NCAA Basketball: Predicting winners for all 2021 conference tournaments
By Bryan Mauro
Championship Week is upon us. Outside of the NCAA tournament, it is the best time of year for any NCAA Basketball fan. This is the week that gives teams a second chance if they had a rough stretch in the middle of the season or things just didn’t go their way Championship Week gives every team a chance to make a run and qualify for the NCAA tournament. This season was already unusual, but the conference tournaments could throw another wrench into the weirdness of the season.
The NCAA has left participation in conference tournaments to each individual conference. That means we could very well see teams like Gonzaga, Baylor, Michigan, and Villanova all opt-out of their respective tournaments and get themselves healthy and ready for the NCAA tournament. That is not going to be uncommon. It is only likely going to happen in multi-bid leagues. The single bid leagues are going to likely must play their tournaments with their best teams playing in the tournament for a chance to maximize their chances at a post-season bid.
Keep in mind those single bid leagues, the regular-season champion earns an auto-bid into the NIT. Those conferences need to play the tournaments to maximize their conference chances to play in the post-season. Another wrench that is going to be interesting to see how it plays out is those teams who are well under the 13-game threshold for post-season competition.
The conference tournaments only count for one game regardless of how far the teams go in their conference tournament. 13 games are going to be required to make the NCAA tournament unless the NCAA grants a waiver to play fewer games and allows those teams to qualify for the NCAA tournament. Teams like New Mexico State and North Carolina Central may utilize the waiver because they will likely be under 13 games played heading into the tournament.
Who are the teams that you should all keep an eye on this year when filling out your Jerome? Let this article be your guide to every conference tournament winner. As of now the assumption is that the conference tournaments are going to go on as scheduled and that every team is going to participate. Until otherwise specified. The first tournament starts on the 26th of February. Lets get into it.