NCAA Basketball: Picking winner of each conference tournament for 2022-23 season
By Bryan Mauro
MEAC
Dates: March 8th-11th
Norfolk Scope Top Seed: Howard Bison
Winner: Howard Bison
The Bison decided to hire Kenneth Blakeney four seasons ago and when he was hired this is exactly what the Athletic Department had in mind. Blakeney has rebuilt the Howard program to be the top of the MEAC team. Howard returned most of their scorers back from last season. This season they are another year older and more experienced and one of the most athletic teams in the MEAC. The MEAC was a lot better league this year than it has been in years past and Howard still found a way to win the tournament title.
Steve Settle and true freshman Shy Odom patrol the paint and with 5’11” point guard Elijah Hawkins the Bison have the best two-man game in the MEAC. Don’t let it fool you though because every player that touches the floor for Howard will shoot threes and they do play 5-out and even though all of them can shoot threes the point guard in Hawkins shoots over 50% from deep. Howard has already beaten all of the usual suspects in the MEAC so they are battle tested and they head to the tournament as the team to beat.
Sleeper: Morgan State Bears
Watch out for Morgan State in Virginia during Championship Week. The Bears are well-coached and have the best duo of players in the guard. Isaiah Burke and Malik Miller are two guys who can fill it up quickly and have had multiple games this season where they have scored 30 in a game. Those two have also each scored 30 in the same game this year and when that happens the Bears are going to be really hard to beat.
Unlike so many other teams with great guards, Morgan State and their stars do not prefer the three. Morgan State doesn’t take many threes as a team and they get into the paint and take some of the most two-point attempts in the country. Morgan State loves to play fast and get downhill and when their stars get going they are awfully tough to beat.
Mountain West
Dates: March 8th-11th
Thomas & Mack Center
Top Seed: San Diego State Aztecs
Winner: New Mexico Lobos
There is not a team in the country that has done more damage to their NCAA tournament resume than the Lobos over the last two weeks. They have lost some head-scratching games as the season wraps up. I still believe that New Mexico is a team who is going to get it figured out and get some huge wins in Vegas on their way to a Mountain West conference tournament title and a trip to the NCAA tournament. Why do I think that? Well, New Mexico did start the season 14-0 and was one of the last undefeated teams in the country this year.
They also are loaded with explosive athletes who can do a lot of damage on a basketball court. Guys like Jaelon House and Jamal Mashburn Jr. are special players who can change games with their ability to get any shot they want and usually make them. The Lobos have one of the best offenses in the country as they score over 80 points per game. Their early season run and wins over Oral Roberts, San Diego State, and Boise State were no fluke. New Mexico is a good team who is going to find its mojo again in Vegas just in time to make the NCAA tournament.
Sleeper: San Jose State Spartans
In Tim Miles we trust, that is what San Jose State is shouting right now. The current Spartans head coach has completely changed the program in year 2 of his tenure there. San Jose State is experiencing its best season as a member of the Mountain West and they are looking to play spoiler in Vegas. This a vintage coach Miles team as he has one star in Omari Moore who he is able to let him dominate the touches on the offensive end while a slew of role players help take some of the pressure off of the star. On defense, they run the patented pack line defense and it leads to a good rebounding team. San Jose State doesn’t have nearly the firepower to win the league but they are playing well enough, and they are coached well enough to play spoiler.