Busting Brackets
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NCAA Basketball: Picking winner of each conference tournament for 2022-23 season

By Bryan Mauro

Xavier Musketeers guard Souley Boum (0) and Xavier Musketeers guard Colby Jones (3) walk back to the bench during a timeout in the second half of a college basketball game between the Villanova Wildcats and the Xavier Musketeers, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, at Cintas Center in Cincinnati. The Villanova Wildcats won, 64-63.Villanova Wildcats At Xavier Musketeers Feb 21 0152
Xavier Musketeers guard Souley Boum (0) and Xavier Musketeers guard Colby Jones (3) walk back to the bench during a timeout in the second half of a college basketball game between the Villanova Wildcats and the Xavier Musketeers, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, at Cintas Center in Cincinnati. The Villanova Wildcats won, 64-63.Villanova Wildcats At Xavier Musketeers Feb 21 0152 /
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NCAA Basketball A.W. Hamilton of the Eastern Kentucky Colonels (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
NCAA Basketball A.W. Hamilton of the Eastern Kentucky Colonels (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

Atlantic Sun

Dates: February 27th, 28th, March 2nd, and 5th

Campus Sites

Top Seed: Kennesaw State Owls

Winner: Eastern Kentucky Colonels

This tournament is always one of the hardest to predict all of championship week. The league is always competitive, and this season was no exception. The ASun was extremely crowded at the top and while everyone knows about Liberty because they have dominated the conference over the last handful of seasons but this year the gap has closed considerably, and the Colonels are a team who should be a trendy pick to win the ASun tournament. Head coach AW Hamilton plays the fastest 40 minutes of basketball. They run every possession on offense and then full-court press every possession on defense. Eastern Kentucky puts points on the board quickly.

Eastern Kentucky has already beaten both Kennesaw State and Liberty this season. Eastern Kentucky is one of the best rebounding teams in the nation and if they are turning their opponents over coupled with their prowess on the glass it usually spells doom for the opponents. Eastern Kentucky is conditioned to run the whole game, every game. Can their opponents handle it?

Sleeper: North Alabama Lions

There is no one hotter than the Lions entering the tournament. They went on a huge run at the end of the season which saw them beat a lot of the top teams in the league. North Alabama is finally eligible for the NCAA tournament as its probationary period is over and if they win the tournament, it will be on its way to the tournament in its first season eligible. If Eastern Kentucky is the fastest 40 minutes of basketball the Lions are not far behind. North Alabama also loves to run, and they have three fantastic guards who are matchup problems for everyone they play.

Leading scorer Daniel Ortiz is one of the best shooters in the country. Point Guard KJ Johnson is a good shooter from deep, but he is at his best off the bounce and getting to the rim. The Lions are going to be a tough out as they are motivated and confident. It has already been the best season at the Division 1 level for North Alabama so they might as well close it out with a tournament appearance.

Horizon League

Dates: February 28th, March 2nd, 6th, and 7th

Campus Sites and Indianapolis Farmers Coliseum

Top Seed: Youngstown State Penguins

Winner: Cleveland State Vikings

Youngstown State was the best team with the best player in the conference all year long, or at least they had the most talent. Milwaukee was another team who had the best player on the floor most nights. That was all true until the last two weeks of the season when Cleveland State started to make their move up the standings.

There is something to be said about a team who plays like a team and doesn’t need one dominant player to take over games every night. That is exactly what the Vikings are. They play as a team, and they do so many things right. First-year coach Daniyal Robinson takes over for former coach Dennis Gates who took the job at Missouri after restoring the glory for the Cleveland State program. The Vikings did not have high expectations because their best players from last year’s team followed their head coach to Missouri.

This year’s team is tough, is never out of a game, and wins games with balanced scoring and ball control. Cleveland State doesn’t shoot the ball very well from deep and they don’t do much damage from the line. They do have a ton of experience in the league tournament and still have a good portion of those players back. The Vikings enter the tournament playing their best basketball of the season and something tells me that they are going to win the tournament and head back to the NCAA tournament.

Sleeper: Detroit Mercy Titans

Why are the Titans a sleeper you ask?  In case you have not been paying attention they have the best scorer in the NCAA this year in Antoine Davis. The guard is the best scorer in NCAA history as well. If Davis starts hitting threes and is going to score 40 points a night, like he has so many times over his career, then Detroit Mercy can make a run. The Titans do not defend well, they have a dynamic offense that revolves around the elite scorer in Davis.

Unfortunately, the Titans have never made the tournament with Davis on their team. Even if he does score a ton of points, I do not think that Detroit Mercy is going to have enough to beat the top teams in this league. They can keep games close, but they are one of the worst defensive teams in the country and want to get in track meets. That is not always a recipe for success even with an elite scorer. However, the ability of Davis to carry his team to wins is unlike any other player in the country and he could get unbelievably hot and win this team the tournament.

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