This here is the first of two, one for each week, previews focusing on the conference tournaments. This preview will look at those that are going on the week of March 4th-10th. It'll begin with profiles of all the conference tournaments that start this week and follow with a day by day schedule of the rounds going on. Winner predictions just for the tournaments finishing this week.
Conference Profiles
Times Listed are in EST
American East
- Championship Date - Saturday 3/16 @ 11 am - ESPN 2
- Thoughts - Can Cinderella go dancing again? Last year UMBC pulled off one of the most unlikely upsets ever by being the first 16 seed to beat a 1 seed. This year they'll have a tough round to get back to the NCAA Tournament by facing foes Vermont, the regular season champion, and Stony Brook.
Atlantic Sun
- Championship Date - Sunday 3/10 @ 3 pm - ESPN
- Thoughts - Liberty and Lipscomb are the two real teams with a shot at the tournament title this year. It's hard to see anyone else going out and changing that. Lipscomb has a chance to earn an at large bid if they don't win the tournament but a key late-season loss to Florida Gulf Coast makes that seem unlikely.
- Grant's Projected Winner: Lipscomb
- Troy's Projected Winner - Lipscomb
Big South
- Championship Date - Sunday 3/10 @ 1 pm - ESPN
- Thoughts - Will 3,000 point scorer Chris Clemons be able to lead the Campbell Fighting Camels to their first Big Dance since 1992? Clemons is an elite college bucket getter but he'll face stiff competition from the like of Radford, Winthrop, and others in this tournament.
- Grant's Projected Winner: Winthrop
- Troy's Projected Winner - Campbell
Colonial
- Championship Date - Tuesday 3/12 @ 7 pm - CBS Sports
- Thoughts - Hofstra comes in as the favorite to win this tournament. They're a solid team with a win total in the mid-20s that could be a tough out in the national tournament. The Pride will face challenges from Northeastern and Charleston if they want to go dancing.
Horizon
- Championship Date - Tuesday 3/12 @ 7 pm - ESPN
- Thoughts - Wright State and Northern Kentucky lead the league in a seemingly two-horse race to claim the autobid. The two split their two regular-season matchups, each by 4 points, and if they meet in the title game it'll be a very competitive matchup.
Metro Atlantic (MAAC)
- Championship Date - Monday 3/11 @ 9 pm - ESPN/ESPN 2
- Thoughts - The MAAC will be one of the most competitive tournaments out there. The top half of the league is separated by a very thin margin. Iona won the regular season but only one win separates them from five seed Siena and only two games from Monmouth. While the winner probably won't get a very good seed, most teams are just barely above .500 or below it, yet it'll be a fun tournament to watch.
Missouri Valley
- Championship Date - Sunday 3/10 @ 2 pm - CBS
- Thoughts - Who will it be coming out of the historic Missouri Valley conference? Will it be a good Drake team? Will it be last year's surprise Final Four team Loyola Chicago? Missouri State? One of the many other teams that finished just a game or two back of first place?
- Grant's Projected Winner: Loyola Chicago
- Troy's Projected Winner: Loyola Chicago
Northeast
- Championship Date - Tuesday 3/12 @ 7 pm - ESPN 2
- Thoughts - The Northeast should be another competitive conference tournament. The top of the league is tightly contested and that should translate into a battle in the tournament, despite the tournament winner most likely being only a 15 or 16 seed.
Ohio Valley
- Championship Date - Saturday 3/9 @ 7 pm - ESPN 2
- Thoughts - Can the Ohio Valley be a two-bid league? Belmont and Murray State sit atop the conference, with Jacksonville State just a game behind. Belmont has had a very good season to date and the same can be said for Murray State who is lead by future lottery pick Ja Morant.
- Grant's Projected Winner: Murray State
- Troy's Projected Winner: Belmont
Patriot
- Championship Date - Wednesday 3/13 @ 7:30 pm - CBS Sports
- Thoughts - The Patriot League should be a three-legged race to the finish. Bucknell, Lehigh, and Colgate are atop the conference, the latter two splitting the conference crown, and I expect the winner to the tournament to come out of that trio.
Southern
- Championship Date - Monday 3/11 @ 7 pm - ESPN
- Thoughts - Let's talk about Wofford. They've been outstanding this season and have set themselves up for a real chance to make the tournament even if they don't win their tournament. If it isn't the Terriers I expect the winner to be from the trio of UNC Greensboro, Furman, or East Tennessee State.
Summit
- Championship Date - Tuesday 3/12 @ 9 pm - ESPN 2
- Thoughts - Will Mike Daum finish his fantastic college career by leading the Jack Rabbits to another tournament appearance? South Dakota State has established themselves as a top team in the Summit and if they can get past the likes of Omaha I think they could be a real upset bid in the Big Dance.
West Coast
- Championship Date - Tuesday 3/12 @ 9 pm ESPN
- Thoughts - Will anyone be able to challenge Gonzaga in the WCC. The Zags are in line for a one seed in the NCAA tournament and haven't really been challenged in their conference this year. Can someone like Saint Mary's, San Francisco, or even BYU be able to take them down? I mean probably not but I want to give them some hope.
Schedule
Championship Games Bolded
Listed by the round of Tournament
Monday 4th
- Atlantic Sun - Quarter-Finals - ESPN3
Tuesday 5th
- Horizon - Quarter-Finals - ESPN +
- Big South - First Round - ESPN3
- Patriot - First Round - Patriot League Network
Wednesday 6th:
- Horizon - Quater-Finals - ESPN +
- Northeast - Quarter-Finals - NEC Front Row
- Ohio Valley - First Round - ESPN +
Thursday 7th:
- Atlantic Sun - Semis-Finals - ESPN3
- Big South - Quarter-Finals - ESPN3
- Ohio Valley - Quarter-Finals - ESPN +
- Patriot - Quarter-Finals - Patriot League Network
- MAAC - First Round - ESPN3/+
- Missouri Valley - First Round - MVC TV
- West Coast - First Round
Friday 8th:
- Big South - Semi-Finals - ESPN +
- Ohio Valley - Semi-Finals - ESPN U
- MAAC - Quarter-Finals - ESPN3/+
- Missouri Valley - Quarter-Finals - MVC TV
- West Coast - Second Round - ESPN 2
- Southern - First Round - ESPN +
Saturday 9th:
- OHIO VALLEY - CHAMPIONSHIP - 8 PM - ESPN 2
- Missouri Valley - Semi-Finals - CBS Sports
- Northeast - Semi-Finals - ESPN
- American East - Quarter-Finals
- MAAC - Quarter-Finals - ESPN3/+
- Southern - Quarter-Finals - ESPN +
- Summit - Quarter-Finals - ESPN +
- West Coast - Quarter-Finals - ESPN/2
- Colonial - First Round
Sunday 10th:
- BIG SOUTH - CHAMPIONSHIP - 1 PM - ESPN
- MISSOURI VALLEY - CHAMPIONSHIP - 2 PM - CBS
- ATLANTIC SUN - CHAMPIONSHIP - 3 PM - ESPN
- MAAC - Semi-Finals - ESPN3/ESPN U
- Patriot - Semi-Finals - CBS Sports
- Southern - Semi-Finals - ESPN +
- Colonial - Quarter-Finals
- Summit - Quarter-Finals - ESPN +
To stay up to date on the newest Head in the Game articles (and general sports commentary), follow @headingameblog on Twitter. You can also find us on Twitter @T_RoyStory (Troy) and @G_Tingley (Grant)
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