Conference Tournament Predictions, Part 2

I wrote these predictions this afternoon while the Colonial tournament had just started, so I'm a little late. Sorry. I'm sure you were dying to get them in time.

America East
Dates: March 6-8, 14
Top seed: Binghamton
Projected winner: Vermont
Watch out for: Stony Brook
Thoughts: Binghamton and Vermont finished with identical conference records, but Vermont has the better offensive and defensive efficiency numbers and looked impressive to me in a Bracketbusters win against MAC leader Buffalo. The Catamounts only won the game by 8, but they were up a lot more before the Bulls made a late rally.

Big Sky
Dates: March 7, 10-11
Top seed: Weber State
Projected winner: Weber State
Watch out for: Portland State
Thoughts: Weber State lost just once in the conference during the regular season, and they get to host the tournament. That's a good combination for victory. Portland State figures to be the toughest competition. The Vikings won the conference tourney last year and own a victory over Gonzaga this year.

Colonial
Dates: March 6-9
Top seed: Virginia Commonwealth
Projected winner: Old Dominion
Watch out for: George Mason
Thoughts: This may turn out to be the most exciting conference tournament this year as the top six teams in the standings finished within four games of each other, and this league is getting only one bid. Many people may remember VCU from its upset of Duke in the first round of the NCAA tournament two years ago. Guard Eric Maynor returns from that team and is a possible NBA draft pick. Despite this, I'm going with a slight surprise pick and taking fourth-seed Old Dominion, which has won five games in a row, including one against VCU. In that streak, ODU also had an impressive win against Liberty.

Metro Atlantic
Dates: March 6-9
Top seed: Siena
Projected winner: Niagara
Watch out for: Rider
Thoughts: Siena scored an upset over Vanderbilt in last year's NCAA tournament and have most of the players returning from that team, but they sure got schooled by second-seed Niagara last week on the road, giving up 100 points. In a college game ... with no overtime. Bad sign. Rider is a team to watch out for as they were on top of the league standings until late in the year, falling to a third seed. Last year's main man, Jason Thompson, was a first round pick in the NBA draft last year, and sometimes teams actually do better after losing that superstar.

Southern
Dates: March 6-9
Top seed: Davidson
Projected winner: Davidson
Watch out for: Chattanooga
Thoughts: I just can't pick against Davidson, even though the Wildcats definitely aren't as strong as last year. All that matters is they still have Stephen Curry. A stat that will surprise some is that Davidson's strength is actually defense. The Wildcats rank 38th in the country in defensive efficiency while they're not in the top 100 on offense. Weird when you have the nation's leading scorer. The Wildcats may want to hope they don't face Chattanooga in the finals, because that's where the finals are being held.

Summit
Top seed: North Dakota State
Projected winner: North Dakota State
Watch out for: Oral Roberts
Thoughts: North Dakota State has a great story. The Bison are in their first season of eligibility for the NCAA tournament and many of this year's seniors actually redshirted early in their careers to get this chance. I don't think they'll let it slip up. Ben Woodside is one of the most underrated players in the country and averages 23 points per game. Oral Roberts is the three-time defending champion of this tournament and can't be counted out.

West Coast
Dates: 6-9
Top seed: Gonzaga
Projected winner: Gonzaga
Watch out for: Saint Mary's
Thoughts: Gonzaga is just too good to lose this tournament, even if Patty Mills comes back for Saint Mary's as expected. I do think the Gaels will make it to the title game with Mills back, and they need to make it that far if they want a shot at an at-large berth in the NCAA tourney.