Bracketology: More Conference Tournaments

I want to apologize for this not being updated in a couple days, but I've had the flu and the only thing I've been able to do consistently is sleep and talk to the porcelain god (I know...TMI). So I'm doing previews for tournaments that have already started.

Atlantic Sun: So we're down to the final four and I believe it's a two-team race. The defending Champion Belmont and this year's regular season champion East Tennessee St. East Tennessee St went 16-2 in league play and has the home court for the tournament. However, one of those losses came to Belmont at home. I'm picking the Belmont Bruins to repeat.

Missouri Valley: Southern Illinois was the dominant team in this league while the rest of the MVC cannabilized itself. Weird things happen in this tournament though. The #1 seed hasn't won the championship since 1998 and I'm willing to bet that it's not going to happen this year either. Two teams will be extremely motivated this weekend, Bradley and Missouri St. I got Missouri St taking the title and getting rid of the bitter taste in its mouth after missing the Big Dance last year.

Northeast: This is another tournament that's already down to the semi-finals. I see nothing but chalk here. Central Connecticut won the regular season and it's 6-0 against the other three semi-finalist. We like the other Blue Devils in the NEC.

Colonial: This a tough one to call. Any of the top four seeds could win it and it wouldn't be a surprise. In this situation, I'm going with the hottest team. The Old Dominion Monarchs have had a fantastic season finishing in second place. They've hit their stride at the right time of the year and looks good for the Big Dance whether they win or not. Expect to see ODU versus the Drexel Dragons on Monday. Expect to see both their names called on Selection Sunday regardless of who wins.

Metro Atlantic: Seven teams in this conference finished with league records of .500 or better which makes for a competitive tournament. However, Marist is on a roll and is the best team in this conference. Not only are the Foxes dangerous here, they'll also be a tough out in the Big Dance too.

West Coast: Gonzaga and Santa Clara, the top two seeds don't have to lace them up until Sunday even though their opponents may have had to play twice just in two days. It's a format that I believe more mid-major conferences should adopt to make sure their best teams represent them in the NCAA tournament. Santa Clara could've won the league outright but lost its last two games. It seems they couldn't handle prosperity very well, but they'll be chasing Gonzaga again. The Ghosts of Steve Nash are revisited...Santa Clara goes dancing.