers.”<\/p>\nOVERALL<\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0 With one powerhouse in each division (Middle Tennessee and Denver), the Sun Belt can get pretty interesting, especially if some of these potential spoilers start to really believe.<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"