From now through Sunday, all 31 conferences in NCAA Division I men’s basketball will crown their respective champions. In fact, several already have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the run-up to Selection Sunday, there are five high-major conferences whose tournaments have the toughest \u2014 and most exciting \u2014 roads: ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Check out my NCAA basketball conference tournament predictions for the top college tourneys, which wrap up on March 15 and 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ACC might have college basketball’s top team but the conference is viewed as the weakest of the five high-majors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As of 3 p.m. on March 11, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi only projected three ACC teams in his March Madness bracket. Each of the other high-majors had at least five.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KenPom.com also looks down on the ACC relative to the other powerhouse conferences. The ACC ranks fifth in terms of average expected net rating in D-I.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A lack of depth helps explain why the ACC tournament favourites, the Duke Blue Devils, have the shortest odds of any high-major tournament hopeful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Embed: #111164<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The favourites:<\/strong> Duke Blue Devils (-360) Duke is probably going to win the ACC tournament, but if you want to fade Cooper Flagg and co., this is the best option I can think of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Clemson ranks inside the top 25 in both offensive and defensive efficiency, so there’s some nice balance with this group. Also, the Tigers are 14-1 since Jan. 11 \u2014 and the lone loss came in triple overtime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The favourites:<\/strong> St. John’s Red Storm (+140) How is St. John’s a top-10 team in the country when it ranks 252nd in effective field goal percentage?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because the defence is just that good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Red Storm stays true to its name on the defensive end, swarming opponents and putting up some great metrics relative to the rest of the D-I field:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rick Pitino’s squad went 18-2 in the Big East, and its two losses came by a combined three points (both of which were on the road).<\/p>\n\n\n\n St. John’s plays some of its home games at Madison Square Garden and should feel right at home this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The favourites:<\/strong> Michigan State Spartans (+250) Despite being the favourite, Michigan State only holds a 28.57% implied probability to win the Big Ten tournament. That’s an indicator for how deep this field is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, how can you not like Sparty? The team finished the regular season on a seven-game win streak \u2014 and all seven wins came against Quad 1 foes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I looked at the Wisconsin Badgers, who I think could be dangerous in March Madness, but they’re the 5-seed in this tourney and thus have an additional game to play. Michigan State only needs three wins to claim the conference title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Michigan State epitomizes hustle. During conference play, the Spartans ranked first in offensive rebounding rate while allowing the lowest offensive rebound rate at the other end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The favourites:<\/strong> Houston Cougars (-112) Iowa State won the Big 12 tourney last year, and plenty of key pieces from that squad returned for 2024-25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Cyclones have 56.1% minutes continuity from last year (35th in D-I), aided by a trio of returning starters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Their two main competitors in the conference are Houston and the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The Cyclones’ results against both squads are encouraging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Getting to the free-throw line is key for the Cyclones. They average 23.3 attempts (22nd in D-I) and hit their free throws at a 75.7% clip (57th).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The favourites:<\/strong> Auburn Tigers (+150) After Auburn dropped back-to-back games to close out the regular season, I’m looking elsewhere for a less vulnerable team in conference tourney play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Enter the Gators, who are 27-4 on the season. All four losses came against Quad 1 opponents, and three of those were on the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Florida’s main challengers in an absolutely loaded SEC tournament figure to be Auburn, the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Tennessee Volunteers. The Gators went 3-1 against those squads during the regular season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, Florida is the only SEC team to rank in the top three in adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency during conference play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NCAA conference tournament predictions made at 4:00 p.m. on 03\/11\/25.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From now through Sunday, all 31 conferences in NCAA Division I men’s basketball will crown their respective champions. In fact, several already have. In the run-up to Selection Sunday, there are five high-major conferences whose tournaments have the toughest \u2014 and most exciting \u2014 roads: ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC. Check […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":333496,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sidebar_plugin_meta_block_field":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[21],"class_list":["post-333479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college-basketball","tag-college-basketball-betting"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nACC tournament prediction<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The pick:<\/strong> Clemson Tigers (+550)<\/a>
ACC tournament markets<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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Big East tournament pick<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The pick:<\/strong> St. John’s Red Storm (+140)<\/a>
Big East tournament markets<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
NCAA conference tournament predictions: Big Ten<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The pick:<\/strong> Michigan State Spartans (+250)<\/a>
Big Ten tournament markets<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nBig 12 tournament prediction<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The pick:<\/strong> Iowa State Cyclones (+550)<\/a>
Big 12 tournament markets<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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SEC tournament best bet<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The pick:<\/strong> Florida Gators (+250)<\/a>
SEC tournament markets<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n