NCAA Basketball is upon us, but who will have the fever come March?

November 16, 2009 by Sean Jaramillo 

UNC, Kansas, Kentucky are top teams coming into year

Tired of hearing about BCS controversy and the insanity of champions being determined without playoffs? Would you like a sport that not only ends with a playoff, but also starts with about a dozen preseason tournaments?

Well, look no further.

College basketball season is finally upon us and suddenly, the landscape of the sports world is changing and diversifying.

The football superpowers of Southern Cal, Texas Christian and Alabama are sweating out this last month before going into a state of basketball apathy and school spirit atrophy.

Meanwhile, football doormats like Duke, Connecticut and UNLV are dropping their months of anger and frustration for the excitement of the hardwood.

Basketball could easily be called the sport of the madness. March Madness, Midnight Madness, and now, 24-hour Madness?

That’s right, ESPN’s family of networks will be airing non-stop coverage of basketball games from midnight to midnight on Tuesday, Nov. 17.

They will start with a matchup between UCLA and Cal State Fullerton at midnight and end with the Kansas-Memphis showdown at 10 p.m.

As the bracketologists across the country come out of their caves, everyone and their grandmother has an opinion on who is going to be a success this year.

The field of 65 may be months away from being decided, but lower teams are going to put their names out there early this year with upsets. Big teams will also be making an early push to become top seeds by winning in the early tournaments.

With that, I now will give you my conference previews and picks for who will win.

I will preview the six major conferences and look at potential bracket busters in the upper major, mid-major and minor conferences.

ACC

The conference known for being the most exciting and highest quality has got another fresh crop of potential tournament teams.

Maryland and Clemson will assume their roles as teams that look good on paper and then end up on the bubble.

Virginia Tech, Miami and Florida State will do their ‘upset a big dog to earn a bid, then fall back into obscurity’ thing.

Dark horses to steal the conference are Wake Forest and Georgia Tech, but everyone knows who runs the show in the ACC: The Tobacco Road rivals.

This conference will remain Duke’s and North Carolina’s yard and expect both of them to make a run at a No. 1 seed and a Final Four berth.

Pick: UNC

Big East

This conference is known for going 10 deep, but that also has to do with them having 16 teams.

Rather than go through every one of the overhyped monstrosities that compose the middle of the conference, let’s talk about the kings of the hill.

Villanova, Connecticut, Georgetown and Syracuse will play for the title. Louisville might if they can get past the whole Pitino sex scandal thing, which I’m not holding my breath for.

Pick: Villanova

Big Ten

The conference that can’t count how many teams actually compete for them has a chance of going deep for NCAA bids.

ESPN gives them potentially nine out of 11, but much like football, I don’t give the Big Ele… Ten that much weight.

I do agree about Michigan State and Purdue being No.1 seed contenders and Ohio State and Illinois will do their thing too, but this conference is six bids at best.

Pick: Michigan State

Big 12

There are a good amount of teams that can make the tournament here, and that amount is seven.

Oklahoma and Kansas State will be top five seeds, Oklahoma State could get as high as a 6-seed and there is at-large potential for Missouri and Texas A&M.

But this conference is all about Kansas and Texas. Top seed potential is available in both, and it will come down to who beats the other. I look forward to a Big 12 tournament showdown.

Pick: Kansas

Pac-10

The good news here is the ‘UCLA vs. nine other guys’ mentality may be shaken with the Bruins’ lack of experience.

The bad news is this conference may very well be weaker than the Mountain West and be losing their hold over the title of ‘Best in the West.’

Because they are the Pac-10, there will be at least three bids. California, Washington and UCLA should get in and if there is a fourth, look for Arizona to steal the final bid for a conference in a down-year.

Pick: Washington

SEC

Last year’s weakling of the major conferences has gotten stronger and should have four bids this year.

Kentucky looks to be a top seed, but they have challengers for the SEC title in Tennessee, Vanderbilt and South Carolina.

In other news, the SEC West division is as weak as ever.

Pick: Kentucky

Bracket Busters

Butler looks to be a threat to go to the second, and maybe even the third, weekend of the NCAA tourney.

The Mountain West looks like the premier conference outside the Six Majors. BYU, San Diego State and UNLV all have a shot at winning a game or two in the tournament.

Other contenders are Gonzaga, Memphis and Dayton.

It’s finally time for some great basketball, so in Buffalo Bills’ wide receiver Terrell Owens’ words, “Getcha popcorn ready.”