The month of March is finally upon us, which means that March Madness is right around the corner. Of course, the madness doesn’t start with the NCAA Tournament; conference tournaments always provide tons of games and endless entertainment. The catch is that with over 30 conferences, how do you know what tournaments to watch? Don’t worry because we got you covered. It wasn’t easy, but we’ve picked out the top six conference tournaments that you have to watch to get you ready for the Big Dance.
Atlantic 10
The A-10 might be the deepest and most compelling mid-major conference in the country. The conference deserves to be a multi-bid league. However, while Davidson has perhaps done enough to earn an at-large birth, VCU and Dayton are very much on the bubble, so these games are important.
Plus, the likes of St. Bonaventure, Saint Louis, and Richmond are all good enough to play themselves onto the bubble or potentially win the conference tournament and get an automatic bid. The bottom half of the league is no joke either. In a 14-team league, every game should be interesting, but once the A-10 reaches the quarterfinals, it’ll be as compelling as any conference tournament.
Big 12
While there are only nine teams participating, seven or eight of them could find themselves in the finals and nobody would be that surprised. Even the teams at the top of the standings have lost a few games this season, as the Big 12 has cannibalized itself this season.
Kansas and Baylor are the favorites, but Texas Tech and Texas aren’t far behind. Plus, with Iowa State’s talent and TCU coming on strong, there will be some big-time games in this tournament.
Big East
It’s not the old Big East, but this tournament is still shaping up to be something special. Providence and Villanova are the headliners, but there are seven teams that look good for an NCAA Tournament spot, so from the quarterfinals on, this tournament should be vintage Big East.
Remember that Georgetown came out of nowhere to win the tournament last year, so anything can happen.
SEC
On paper, Auburn and Kentucky look like the favorites, but Arkansas and Tennessee might have the most momentum heading into the tourney. Meanwhile, LSU has a high ceiling and Alabama might be the most unpredictable team in the country, which should keep things interesting. Even Texas A&M, Mississippi State, and Vanderbilt might be good enough to make some noise.
Then there’s Florida, which needs to make a statement to get into the Big Dance, making the Gators another team in the SEC Tournament to watch closely.
Big Ten
The regular season in the Big Ten has been absolutely nuts, so why would the conference tourney be any different? Outside of the three teams that battled for the regular-season title until the final week, Iowa is coming on strong. Also, Rutgers has been a giant killer all season while Ohio State shouldn’t be forgotten.
Plus, the likes of Rutgers, Michigan, and Indiana are still fighting for an NCAA Tournament spot. It’d also be foolish to forget about bottom-half teams like Maryland, Penn State, and Northwestern, who have all scored big wins this season and could create some big surprises during the Big Ten Tournament.