Championship week is upon us! While the NCAA tournament is the crème de la crème of college basketball events, all of the conference tournaments are not far behind. There is even more action going on the weekend heading up to Selection Sunday with upsets and Big Dance bids on the line. With all of the games going, it is wise to have a quick primer for all of the big events.
ACC Tournament
Place: Verizon Center, Washington DC
Format: 14 teams, top four seeds get double byes into the quarterfinals, bottom four seeds play to get into the second round
Top Seed: North Carolina Tar Heels – UNC won four of its last five games to secure the top seed after opening its conference slate with eight straight wins. The win over Duke at Cameron on Saturday was big for the team. Brice Johnson capped off a fantastic season with 18 points and 21 rebounds. Marcus Paige has had a disappointing senior season (12.0 ppg, 38.7 percent from the field), but he could erase any bitter feelings with a strong run in March. The Tar Heels will face the winner of the Pittsburgh-Syracuse game on Thursday.
Dark Horse: Virginia Tech Hokies – Coach Buzz Williams' team closed the season with five straight wins, including an impressive finale against Miami. The Hokies are led by the inside-outside combo of forward Zach LeDay (15.2 ppg, 7.6 rpg) and Maryland transfer Seth Allen (13.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg). Freshman Chris Clarke is just rounding into shape after fracturing his foot and missing all of January.
Player to Watch: Malcolm Brogdon, guard, Virginia Cavaliers – While UVA is known for defense, the team has a sweet scorer in the 6-5 Brodgon. Before missing all four of his 3-pointers in the win over Louisville on Saturday, he had hit 15 3-pointers in his four previous games. He has only been held below 17 points once in his last nine games. Virginia will meet the winner of the Clemson-Georgia Tech game.
Big Ten Tournament
Place: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
Format: 14 teams, top two seeds get double byes into the quarterfinals, bottom four seeds play to get into the second round
Top Seed: Indiana Hoosiers – When James Blackmon Jr. was lost for the season in early January with a knee injury, it could have been the death knell for the Hoosiers. Losing Blackmon's 15.8 points hurt the IU offense, but the team did not stop winning. Guard Yogi Ferrell leads the up tempo attack with 17.1 points and 5.5 assists. Troy Williams and freshman center Thomas Bryant anchor the frontcourt. A win over Michigan State in the finals would wipe away any doubt of the Hoosiers' legitimacy.
Dark Horse: Ohio State Buckeyes – The schedule-makers turned out to be unkind to the Buckeyes. The only team to beat OSU over the last three weeks was Michigan State. Guard Jae'Sean Tate will not play after tearing his labrum, but the team could get more from freshman Mickey Mitchell and streaky Kam Williams. Junior Marc Loving averaged 13.5 points per game this season and 21.7 over his last three.
Player to Watch: Denzel Valentine, guard, Michigan State Spartans – Had Valentine not missed four games at the turn of the calendar after minor knee surgery, he might be a shoe-in for National Player of the Year. The 6-5 senior averaged 19.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game even though it took him a few games in January to get back up to speed. Over his last eight games, he has only been held to under 17 points and eight assists once apiece.
Big 12 Tournament
Place: Sprint Center, Kansas City
Format: 10 teams, bottom four seeds play in first round, top two seeds meet the teams that have already played one game
Top Seed: Kansas Jayhawks – It seems like Kansas will never give anyone a chance to win the Big 12 regular season championship. Despite being the top seed in each of the last seven Big 12 tournaments, the Jayhawks have only won three and did not win the last two. The Jayhawks are once again a balanced, frightening team with forward Perry Ellis (16.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg), guard Frank Mason II (13.4 ppg, 4.6 apg), and wing Wayne Selden Jr. (13.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg). All three players are upperclassmen and have plenty of experience in March.
Dark Horse: Iowa State Cyclones – In the preseason, the Cyclones were the chic pick to end the Jayhawks' iron grasp on the Big 12. It didn't come to pass, and because the team was swept by Baylor, they fall to the six-seed. ISU will not be an easy out with plenty of experienced players as well. Georges Niang is the team's top scorer at 19.4 points per game, but the team has five other players averaging at least 10. Guard Monte Morris led the conference with 7.1 assists per game to go along with 14.2 points.
Player to Watch: Buddy Hield, guard, Oklahoma Sooners – The bad news for Iowa State is that they face Hield and his fellow Sooners in the quarterfinals on Thursday. The senior was second in scoring in the nation at 25.1 points per game (James Daniel from Howard averaged 27.2 points). No lead is safe with Hield bombing away from long range (47.3 percent on 4.1 3-pointers per game). Hield can also attack the rim and converted 89.3 percent of his free throws. The 6-4 guard scored at least 30 points nine times.
