SoCon
The SoCon established itself as one of the best mid-major leagues in NCAA basketball last season. It was arguably one that deserved more than one NCAA Tournament bid. That did not happen, nor will it happen this season. That fact will make the SoCon race more heated and exciting.
3) Wofford vs. Furman (1/17, 2/22)
These games are not just to see who is better in the SoCon, but to see who is the best in the state of South Carolina (Sorry Gamecocks and Tigers). The great backcourts both these teams possess will be great to watch.
2) Furman vs. UNCG (1/11, 2/26)
The matchup between these two teams features the best two players in the SoCon: Senior guard, Isaiah Miller (16.3 ppg) of UNCG, and Senior guard, Jordan Lyons (16.0 ppg) of Furman.
1) UNCG vs. ETSU (1/8, 2/1)
UNCG and ETSU are probably the two best teams in the SoCon. Both can win big games with great team effort and excellent defensive schemes. It is hard to predict a winner, but I think both will pick up a victory in these meetings.
Southland
I see a race between just two schools in the Southland.
1) Stephen F. Austin vs. Sam Houston State (2/1, 3/7)
This is a huge small Division 1 school rivalry in the state of Texas. SFA proved they can beat anybody when they took down #1 Duke in Cameron Indoor. Sam Houston State seems like the only squad capable of beating them.
SWAC
This conference will go anybody’s way when the conference tournament rolls around. The difficulty of the non-conference schedules for SWAC schools makes it a hard conference to predict.
1) Grambling vs Prairie View A&M (1/18, 2/15)
Grambling has one of the best records in the league coming out of non-conference play, so they are riding high on that. Prairie View is looking to do more for their program and head back to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.