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player ready...Conference play is about to accelerate into full throttle. Here’s a quick handicap of the major conferences, in order of conference strength.
Atlantic Coast
Whichever team ends up taking home the title will really be able to say it accomplished something.
The ACC is as competitive a conference as has come along in years. Four of the top nine teams in the current Associated Press Top 25 are from the conference. Duke, North Carolina, Wake Forest and Georgia Tech each could be favored to win the championship, with Maryland and North Carolina State also in the picture. The winner could have four or five losses.
Predicted winner: North Carolina.
Big East
The conference has three teams among the top 11–Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Connecticut–and all three have the ingredients for a run at the national title.
Two other Big East teams, Boston College and West Virginia, are top-tier. Throw in Providence and Notre Dame, and this conference doesn’t have many easy outs on any given night.
Predicted winner: Syracuse.
Big Ten
The emergence of Iowa has made this conference better than expected. The Hawkeyes are ranked 16th this week and were 11-1 after last week’s 73-63 victory over Air Force.
The Big Ten also has the No. 1 team in the country in Illinois and a good Michigan State team. Wisconsin suffered disappointing losses to Pepperdine and Marquette but also notched a quality win over Maryland. The Badgers hardly ever lose at home.
Predicted winner: Illinois.
Big 12
This conference is heavy at the top, but the bottom half is weak. Kansas and Oklahoma State are two of the top teams in the country, and it likely will be a two-team race.
But Texas has several freshmen playing prominent roles and could improve substantially as the season progresses. Oklahoma looks poised to become a player on the national scene again after a one-year hiatus but not strong enough to dethrone Kansas or Oklahoma State. The Jayhawks also have to survive the first few weeks of conference play without All-American Wayne Simien, who is sidelined with a broken left thumb.
Predicted winner: Oklahoma State.
Southeastern
The conference has three elite teams in Kentucky, Alabama and Mississippi State, all of which could make deep NCAA tournament runs.
Florida looks as though it will be its usual disappointing self. A sleeper could be Arkansas, which started 10-1 with its only loss to Illinois, its best start since winning the national championship in 1994.
Predicted winner: Kentucky.
Pacific-10
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The conference has enjoyed a successful preseason, but other than Washington and Arizona, it doesn’t have a lot on its resume in terms of quality wins.
Still, Oregon could have a say in what is presumed to be a two-team race. UCLA, Cal and Arizona State will be fighting for the last couple of spots in the upper division, but not for the conference title.
Predicted winner: Washington.
Conference USA
The early-season demise of Memphis has made this conference substantially weaker than it had been expected to be before the season.
The Tigers began the season in the Top 25 but fell to 6-6 with losses to Louisiana Tech and Mississippi. Louisville and Cincinnati are the class of Conference USA, but Charlotte and Marquette are potential party-crashers.
Predicted winner: Louisville.