You know you’ve been infected with March Madness if any of the following apply:
– You’re looking forward to seeing Arkansas and Tennessee in a possible SEC semifinal;
– Your home page has Joe Lunardi’s picture all over it;
– You know which of the Lopez twins on Stanford has more hair.
Fortunately, we’re here to help.
As the most glorious month of the college basketball season hits high gear, here’s a look at the top conference tournaments.
CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC 10
Tournament info: Wednesday to Saturday in Atlantic City
ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE
Tournament info: Thursday to Sunday in Charlotte
BIG 12
Tournament info: Thursday to Sunday in Kansas City
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BIG EAST
Tournament info: Wednesday to Saturday in New York
BIG TEN
Tournament info: Thursday to Sunday in Indianapolis
CONFERENCE USA
Tournament info: Wednesday to Saturday in Memphis
MOUNTAIN WEST
Tournament info: Wednesday to Saturday in Las Vegas
PAC-10
Tournament info: Wednesday to Saturday in L.A.
SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE
Tournament info: Thursday to Sunday in Atlanta
MOST TO GAIN
Dayton. Had a 35 RPI before Saturday’s win against Saint Joseph’s and could get a crack at top-seeded Xavier in the quarterfinals.
North Carolina. If the Tar Heels win the ACC (or maybe even lose in the finals), they’ll likely be sent to Raleigh for the first weekend of the NCAAs before going to Charlotte for the regionals.
Bobby Knight. ESPN has the conference final and should rely heavily on the General, who will begin his TV gig Wednesday. Call it Bracket Bluster Wednesday.
Georgetown could make a leap to a No. 1 seed by winning arguably the toughest conference and getting some help along the way.
Wisconsin. The Badgers can solidify a claim for a No. 2 seed by winning the Big Ten.
Memphis. As long as the Tigers continue to dominate their league brethren, they’ll get a No. 1 seed in the NCAAs.
UNLV. The Rebels beat top-seeded BYU in last year’s title game, played on UNLV’s homecourt.
USC. If the Trojans can get by Washington State in the quarters, a meeting with UCLA looms in the semis. USC split with UCLA and could hurt its archrival’s claim for a No. 1 seed in the NCAAs.
Florida. The two-time defending champs likely need to get to the semifinals to get back into the NCAA discussion.
MOST TO LOSE
Xavier. Could slip to a No. 4 seed in the NCAAs if it stumbles early.
Virginia Tech. Teetering on the bubble and needs one more win.
Texas A&M. The Aggies were ranked ninth in December but stumbled down the stretch. Did they really score just 10 points in the first half of a game against Oklahoma on March 1?
Syracuse. Closed the regular season with a nice win over Marquette. Needs to follow it up by beating Villanova in Wednesday’s opening round.
CBS. The network will carry semifinal action on Saturday opposite ESPN and ESPN2’s similar coverage of the ACC and Big 12. Sorry, but the Big Ten comes in third in this contest.
Alabama-Birmingham. The Blazers are squarely on the NCAA bubble and a quarterfinal loss would be damaging.
Colorado State. Both the men’s and women’s teams went 0-16 in the conference this year. That’s hard to do.
Pac-10 officiating crew. UCLA won twice last week on blown calls that resembled something you might see at Harlem Globetrotters games.
Tennessee. They enter the week with the most tenuous claim to a No. 1 NCAA seed. Could get Vanderbilt, which beat the Vols on Feb. 26, in the semifinals.
Players to Watch
Xavier senior guard Stanley Burrell is a defensive vice and one of six Musketeers at or very near averaging in double figures.
Miami’s Jack McClinton not only is the conference’s best three-point shooter, he’s a two-time member of the ACC’s All-Academic team.
This might be the only Big 12 tournament for Kansas State freshman Michael Beasley, who is the best player in college basketball and a virtual lock to be a top NBA pick if he decides to come out.
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Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody. Led by the sophomore bomber, the Irish resemble that West Virginia Elite Eight team from 2005.
Eric Gordon. He has put together the best freshman season in the storied history of Indiana’s program.
UAB junior Robert Vaden followed coach Mike Davis from Indiana and has become the most prolific three-point shooter in Conference USA history.
New Mexico’s J.R. Giddens, a Kansas transfer, led the league in scoring.
Stanford’s Brook Lopez has a tighter haircut than twin brother Robin and averages twice as many points. The Cardinal has to go back to L.A. less than a week after closing the season with losses to UCLA and USC.
Tennessee guards Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith have never met a three they couldn’t take — or hit.
Atlantic Sun Conference: Belmont
Big South Conference: Winthrop
Colonial Athletic Assn.: George Mason
Ivy League: Cornell
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference: Siena
Missouri Valley Conference: Drake
Ohio Valley Conference: Austin Peay
AUTOMATIC BIDS
Southern Conference: Davidson
Summit League: Oral Roberts
West Coast Conference: San Diego
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NCAA HITS
The NCAA tournament will experiment with a new-look configuration during two regionals, hoping to improve the way fans watch the game in person and how the event looks on TV. In Detroit and Houston, basketball courts will be set up in the middle of the field surrounded by newly created risers that were designed to provide unobstructed- view seating. The hardwood will be 27 inches off the ground at Ford Field to create a staging effect as a quartet of teams compete later this month for a spot in the Final Four.
– Notre Dame sophomore F Luke Harangody was selected Big East player of the year Tuesday, while Mike Brey of the Fighting Irish was chosen coach of the year for a second straight season. Harangody led the conference in scoring with a 21.0 ppg average.
– Associated Press