I did rankings for the high major and top mid major conferences!

ACC

I am bought in on an ACC resurgence this season. I think the top 5 teams should all make the tournament fairly comfortably, and it isn’t crazy to say all of the next 6 have a chance, however small the margin of error may be for them to make it. The top end talent is absolutely there, and the new group of coaches should bring new life and competition to the league.

(A tangent I want to go on here) I have seen a lot of websites projecting that Clemson will be a top 5 team in the ACC or make the tournament. I will bet A LOT of money against either of those things. There is no way. Has Brad Brownell suddenly become very overrated? This team doesn’t have that much talent and Brad is a fine coach, just fine. This team will be okay. No more than that.

Big 10

The Big 10… an interesting league as usual. A lot of squads entering this year with a lottt of new pieces, but the identity of the conference hasn’t changed. It is still a grind for every one of these teams playing a Big 10 schedule. I think that all of the top 12 have a legitimate chance to make the tournament if their pieces mesh well, but realistically I could see 10 teams head to the tournament. They have 5 teams in preseason top 25, but I think they’ll have less at the end of the year, as good teams play good teams so there will be more parity across the board.

Big 12

The Big 12 is in a very unique situation, as a conference with a clear line for me. After #8 Baylor, I don’t see any of those teams having enough talent or cohesion to make the tournament. However, all of the top 8 teams are most likely tournament teams, with 7 of the 8 in my preseason top 25. I am very interested in how things play out for the bottom 9 teams, as it could be a disaster or maybe one of them has some success, but I doubt it.

SEC

This is the best conference to me. There are things I like about every team, and there are 14 out of 16 teams that I think could make the tournament if all goes right. That is the level of talent across the entirety of the SEC. They have 6 teams in my preseason top 25, and a few just outside. Expect a lot of crazy games in conference play this year.

Big East

I don’t like the Big East this year, I’m sorry. Honestly, there isn’t a single team in this league that I really want to go to bat for. Their two top teams should be good and have great coaches, but I have my doubts and could see it falling apart for each. Behind them is a lot of unknowns, and not exactly positive ones. Maybe I’m really missing something, but I think the Big East should be ready to be disappointed. I wouldn’t be shocked if this was a 1 or 2 bid league. I’d be more surprised if they got 4 bids than if they got 1.

Mountain West

Another league that looks a little different this year, the Mountain West has the obvious difference of a new addition! Grand Canyon moves on up to the MWC, which makes me very excited! The Lopes are electric and it will be great to see them face off with the other strong teams in the MWC. I have Grand Canyon at 4 in my rankings. The top 5 teams in this conference are much better than the rest to me, so I think there will be a gap there, with many but probably not all of the top 5 making it to the NCAA Tournament. The bottom 7 don’t feel like they’ll be anything special to me, but 6-9 are all teams that could be solid and outperform expectations in the conference.

Atlantic 10

The A10 is noticeably weaker this season than the past few, at least to me. I will admit this is a conference that I definitely know less about, but outside of the top 7 the teams just aren’t very competitive. The top 3 will likely be a dogfight this season, with Saint Louis more than likely ending up on top, but GW or VCU could absolutely find themselves on the right side of the bubble come tourney time.

American

Another league that feels a little weaker this season sadly, I don’t see a ton of national attention coming to teams outside of the top 2, USF and Memphis. They will both be competitive, but overall non factors in March. The 3-9 group should be pretty competitive within themselves, a lot of teams with some talent but lots of questions that are unanswered, at least in the preseason.

COMING NEXT: In the next week I’ll release my conference player rankings and other conference awards. for the high majors. IT’S ALMOST TIME!