We all know about the Big 12 conference with Kansas and Texas in the top 10. Kansas St, Iowa St and TCU can knock off their share of teams rounding out the Big 12 teams that are ranked in the top 25. This is your Number One ranked conference.
The second rated conference is the SEC. Alabama is the number one team in the nation this week. I say this week because teams continue to knock each other off playing any given solid home game against others within their conference. Tennessee is also in the top 15.
The third ranked conference is the Big 10. Purdue and Indiana leads this conference, however, they have proved they can also lose. They’ve lost 12 games between them. Northwestern, Maryland and Iowa are the other notable teams. But not that strong.
Let’s skip the fourth highest rated conference for a second. And go to the 5th, 6th and 7th. These are perennial highly ranked teams. Meanwhile, who is #4?
The fifth highest ranked conference is the Big East. They mesmerized the basketball world for so many years. They have Marquette, Providence, Xavier, Creighton, UConn and The Hall. But yet the Big 10 rated just ahead of them. They may have their rating scrambled with these two conferences. It will play out in March.
The sixth ranked conference is the ACC. Duke and North Carolina lost momentum when the transfer portals opened for other teams to get players. Virginia leads the ACC pack. Miami and NC State are also in the top 25. Duke and North Carolina have 13 loses between them. Why Pittsburgh at 12-3 and Clemson coming in at 11-4 are not ranked is baffling.
The seventh ranked college basketball conference is the PAC 12. With games starting at 11:00 est it’s not hard to figure out why there’s a west coast bias. For those that can’t watch games played between 11:00 pm est and 1:30 am est, not much has changed. UCLA is ranked # 4 in the nation. I predict them to be one of two teamed to be playing Monday, April 3rd. Arizona competes with them at 12-4 and USC has some talent.
Now back to the mystery fourth ranked college basketball conference that is the Mountain West. UNLV is in seventh place at 16-10. San Diego St at 21-5 is on top. Boise is in second at 20-6 along with 20-6 Nevada. Utah St is 20-7 as is New Mexico. Even the Air Force team that doesn’t like tall pilots has 14 wins. And a team that almost never wins games at any sport has a 16-11 record as in San Jose St. Did you know they’re the “Spartans”?
As we get closer to the March Madness tournament, today’s lesson to learn is that the changing of the guard is here. You’ll see Duke and North Carolina over-rated while the Mountain West teams under-valued. The Big 10 might get 7-8 teams in and the public will lay the over-priced lines. The Big 12 is solid so the oddsmakers will play it straight making their lines.
Also worth mentioning is the West Coast Conference (WCC) with St Mary’s and Gonzaga the top two teams with Santa Clara at 20-8 in third.
Lastly are two other teams in the top 25. Are they there because they are good or there because they beat up on the “sisters of the poor” teams within their own conference? Houston Cougars are a good team coming in ranked # 3 in the top 25. Florida-Atlantic is 24-3 and needs to be looked into to see how good they are.
We’re a month away from The Madness. We’ll continue to monitor everything and then some. Stay tuned as more articles will get you prepared for the biggest three week party this Country has.