Andy Katz
College Basketball Analyst & Writer
the best time for college basketball Fans are getting closer. Conference races are heating up all over the country, and as we approach late January, the most competitive races are becoming clearer.
of ACC Five teams are 6-2 or better as of Friday morning. in the meantime, Xavier Located above Big East, both Marquette When providence Conference play is off to an exceptional start as well.
How will these leagues be shaken?
Here’s my top conference races by tier this season.this is No It’s not the best league ranking, but the best race in the conference with the chance of getting bids for multiple NCAA tournaments.
Andy Katz’s Hottest College Basketball Conference Races
Fox Sports’ Andy Katz discusses the most competitive college basketball conference races left in the season, including the ACC and PAC 12.
Tier 1 race
ACC: This race is wide open and especially after wake forest devastated Clemson Tuesday night. Clemson has one loss for him. Miamiwake forest, pit When Virginia All have two losses. north carolina, north carolina, Syracuse When duke There are 3 of each. Predicting the winner is very difficult. The front-runners are still Miami, Virginia, North Carolina, and Duke, but it would be a mistake to rule out Clemson, Wake, Pitt, and North Carolina. The ACC Champion is expected to lose at least 3 he has, but more likely he will lose at least 5 by the end of the season. The good news is that the depth of this meeting means that eight bids are a real possibility.
big east: Xavier They are leading the league with 7 wins and 1 loss from 8 games. in the meantime, providence When Marquette each with two losses, clayton There are 3 to 8 games. seton hall I will sit at 5-4, U Conn Dropped to 4-5. Yes, Xavier beats UConn by 3.5 games and beats the Huskies, but he has no reason to believe they are the locks to win the title. The Musketeers lost 73-72 after his 11th straight win. depaul on Wednesday. They seem to be favorites, but nevertheless, this should be one of the most entertaining races going into the final weekend.
Pac-12: UCLA 8-0 into the long-awaited matchup Arizona this weekend. Arizona 2 losses to the Bruins and Wildcats, 6-2. And suddenly USC Came back to the Chase with just three losses. Arizona too Oregon (Following previous defeats State of Washington and Utah). Still, the Wildcats are arguably the most talented team in the league outside of UCLA. So it would be a mistake to assume Arizona won’t be in the title chase. But the Arizona school has to move back to Los Angeles, so the competition isn’t over yet.
mountain west: This should be one of the most balanced races in the top conference. Boise State, San Diego, Nevada, new mexicoand probably UtahSan Diego State was the favorite, but lost at home to Lobos. Boise State lost at home to Nevada, but will head to the pits for a showdown with New Mexico on Friday. The good news for MWC is that this appears to be at least his two bid leagues in the NCAA Tournament. Three is also not out of the question, but unless his third team wins a conference tournament, the top two might get a bid.
Atlantic 10: This is trending towards 1 bid meeting and A10 seems to be chasing the title widely. the two best teams VCUs When Dayton. St. Louis We are finally realizing that potential.and it would be wrong to dismiss richmond When Saint Bonaventure as a strong candidate. Davidson Eliminated 2-5 in seven games.VCU, Dayton and St. Louis all had one loss by Friday, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they tied for first place in at least two of their three games. The problem is that none of them performed well enough for the overall bid in non-conference play. He’s not saying any of these three teams can’t bid on their own merits, but it will be difficult. VCU had already defeated Dayton on the road and won Dayton at home on February 7th. The Rams will face St. Louis twice on February 3 and on February 28. The Billikens still have his two games left against Dayton on February 10 and he’s on March. 3.
Tier 2 race
SEC: Alabama A favorite to win the SEC. The Tide has enough money to win the league by one or two games. Tennessee Most likely to be the hardest challenge. The Vols host Alabama unconditionally. Still, Alabama has already proven to be a strong team on the road and neutral courts. Texas A&M When auburn Playing well, but I’m not sure they’re ready to be legitimate title contenders.
big 12: Kansas Had to work overtime to nip Kansas About final possession. It was the Jayhawks’ first Big 12 loss. Yes, through six games, Kansas, Kansas, Iowa All have one loss. However, Kansas had already beaten Iowa State in a game at Ames. Kansas must go back to Lawrence. Favorite is still Kansas. texas Twice loss by Friday, TCU When Baylor i have three. Of course, all of these schools are still vying for the title, but the odds are in Kansas’ favor among these top six schools. in late January.
big ten: Purdue is my favorite. Through Friday, the Boilermakers have his two-game lead. Rutgers When MichiganRutgers won Purdue and won’t face the Boilermakers again this season.Still, the odds are against Rutgers running the table for the rest of the season, but it wouldn’t be a shock if Purdue lost just one more game. Malik Hall It’s a title run hit. Michigan We’ve lost three games against Michigan State in East Lansing. Iowa,and Maryland. Illinois It was on the rise, but Illini Indiana on thursday. in the meantime, Ohio Injuries hampered Indiana, WisconsinIowa is a sleeper, but the Hawkeyes don’t match up well with Purdue. The Boilers have him win the league by one or two games.
Tier 3 race
American: houston Get away with the title. The Cougars sit 6-0, Tulane, Cincinnati When temple are all 5-2.Houston is also two games behind memphisCan the Tigers still win the league? Of course. But there’s no indication they can beat Houston. Expect the Cougars to win the league in at least two games, if not three or four.
WCC: in Gonzaga 75-game home win streak ended To Loyola Marymount on thursday night.Zag still has to play St. Mary’s Twice. So this race is still competitive between Zag and Gael. However, this is just a two-team race and is Tier 3 compared to the leagues above.
Andy Katz is a longtime college basketball writer, analyst and host. He can be seen on the Big Ten Network, March Madness, NCAA.com, and hosts the podcast “March Madness 365.” Katz said he worked for ESPN for nearly 20 years, and before that, for the newspaper, where he worked for 9 years.
read more:
Learn more from college basketball Follow your favorites to stay informed about games, news and more
