NCAA Basketball: Picking winner of each conference tournament for 2022-23 season
By Bryan Mauro
Big South
Dates: March 1st, 3rd-5th
Bojangles Coliseum
Top Seed: UNC Asheville Bulldogs
Winner: UNC Asheville Bulldogs
The tournament is always a ton of fun to watch as there are a lot of early round upsets, but as the tournament plays out the top teams most likely prevail. The Bulldogs have been the best team in the Big South all season and it would be a surprising turn of events to see them not win the league crown and head to the NCAA tournament. Drew Pember is going to win the Big South Player of the Year and the big man is a matchup nightmare for everyone. He is skilled in the post, and he can step out and hit threes at just a shade under 40%.
UNC Asheville also has the best backcourt in the conference and both of their starting guards are shooting over 40% from deep for the season. That leads to the Bulldogs is one of the best three point shooting teams in the country. They play at one of the slower paces in the country but still average over 75 points per game. They are lethal shooting the ball and shooting over 50% from inside the arc. It is going to take a herculean effort to beat the Bulldogs in the Big South tournament.
Sleeper: Winthrop Eagles
I don’t think that anyone outside of the top 4 seeds in UNC Asheville, Radford, Gardner-Webb, and Longwood can win this tournament, but if there was one team to rise up and shock everyone it would be the Winthrop Eagles. They are the most dominant program historically in the conference. The Eagles have won the league 13 times and finished as the runner-up another 5 times. The league has only handed out 37 championships. Head Coach Mark Prosser has struggled this year with his team, but the Eagles do have some talent and are still going to have the target on their back when it comes time for championship week.
All five starters for Winthrop average double figures, led by an explosive guard in Sin’Cere McMahon and a dominant big man in Kelton Talford who is one of the most efficient big men in the country. If the Eagles could figure out their defense and find a way to beat one of the top seeds in the tournament, who knows what can happen? For the record, the Eagles have already beaten both Longwood and UNC Asheville once this season.
Northeast
Dates: March 1st, 4th, and 7th
Campus Sites
Top Seed: Fairleigh Dickinson Knights
Merrimack won the league regular season, but they are not eligible for the conference tournament as they are in their transition period in Division 1. Stonehill finished third but are also not eligible for the tournament as they are currently in their transition into Division 1.
Winner: Fairleigh Dickinson Knights
As you all read the disclaimer above, realize that those two teams finished at the top of the league, and since they are not eligible for the postseason the Northeast Conference has decided to not let them play in the conference tournament. That makes the Knights the top seed in the tournament.
Head coach Tobin Anderson should get the coach of the year in the conference after the quick turnaround he has led at Fairleigh Dickinson. The head coach was able to bring a lot of his former players with him from St. Thomas Aquinas and those players have also been some of the best players in the conference. FDU plays extremely fast and plays the fastest pace in the Northeast conference. They also lead the conference in many statistical categories including points and free throw percentage.
Fairleigh Dickinson is led by two under 6’0” tall guards who do most of the scoring. Demetre Roberts loves to get the rim and gets fouled a lot. Grant Singleton is the shooter and is dangerous from deep. The lack of height makes rebounding an absolute chore for Fairleigh Dickinson so when they are on defense, they do foul a lot as a way to slow the game down on the defensive end. They also make up for their lack of rebounding by getting a lot of steals to get themselves out in transition. Fairleigh Dickinson wants a track meet and there are not many teams in the Northeast conference that can match their speed and overall prowess on offense.
Sleeper: Central Connecticut State Blue Devils
The job that Patrick Sellers has done to quickly turn this program around is amazing. Sure, I know the record is not great but since CCSU started the year out 0-9 and then looked to be one of the last two seeds in the conference tournament before a huge run at the end of the year to get them back into the middle of the pack speaks volumes about the job Sellers has done. The Blue Devils do not do much well, but they play extremely hard and have a ton of athleticism and experience.
Point guard Nigel Scantlebury has played a ton of basketball in the Northeast Conference and knows what to expect. Kellen Amos is an explosive scorer who can go for 30 or more at any time. Andre Snoddy is an undersized big man who can have a ton of bounce and is arguably the best rebounder in the conference. The 2006-2007 team was the last Blue Devil team to make the tournament. This team likely won’t make the tournament but they are a confident group heading into championship week and anything can happen.
Do not expect a high-scoring affair when Central takes the floor. They like to play games in the high 50’s to low 60’s as they do not have the firepower to compete with teams who are going to light the scoreboard on fire. They play physical games without fouling and teams better be ready for it or they are going to lose.