What you need to know about “Power 6” conferences going into tournament week

It’s March, which means one thing and one thing only for college basketball; madness. Before the big dance gets going, however, there are conference tournaments to be played all week and weekend long to decide who gets an automatic bid to the dance, while also providing a last chance opportunity for bubble teams to prove their worth. While it’s impossible to cover all 32 conferences with a qualifier spot in one article, it is possible to cover the big guns of college basketball within the “Power 6” conferences who will most likely end up producing this years NCAA champion.  

Pac-12: The top of the PAC-12’s standings feature the usual suspects in UCLA and Arizona, both ranked top 10 in the AP poll and looking strong going into the PAC-12 tournament in Las Vegas. Behind these two juggernauts are the Trojans of USC, the Oregon Ducks, and the Arizona State Sun Devils. For USC, just one win in Vegas would most likely solidify their spot in the big dance as a high single digit or low double digit seed. If they are to lose, however, they’d become a bubble team and would have to hope the selection committee finds them worthy of dancing. As for Oregon and ASU, they probably have more work to do. They’d more than likely need multiple tournament wins to get in, which would mean upsetting one or both of the aforementioned UCLA and Arizona. A winless trip to Vegas most likely means an NIT bid for the two teams. As for the rest of the pack (no pun intended), it’d almost certainly take a tournament championship title and the automatic bid that comes with it to get in. 

SEC: This year the SEC has been headlined by a controversial Alabama Crimson Tide team that came into last weekend ranked second in the entire nation before being upset by Texas A&M. For Alabama, a SEC tournament title could mean a #1 seed in the big dance. As for the rest of the teams, there is also a lot to play for. Texas A&M, Missouri, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and Auburn will all be jockeying for higher seeding in the dance, especially Auburn and Vanderbilt who, if they make noise, can go from near/on the bubble to a more ideal seeding situation. Florida is the only other team to go at least .500 in conference play, but they’d need an automatic bid to go dancing. 

ACC: The ACC has been the place to look if you want to see teams underperforming. Preseason AP Poll #1 North Carolina is on the bubble looking in and the Duke Blue Devils will surely be dancing but still find themselves well out of the conversation for their usual 1 or 2 seed. As for the teams with things looking more up, Miami, Clemson, and Virginia are experienced groups looking poised to win multiple ACC and NCAA tournament games. Looking a bit further down the standings, Pitt have performed well this year but are listed as a “Last Four In” team according to Joe Lunardi as of Sunday evening. If Pitt want to get in, they’ll have to win some games in the conference tournament. If you want look for a somewhat realistic upset tournament winner, Syracuse is never a bad guess. The 2-3 zone defense of the Orange allows them to take advantage if teams get cold and could send them into a deep ACC tournament run as a result.

Big 12: The Big 12 has been the most chaotic and competitive conference in all of college hoops this year. Kansas, Texas, Kansas State, Baylor, TCU, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, and West Virginia all are surely going dancing or at the very least in contention for a spot in the NCAA tournament mainly because no matter who they face in the tournament it will be a quality team that can be a resume booster win. As for an upset pick, Texas Tech may have gone 5-13 in conference play but their tenacious effort on defense could cause them to turn heads. But, regardless of what happens in the Big 12 tournament, expect to see a lot of Big 12 teams this March. 

Big East: The Big East proved once again this season to be the grittiest conference. Marquette, Xavier, Creighton, and UConn will all surely be dancing. As for Providence, they’re around 50th in NET rating and their blowout loss to a mediocre Seton Hall team seems them in need of a solid tournament performance to get in. Villanova meanwhile have been disappointing and will also need an impressive display if not a championship run in the conference tournament to be able to once again go back to the NCAA tournament.  

Big 10: The Big 10 had a *checks notes* four way tie for fourth place in regular season play and only 2 games separated second and tenth. Purdue, led by player of the year candidate Zach Edey, ended up at the top of the standings, and they look ready for another deep March Madness run. Indiana, Northwestern, Michigan State, Illinois, Maryland, and Iowa should all be set to dance barring changes. The bubble teams of the conference are Michigan, Penn State, and Rutgers. Michigan was in this same situation last season, got in to the NCAA tournament, and made it to the second weekend, so they’re definitely the team to watch of the three to be able to make something happen. As for the bottom feeders that are made up by Nebraska, Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Minnesota, it’s win the whole conference tournament or nothing. 

Those are your Power 6 conferences and their teams status going into conference tournament week/weekend. Be prepared for all the buzzer beaters, upsets, and drama galore that come with best month of the year; March Madness.