Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Conference Tourneys March 2

Two of the better conference tournaments commence starting Thursday, Arch Madness and the WCC. Let’s jump in.

Arch Madness (Missouri Valley)

Arch Madness may not be what it used to be but still draws great crowds from programs that love college hoops. Regular season champ Bradley, behind a stingy defense are the 1-seed and 79 in KenPom. Drake is the 2-seed and 80. They split in the regular season with the Braves winning this past weekend to take the outright season crown. It ended a 10-game winning streak for Drake and continues a 10-game streak for Bradley.

Indiana State at 97 is the only other KenPom top-100 team. Only 3 other teams are top-200. The Valley wants one of the top-3 to get that bid to have much of a chance next month. The pick is Drake, though it’s a coin flip between them and Bradley.

WCC

The WCC is playing their conference tournament in Las Vegas once again. St. Mary’s, 8th in KenPom is the 1-seed and Gonzaga, 10th in KenPom is the 2-seed. Both are tournament locks.

BYU is 77th in KenPom and the 5-seed. Santa Clara is 82nd in KenPom and the 3-seed. LMU is 101 in KenPom and the 4-seed. USF is 108 in KenPom and the 6-seed. LMU owns wins over the Zags and Gaels during the regular season.

This is a league where bubble teams do not want a bid thief and a league where it is possible, however, unlikely. The pick is Gonzaga but I’ll be rooting for some chaos. Santa Clara has 7 straight wins. Between them or LMU, those are your most likely thieves.

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