Conference tourneys set to tip
By: Willie Bee
Breaking from the usual look at where the top-10 teams will be in action over the next seven days, here's a quick rundown of the 10 conference tournaments and their No. 1 seeds that are on this week's college basketball betting slate.
Atlantic 10 - Xavier Musketeers (24-6 SU, 14-14-1 ATS)
Chris Mack's X-men rumbled through the A-10 with just the one embarrassing hiccup at Charlotte in early February. The Musketeers enter the conference tournament on a nine-game win streak, also cashing seven of their last eight.
Xavier still has to win three games in three days to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament; if not, the Musketeers will get an at-large invite. Tournament action begins Tuesday (March 8) spread out at the various home sites of the 5-8 seeds before the games move to Atlantic City for the quarterfinals on Friday. Xavier and the other top 4 A-10 seeds – No. 2 Temple, No. 3 Richmond and No. 4 Duquesne – hit the floor then with the eventual championship game on Sunday (10 a.m. PT, CBS).
ACC - North Carolina (24-6 SU, 15-12 ATS)
What a finish by the Tar Heels! Roy Williams' squad head to Greensboro for the tourney with a seven-game win streak and only two defeats since a tough loss to Texas in mid-December, a defeat that ironically came on the Greensboro Coliseum floor. Saturday's 81-67 home romp over defending national champion Duke gave UNC the No. 1 seed in the conference and sets the two rivals up for one more showdown with the Blue Devils seeded second.
First-round games will be played Thursday (March 10) with the top 4 seeds – UNC, Duke, Florida State and Clemson – meeting those play-in winners the following day in the quarterfinals. ESPN will carry the title tilt on Sunday (10 a.m. PT).
Big 12 - Kansas (29-2 SU, 16-13 ATS)
Sprint Center in Kansas City is the site for this year's event with Kansas earning the top seed courtesy of a 14-2 conference mark. Texas, Texas A&M and Kansas State round out the top 4 seeds to get a bye from first-round games that get underway Wednesday (March 9). The championship will be played Saturday at 2 p.m. (PT) on ESPN.
The Jayhawks are clearly the class of the Big 12 once again, but their rivals from K-State are the hottest team in the conference heading into the tournament. The Wildcats have won six straight, including taking down both Kansas and Texas as underdogs in that stretch.
Big East - Pittsburgh (27-4 SU, 14-12 ATS)
The big surprise here isn't Pitt taking the regular season crown and earning byes in the first two rounds along with Notre Dame, Louisville and Syracuse. Seeing both Villanova and UConn fail to achieve at least a Round 1 bye is a mild shock, however.
Seeds 9-16 head to the Madison Square Garden hardwood on Tuesday with those winners meeting No. 5 St. John's, No. 6 West Virginia, No. 7 Cincinnati and No. 8 Georgetown on Wednesday. If everything plays out according to plan, Pittsburgh would take on either UConn or Georgetown on Thursday to open the quarterfinals.
ESPN will broadcast Saturday's conference title game starting at 6 p.m. (PT)
Big Ten - Ohio State *(28-2 SU, 14-13 ATS)
Finalizing the conference bracket won't come until after games are completed on Sunday, but we do know the Buckeyes will carry the No. 1 seed into Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis when the tourney cranks up on Thursday (March 10). Ohio State was in action at home on the regular season's final day against Wisconsin while Penn State was in Minnesota to face the Golden Gophers.
The Big Ten Championship Game will also be seen on CBS starting at 12:30 p.m. (PT) next Sunday, March 13.
Conference USA - UAB (22-7 SU, 19-9 ATS)
Alabama-Birmingham secured the top seed with Saturday's 66-48 home victory over East Carolina as 11½-point chalk. The Blazers are followed by the Tulsa Golden Hurricane as the No. 2 seed, tournament hosts UTEP Miners at No. 3 and Memphis Tigers in the No. 4 hole, with that quartet earning a bye from Wednesday's first round.
El Paso's Don Haskins Center is the site for this year's tourney; CBS will broadcast the title contest on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. (PT).
Mountain West - Brigham Young (28-3 SU, 13-14 ATS)
The tiebreaker went BYU's way for the top seed after the Cougars and San Diego State Aztecs each finished with 14-2 conference marks. Both Aztecs MWC defeats, their only two losses of the season, came at the hands of Brigham Young.
Las Vegas' Thomas & Mack center will host the tournament that begins Wednesday (March 9) with the 8-9 matchup between Wyoming and TCU. That winner goes on to face BYU in Thursday's quarterfinal round that also includes No. 2 SDSU versus Utah, No. 3 UNLV meeting Air Force and No. 4 Colorado State against New Mexico.
Saturday's championship will be seen on Versus starting at 4 p.m. (PT).
Pac-10 - Arizona (24-6 SU, 15-13-1 ATS)
The Wildcats wrapped up their 12th regular season title with Saturday's 90-82 home win over Oregon, but Arizona limps into Los Angeles' Staples Center on five-game skid against the spread. UCLA is the No. 2 seed with Washington third and USC fourth.
Wednesday (March 9) finds the 7-10 seeds meeting to try and earn a spot in Thursday's quarterfinals. Arizona will draw the 8-9 winner while the Bruins meet 7-10 at that time. The other quarterfinal matches are Washington versus No. 6 Washington State and USC facing No. 5 California.
CBS will televise the finals on Saturday at 3 p.m. (PT).
SEC - Florida (24-6 SU, 12-13-1 ATS)
Sunday's battle in Knoxville between Tennessee and Kentucky was still in the works at press, and that outcome will determine the overall bracket. But we do know the Florida Gators are the No. 1 seed from the SEC East with Alabama their counterparts from the SEC West.
The Georgia Dome is where everything gets underway on Thursday (March 10). Sunday's title game will be aired on ABC beginning at 10 a.m. (PT).
WAC - Utah State (28-3 SU, 15-12-1 ATS)
Yet another postseason tourney in Sin City, the WAC follows the West Coast Conference into Orleans Arena starting Wednesday (March 9) when the 5-8 seeds meet to determine Thursday's quarterfinal matchups. The Aggies of Utah State ran away with the regular season title for the No. 1 seed, their 15-1 conference mark five full games ahead of No. 2 seed Boise State. Both of those schools get a bye into Friday's semifinals, with the 3-4 seeds going to New Mexico State and Idaho who will earn a by into the quarters.
ESPN2's broadcast of Saturday's championship game beginning at 7 p.m. (PT).