NCAA Basketball: 8 bold predictions for conference play in 2019

By Brian Rauf | Dec 30, 2018

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - DECEMBER 08: Joey Hauser #22, Sam Hauser #10, and Markus Howard #0 of the Marquette Golden Eagles reacts in overtime against the Wisconsin Badgers at the Fiserv Forum on December 08, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

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SYRACUSE, NY – DECEMBER 18: CJ Massinburg #5 of the Buffalo Bulls handles the ball against Frank Howard #23 of the Syracuse Orange during the second half at the Carrier Dome on December 18, 2018 in Syracuse, New York. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /

3) Two of the MAC, SoCon, and WCC will be two-bid leagues

Down years in the Pac-12, Big East, and a return to normalcy from the Big 12 (as in only five or six teams will make the Big Dance instead of seven or eight) will open up more bids and, given the strength of a lot of mid-majors this year, I think we’ll actually see more of them go to the little guys.

Let’s start with the West Coast Conference. Gonzaga is in no matter what, I think we can all agree on that. The opportunity is always there for the conference to get two bids if someone were to upset the Zags in the conference tournament and that will be the case again.

Yet this year, San Francisco has also given them the opportunity for another potential at-large team. They’re 12-2 with wins over Harvard and Stanford with one loss coming by four to Buffalo on a neutral court. If they can add a win over Gonzaga to their resume, the Dons could make a legitimate at-large case.

The MAC will likely also send Buffalo to the tournament as an at-large team no matter what. The Bulls are ranked No. 21 with road wins over West Virginia and Syracuse and, if someone else wins the MAC Tournament, the conference will get two teams in.

Toledo (No. 66) and Ball State (No. 83) are also teams ranked highly by KenPom, giving the MAC more depth than usual. These three teams will all boost each other’s resumes and are all capable of winning the conference tournament.

Things aren’t as clear for the SoCon. Furman was one of the darlings of the non-conference schedule thanks to their win over Villanova, but that was their only notable win. It will carry weight but they need to win at least 15 or 16 conference games to have legitimate at-large hopes. Wofford and UNCG are also quality teams in the conference but neither has the non-conference resume to earn at-large bids.

There’s a clear road for all three of these conferences to send two teams to the NCAA Tournament, and while it won’t happen for all, there are enough available bids that I think it will happen for two of them.

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