As we enter the final week of regular season, NCAA Men’s basketball action is at a fever pace and every game counts as we are in the thick of the stretch run towards March Madness. The best teams from every major conference are fighting for a top seed come tournament time and the rest of the nation’s Division 1 teams are battling it out for an invitation to the dance. The following is a brief review of the top two or three teams in each of the major conferences along with a few teams to watch from the Mid Majors.
ACC
With a win over #23 Maryland on Wednesday night, #4 Duke can wrap another ACC title. The Blue Devils are 25-4 overall and 12-2 in the conference while the Terrapins are 21-7 and 11-3. Clemson should get an at-large bid to the NCAA’s and Georgia Tech, Florida State, and Virginia Tech are all on the bubble for one.
Big 12
#2 Kansas has already clinched the Big 12 title but have a big showdown with #5 Kansas State on Wednesday. They are 27-2 overall and 13-1 in conference play while the Wildcats are 24-4 and 11-3. Other locks for the NCAA’s include #22 Baylor (22-6, 9-5), #24 Texas A&M (20-8, 9-5), #25Texas (23-7, 9-6), Oklahoma State (20-8, 8-6), and Missouri (21-8, 9-5)
Big East
#1 Syracuse (27-2, 14-2) wrapped up a share of the Big East title with their dominating 95-77 win over #9 Villanova (25-5, 12-4). #8 West Virginia is currently in third place at 22-6, 12-5 in the Big East. Other teams that should get a bid for the NCAA’s include #18 Pittsburgh (22-7, 11-5), #20 Georgetown (19-8, 9-8), Louisville (19-10, 10-6), and Marquette (19-9, 10-6). Teams on the bubble include Connecticut, Cincinnati, Seton Hall, and Notre Dame.
Big 10
With a couple of games left to play the Big 10 title is still up for grabs. #7 Ohio State (23-7, 13-4) has a ½ game lead over #6 Purdue (24-4, 12-4) and #12 Michigan State (22-7, 12-4). #17 Wisconsin is 21-7, 11-5 in the Big 10. Minnesota and Illinois are two teams on the bubble for an NCAA bid.
PAC 10
California is 20-9 overall and 12-5 in the conference, 1 ½ games ahead of Arizona State (20-9, 10-6) and 2 ½ games ahead of Washington (19-9, 9-7). Depending on what happens in the PAC 10 Tournament, it is possible that only one team will make it into the NCAA’s from this conference.
SEC
#2 Kentucky is 27-2 overall and leads the SEC East with a 12-2 record. #9 Vanderbilt is one game back with an overall record of 22-6 and an 11-3 conference record. #13 Tennessee (21-7, 9-5) is in third, tied with Mississippi State (21-8, 9-5). Teams on the bubble include Florida and Mississippi.
Mid Majors
There are six teams from the mid majors currently ranked in the top 25. #10 New Mexico is 27-3 overall and 13-2 in the MWC. #11 Butler (26-4, 18-0) has already locked up the Horizon Conference title. #14 Gonzaga is 24-5 and 12-2 in the WCC and #15 BYU is 25-4 and 11-3 in the MWC. #16 Temple is 24-5 overall and 12-2 in the A-10 and #21 UTEP is 22-5 and 13-1 in Conference USA.
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