Conference Tournament Predictions

Screw Bowl Week ... errr Capital One Bowl Week ... or whatever it's called. Give me conference championship week any time (at least until they bring back the Copper Bowl and Freedom Bowl).
During the next two weeks, I'm going to give predictions on who I think will win all 30 conference tournaments. Here are some of the tournament scheduled to start this week.

Big South
Dates: March 3, 5, 7
Top seed: Radford
Projected winner: VMI
Watch out for: Liberty
Thoughts: VMI plays a frenetic full-court pressing style that rank's the team as the fourth-best in the country at forcing turnovers. Senior brothers Travis and Chavis Holmes are ready to finally lead this team to the NCAA Tournament. Liberty, however, does have Stephen Curry's little brother, Seth, so don't sleep on them.

Horizon
Dates: March 3, 6-7, 10
Top seed: Butler
Projected winner: Butler
Watch out for: Cleveland State
Thoughts: I just can't go against Butler in this one, even though the Bulldogs have had some problems in previous conference tournaments. They also don't need to win the tournament as they are in line for an at-large berth. Their biggest challenge will likely come from No. 3 seed Cleveland State, who beat Syracuse on a miracle buzzer-beater earlier this season and played tough at West Virginia. Butler beat the Vikings twice this season, but by only two points each time.

Ohio Valley
Dates: March 3, 6-7
Top seed: Tennessee-Martin
Projected winner: Tennessee-Martin
Watch out for: Murray State
Thoughts: Tennesee-Martin has the nation's second-leading scorer in Lester Hudson (26.6 ppg) and have the second best defense in the conference. That sounds like a good combination, although this conference has had some crazy shit happen in past tournaments. UT-Martin got waxed by Murray State last week.

Atlantic Sun
Dates: March 4-7
Top seed: Jacksonville
Projected winner: Belmont
Watch out for: East Tennessee State
Thoughts: Belmont has won the last three conference tournaments, so I'm going to stick with the pick that works. I think the team would love to get back to the big dance after last year's close call against Duke. It also helps that the tournament is being played in Nashville, where Belmont is located.

Patriot
Dates: March 4, 8, 13
Top seed: American
Projected winner: American
Watch out for: Holy Cross
Thoughts: American has won 10 games in a row and gave Tennesee a good game in last year's NCAA Tournament. American's lone conference loss came against Holy Cross, a former tournament mainstay.

Sun Belt
Dates: March 4, 7-10.
Top seed: Western Kentucky
Projected winner: Western Kentucky
Watch out for: Denver
Thoughts: Western Kentucky, even after the graduation of NBA pro Courtney Lee and the loss of coach Darrin Horn, has bounced back with a nice season that included a win against Louisville early in the year. No reason to believe it won't continue. Denver did beat the Hilltoppers earlier in the season, and the Pioneers have won four of their last five. They also are the slowest-paced team in the country and have the best efficiency field goal percentage in the country.

Missouri Valley
Dates: March 5-8
Top seed: Northern Iowa
Projected winner: Illinois State
Watch out for: Wichita State
Thoughts: Ahhh my beloved Missouri Valley. It's been crazy this year with Southern Illinois struggling, Northern Iowa coming out of nowhere, and Creighton starting the season as a disappointment and ending the season on fire. I think we'll see just as much chaos in "Arch Madness," as they call it (the tournament's in St. Louis). I'm going with No. 3 seed Illinois State, led by Osiris Eldridge, to pull through and reach the NCAAs after being a bubble team that fell short last year. Wichita State may be a No. 7 seed, but Shockers' coach Gregg Marshall has had great conference tournament success in the past with Winthrop, and Wichita State finished the season 9-4 after a horrid start.

Northeast
Dates: March 5, 8, 11
Top seed: Robert Morris
Projected winner: Robert Morris
Watch out for: Mount St. Mary's
Thoughts: The Colonials were the top seed in the conference tournament last year and failed to win it all, but I think that experience will helpl them this time around. Robert Morris gets to play every game at home, and the Colonials have lost only twice there all year and one of those games was against Duquesne, a tough opponent this year.