NCAA Basketball: Predicting all 32 autobids for 2022 NCAA Tournament

America East

Winner: Vermont Catamounts

Kansas, Gonzaga, and Vermont have dominated their conference over the last 20 seasons and while those teams are good again this year, the Catamounts have displayed a different kind of dominance over the America East this year. They clinched the number 1 seed in the league on 02/16/2022 and they have dominated games in the league and a lot of that has been without their best player Ryan Davis. Davis is likely going to win the conference player of the year and will be a load for a team to guard in the NCAA tournament.

The America East is a one-bid league, and only the winner of the tournament is going to get into the NCAA tournament. The good thing about Vermont winning the league is that if they do receive an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament, they will receive the automatic bid from the conference into the NIT. The Catamounts season will continue after Championship Week.

Sleeper: UMass-Lowell River Hawks

The bad news for the top seed in this tournament is that this league has been one of the craziest tournaments in the country. Last season both top seeds lost on their home floor in the Semifinals and UMass Lowell was one of the representatives in the America East conference finals. They were defeated by Hartford, but it was still a huge step in the right direction for the River Hawk program.

Honestly, it would be one of the biggest upsets in the country this year. Lowell does have the experience given they played in the title game last year and the River Hawks are starting to play their best basketball. The River Hawks have balanced scoring and do most of their damage on the defensive end. They can beat everyone in this league-leading up the showdown to Vermont, especially given Stony Brook is not able to participate.

American Athletic

Winner: Memphis Tigers

Two weeks ago, the Tigers were nowhere near the bubble. Since then, they have reeled off six wins in a row and beat the Houston Cougars on the road. This stretch has put Memphis firmly in the bubble conversation. I have been as critical of Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway as anyone, especially since it seems he always underachieves with the amount of talent he has.

This stretch though shows that he may have finally had it figured out. The Tigers are playing good team basketball and they have two future lottery picks and one of the best glue guys in the country. The team is led by Lestor Quinones and if Memphis continues to play at the level, they won’t need to win the tournament to find their way into the NCAA tournament.

Sleeper: UCF Knights

Earlier this season, I was asked a question in my weekly Sunday Mailbag about who has the team other than Houston to step up and win the league. I did say it was UCF and it was taken a step further to show that they would win the league regular season and receive an at-large into the NCAA tournament. Neither of those is possible at this point. The Knights have trouble scoring at times and that has ultimately led to their downfall. A good defense will only take you so far.

However, even with the poor showing in the overall conference race UCF has some good wins and has shown what kind of team they can be. The Knights have beaten Michigan, Miami and Memphis already this season and those wins instill some confidence they are a team who can get hot and win this league. Darin Green is one of the best shooters in the country and he leads the Knights on the offensive end, and he can carry them to a tournament victory.