Conference Tournaments Starting March 5th

Three more Conference Tournaments start on Wednesday, so I gotta get these picks in the books before the games actually start. Here is a quick look at the Atlantic Sun, the Patriot League, and the Sun Belt along with my picks for each Conference Tournament Champion.

• Atlantic Sun Conference - Belmont - Holy crap we're already getting obscure. When filling out 30 different Conference Tournament brackets, I guess this is bound to happen. I have very little knowledge about this league. I know Belmont made the Big Dance each of the last two years and they are the #1 seed in the Conference this year, so it seemed like the best pick to me. Gardner-Webb is also in this Conference. Their claim to fame being that they defeated Kentucky earlier this year, but could only muster up a record good enough for 6th place in the Atlantic Sun. Sorry to say that the winner of this league is mostly likely going to be a #16 seed in the NCAA Tournament...a whipping boy for a really good team. Notable seeds: #1 Belmont, #2 Jacksonville, #5 Lipscomb, #6 Gardner-Webb (forever living on in Billy Gillispie's nightmares).

• Patriot League - Navy - Sadly, Holy Cross isn't going to represent the Patriot League this year, much to the chagrin of Bill Simmons and my friend Chaz. American is the #1 seed, but I like Navy based on the fact that they defeated American both times during the regular season, and the fact that a podcast I listened to liked this Navy team. I'm not hard to sway sometimes. The Champion of this league is most likely a 15 seed, possibly a 16 seed depending on how wacky the league tournament goes. Hmm...I just checked and the Patriot League is 16 out of 31 in Conference RPI, how the hell is that possible? Regardless, the winner is still destined for a 15 seed. Navy hasn't been to the Big Dance in a decade, they're due. Notable seeds: #1 American, #2 Navy, #3 Colgate, #7 Bucknell, #8 Holy Cross.

• Sun Belt Conference - South Alabama - Finally! A team that I know a little about, like a LOT, and have great confidence in. I'm not going to say much here because South Alabama may just end up being featured in an upcoming Bracket Busters column. They are the #1 seed and beat their main competition, #3 Western Kentucky, both times during the regular season. South Alabama is 25-5 (16-2) and has an RPI of 29!!! I LOVE this team. Even if Western Kentucky or someone else somehow manages to win this Conference Tournament, South Alabama is a totally deserving at-large team. I'll gush more about this team later. If South Alabama wins they could get as high as a 7 or 8 seed. If anyone else wins they could fall in the 10-13 seed range. But remember that you heard about South Alabama from me first. Notable seeds: #1 South Alabama, #2 Arkansas Little-Rock, #3 Western Kentucky, #6 North Texas.

(p.s. send this blog to anyone who might be interested in college basketball, i really want 20 people reading this, but if not, i'll be content with phil and annie)