A Six-Pack of Conference Tournament Banter

The final weekend of the regular season means one thing: post-season tournaments. Huh? You heard it right the first time. The big-daddy conferences are settling the score after a year of mostly memorable battles. While several key conferences have been decided (Colonial, MVC, Horizon, Big South, West Coast, etc.), we have plenty still to go. While the A-10 and Conference USA offer up snorers for the most part, here are the Big-6 BCS-laden tournaments and some insights to each to take a peak at before the viewing begins today on Wednesday.

Here’s the briefest of looks from a ramblin’ man’s perspective.

...in alphabetical order...

1) Atlantic Coast Conference [ACC]
Favorite: North Carolina
Hottest: Maryland
StrugaLING: Duke
Hot/Cold: Virginia & Virginia Tech
Overrated: Boston College
Bubble: Clemson & Florida State
Look Out For: Georgia Tech
Player to Watch: Sean Singletary [UVA's 1st of two superstars the other being JR Reynolds, has to make key shots for UVA to avoid a costly slip-up for seeding.]

2) Big East Conference [Big East]
Favorite: Georgetown
Hottest: Louisville
StrugaLING: Connecticut
Hot/Cold: Marquette
Overrated: Notre Dame
Bubble: Syracuse, West Virginia, & DePaul
Look Out For: Villanova
Player to Watch: Roy Hibbert [Georgetown's big-man needs to impose himself more with physical matchups awaiting him with Villanova/ND/Syracuse looming.]

3) Big Ten Conference [Big 10]
Favorite: Wisconsin
Hottest: Ohio State
StrugaLING: Everyone outside Ohio State & Wisconsin honestly
Hot/Cold: Michigan State
Overrated: Indiana
Bubble: Purdue, Illinois, Iowa, & Michigan
Look Out For: Michigan State
Player to Watch: Mike Conley Jr. [Ohio State point guard may be their key player in their attempt to lock up a #1 seed and continue the momentum off of their win at home against Wisconsin.]

4) Big Twelve Conference [Big 12]
Favorite: Kansas
Hottest: Kansas
StrugaLING: Oklahoma State
Hot/Cold: Texas Tech
Overrated: Kansas State
Bubble: Kansas State
Look Out For: Texas & Texas A&M
Player to Watch: Acie Law [Texas A&M’s big-time performer is as clutch as college basketball has seen in recent memory.]

5) Pacific Ten Conference [Pac-10]
Favorite: UCLA
Hottest: Washington
StrugaLING: Arizona
Hot/Cold: Oregon
Overrated: USC
Bubble: Stanford
Look Out For: Oregon/Arizona winner
Player to Watch: Darren Collison [UCLA’s point guard has rebounded from minor injuries for the most part, leading the team whom many consider to be the team-to-beat heading into March Madness.]

6) Southeastern Conference [SEC]
Favorite: Florida
Hottest: Vanderbilt
StrugaLING: SEC West
Hot/Cold: Tennessee
Overrated: Kentucky
Look Out For: Arkansas
Player to Watch: Ronald Steele [Alabama’s best all-around talent is currently injured and many wonder if he will miss out on the postseason altogether this season.]

One way or another, we’re primed for some amazing games. Especially since Saturday Night in Madison Square is always one of my favorite games of the year. Remember these? 1996: Allen Iverson v. Ray Allen, GMac’s run in 2006, Pitt/UCONN 1 (2002), 2 (2003...ok, not so great), and 3 (2004), and plenty more amazing memories have spoiled viewers of the Big East Tournament finale on Saturday nights on ESPN.

Fortunately, there’s enough to go around for everyone.
Even us VCU fans...