College basketball season is here and teams have started playing for coveted conference championship trophies.
With the college basketball season getting underway, it is never too early to start wondering who will walk away with wins in their respective conferences, which, for most teams, could mean the only way they get a bid into the NCAA tournament at the end of the season. Not every best team will win the conference and not every conference will have a Cinderella winner. Here is my prediction for the winner of all 32 college basketball conferences.
American East – Vermont
American Athletic – Florida Atlantic
Florida Atlantic will make the jump from Conference USA to the American Conference and will win back-to-back conference championships in two different conferences.
Atlantic 10 – Dayton
Atlantic Coast – North Carolina
With the No. 4 ranked Duke and the No. 13 ranked Miami (FL) both ahead of North Carolina on the first AP Poll, UNC will need to come out and prove it is back on top, and I think they are.
Atlantic Sun – Eastern Kentucky
Big 12 – Houston
Houston will head from the American to the Big 12 and make a big statement in the team’s first season in the conference. With the No. 1 seed Kansas in there as well Houston will need to be great, not just good, to get this done.
Big East – Creighton
This is one of the best conferences in the nation with three teams ranked inside the top 10 and a handful of teams that could realistically come out on top. However, Creighton has more experience and talent than the others.
Big Sky – Eastern Washington
Big South – Longwood
Longwood might have lost their first game of the season but they have the talent to bounce back and still win among the teams in the conference.
Big Ten – Purdue
With Michigan State’s loss earlier this week in their season opener, I am no longer high on the Spartans. Purdue has had top talent and Zach Edey will once again win this conference.
Big West – UC Santa Barbara
UC Santa Barbara has the talent around this team to repeat as champions of the Big West.
Colonial Athletic – Charleston
Charleston was one of the highest upset picks in last year’s tournament bracket after winning this conference last season. They want to go back and get the win this year.
Conference USA – Liberty
Liberty joins Conference USA and has dominated on the football scale. They will also turn around and win the basketball side of the conference as well.
Horizon – Youngstown State
Ivy League – Yale
Princeton won the conference last season and made the most of it upsetting Arizona, Missouri and almost Creighton in the tournament. However, this year, Yale is in charge.
Metro Atlantic Athletic – Iona
Mid-American – Kent State
Mid-Eastern – Howard
Missouri Valley – Drake
Mountain West – San Diego State
There is no real competition in this conference. Mix that with the talent that this team has from the championship appearance that they made last year and they will go deep again.
Northeast – Fairleigh Dickinson
Ohio Valley – Morehead State
Pac-12 – USC
USC has Arizona, the No. 12 ranked team in the nation, in the Pac-12 to rival with. However, the potency of this offense is something I can get behind if it can stay consistent.
Patriot League – Colgate
SEC – Tennessee
Tennessee is the safe name to say here. The Vols are the highest-ranked team in the conference with the most ranked opponents in the top 25. However, my gut says that Texas A&M could surprise in this spot as well.
Southern – Furman
Furman will bring back much of the team that was able to knock off No. 4 Virginia in the first round of the Tournament last year after winning the Southern Conference last year. They will repeat this year and head back to the Big Dance.
Southland – Texas A&M – Corpus Christi
Southwestern Athletic – Grambling
Summit League – Oral Roberts
Sun Belt – James Madison
James Madison came out and made a statement in the first game of the season upsetting a top-five seed. It will look to take that momentum throughout the season winning the Sun Belt.
West Coast – St. Mary’s
For the last decade, this has been Gonzaga’s conference. However, St. Mary’s is here to make a statement this year and the No. 23 ranked team in the nation will take the throne.
Western Athletic – Grand Canyon
Regional restrictions may apply.