Big East Tournament
Place: Madison Square Garden, New York City
Format: 10 teams, bottom four seeds play in first round, top two seeds meet the teams that have already played one game
Top Seed: Villanova Wildcats – Since the reformation of the 10-team Big East, Villanova has won the regular season title each of the three years. The Wildcats once again dominated the conference with just two losses -- home against Providence and at Xavier. Josh Hart is the heart of the team, averaging 15.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. He is just a solid player. Ryan Arcidiacono and freshman Jalen Brunson lead the guards, while Kris Jenkins has been on a major roll with six straight games with at least 15 points.
Dark Horse: Butler Bulldogs – The only teams to beat Butler after Feb. 1 were Xavier and Villanova. The Bulldogs got swept by their quarterfinal opponent, Providence, but both games took place in the first three weeks of the Big East schedule. Since that point, the teams have gone in opposite directions. Butler has senior leadership in Roosevelt Jones (14.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 4.3 apg) and Kellen Dunham (16.2 ppg, 41.4 percent on 3-pointers), while sophomore Kelan Martin (16.2 ppg, 6.7 rpg) has been one of the nicest surprises in the nation.
Player to Watch: Isaiah Whitehead, guard, Seton Hall Pirates – The sophomore guard opened the season in a deep funk from the field. He only hit better than 40 percent of his field goals twice in the non-conference slate, but it appeared as if he was just to adjusting to life in his second season with the Pirates. In the last three weeks, Whitehead has rained hellfire from 3-point land as the Pirates have won nine of 11 games (two losses against Butler). He has hit 18 3-pointers in his last four games and has scored 60 points in his last two.
Pac-12 Tournament
Place: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas
Format: 12 teams, top four seeds get bye into quarterfinals
Top Seed: Oregon Ducks – The Ducks were expected to be good this season, but they were hoping that a graduate transfer would lead the squad from the backcourt again. Unlike Joseph Young in 2014-15, Dylan Ennis from Villanova barely played because of a broken foot. Freshman Tyler Dorsey (13.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg) was thrown into the fire and showed heart. Dorsey has plenty of frontcourt options for help. Dillon Brooks (16.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 3.1 assists) is the go-to player, while junior college transfer Chris Boucher (12.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 3.2 bpg) is a springy rim protector.
Dark Horse: California Golden Bears – Sometimes an injury can have a galvanizing effect on a team. The Bears lost lead scorer Tyrone Wallace (15.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.3 apg) for two weeks in late January to a wrist injury, so other players had to step up. Freshman Jaylen Brown (15.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg) did the majority of the heavy lifting, while forward Isaac Rabb (12.2 ppg, 8.4 rpg) got a bump in minutes. The Bears won eight of their last nine games with the lone loss at Arizona.
Player to Watch: Andrew Andrews, guard, Washington Huskies – The Huskies do not have the best draw with a first round game against Stanford, and Oregon waiting if they can beat the Cardinal. However, the opponent won't matter to the 6-2 Andrews, who is coming off a career-high 47 points in a win over Washington State on Wednesday. He has averaged 21.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game to lead the Huskies to respectability despite a very young crew.
SEC Tournament
Place: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville
Format: 13 teams, top four seeds get bye into quarterfinals, 12 and 13-seeds play in first round
Top Seed: Texas A&M Aggies – The Aggies looked like they would roll to their first ever SEC regular season championship, then they were beaten four straight times to open February. Coach Billy Kennedy's team bounced back with six wins in a row to close out the season, including an overtime victory over Kentucky in which wings Jalen Jones and Danuel House combined to scored more than 31 points. The Aggies boast plenty of size in Tyler Davis (11.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg) and Tonny Trocha-Morelos (6.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg) and leadership in the backcourt with Alex Caruso (7.8 ppg, 5.1 apg) and USF transfer Anthony Collins (4.8 ppg, 4.5 apg), who suffered a head injury in Saturday's win over Vanderbilt.
Dark Horse: Vanderbilt Commodores – Before that Saturday loss, Vanderbilt had won six of its last seven games, including wins against Kentucky and at Florida. The team has center Damian Jones (14.2 ppg, 7.1 rpg) as the focal point of the offense. Luke Kornet (9.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg) is a nice stretch four. The guards are led by Wade Baldwin IV (14.3 ppg, 5.1 apg), who hit better than 43 percent of his 3-pointers. The fifth-seeded Commodores will face the winner of the Tennessee-Auburn first round game in the quarterfinals. Should they win that game, they would move on to face LSU, who lost five of its last eight games.
Player to Watch: Ben Simmons, forward, LSU Tigers – Simmons' overexposure has led to some backlash as the Tigers struggle to get inside the NCAA tournament bubble. Petty bitterness should not take away from the excellent season that the 6-10 freshman has had. He leads the Tigers with 19.6 points on 56.1 percent from the field, 11.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game. The best way for Simmons to participate in the Big Dance is to put the Tigers on his back and advance through the SEC tournament, likely starting with Vanderbilt on Thursday.
