Major Conference Tournament Preview: Part 1

Now that the most of the mid-majors have finishd up their tournaments, it's time for the big boys to get started. Over the next two days, I will profile each of the 6 major conference's tournaments. Today's conferences are the Big East, Pac-10 and SEC. In the parentheses are the team's conference record, overall record, and RPI according to ESPN Daily RPI.

Big East Tournament
Dates: Wednesday-Saturday
Regular season champ(s): #1 Georgetown (13-3, 23-6, RPI 17)
NCAA locks: Georgetown, #2 Louisville (12-4, 22-8, 43), #3 Pittsburgh (12-4, 25-6, 5), #4 Notre Dame (11-5, 23-6, 33), #6 Marquette (10-6, 23-8, 23), #9 Villanova (9-7, 21-9, 18)
NCAA bubble teams: #5 Syracuse (10-6, 21-9, 49), #7 West Virginia (9-7, 21-8, 58), #8 DePaul (9-7, 18-12, 59)
Most likely early upset: #7 West Virginia over #2 Louisville, #6 Marquette over #3 Pittsburgh
Best first-round match-up: #8 DePaul vs. #9 Villanova
Best potential quarterfinal: #3 Pittsburgh vs. #6 Marquette
Best potential semi-final: #1 Georgetown vs. #4 Notre Dame
Best potential final: #1 Georgetown vs. #6 Marquette
Predictions: DePaul and West Virginia both likely need two wins in this tournament to get an at-large bid. I think that will motivate DePaul enough to beat Villanova in the first round, and then they will give Georgetown a tough game before barely losing. West Virginia, on the other hand, will get the win they need with an upset over #2 Louisville in the second round. #6 Marquette will beat #3 Pittsburgh again to set up a semi-final matchup between the #6 and #7 seeds. The other side of the bracket will hold true to form as #1 Georgetown will face #4 Notre Dame. West Virginia and Syracuse will do enough to gain at-large bids but DePaul will fall one victory short.

Pac-10
Dates: Wednesday to Saturday
Regular season champ(s): #1 seed UCLA (15-3, 26-4, 1)
NCAA locks: UCLA, #2 Washington State (13-5, 24-6, 26), #3 USC (11-7, 21-10, 54), #4 Oregon (11-7, 23-7, 27), #5 Arizona (11-7, 20-9, 13)
NCAA bubble teams: #6 Stanford (10-8, 18-11, 57), #7 Washington (8-10, 18-12, 74)
Most likely early upset: #7 Washington over #2 Washington State
Best quarterfinal match-up: #4 Oregon vs. #5 Arizona
Best potential semifinal matchup: #1 UCLA vs. #4 Oregon
Best potential final match-up: #1 UCLA vs. #3 USC
Predictions: I think that #3 USC will beat #6 Stanford in the quarterfinals, which will put the Cardinal right on the bubble for the NCAA tournament. The semi-finals will hold true to seedings and be #1 UCLA vs. #4 Oregon and #2 Washington State vs. #3 USC. USC will upset Washington State, setting up a final matchup between cross-town rivals UCLA and USC. USC gets revenge for its two close losses to UCLA during the regular season by upsetting the #1 seed in the final, possibly taking away UCLA's chances of getting the overall #1 seed in the NCAA tournament and propelling USC to a high seed on Selection Sunday. Stanford will barely get into the tournament based off of it's winning record in the best conference in the country.

SEC
Dates: Thursday to Sunday
Regular season champ(s): #1E Florida
NCAA locks: Florida (13-3, 26-5, 9), #2E Vanderbilt (10-6, 20-10, 37), #3E Tennesee (10-6, 22-9, 7), #4E Kentucky (9-7, 20-10, 12)
NCAA bubble teams: #1W Mississippi State (8-8, 17-12, 64), #2W Mississippi (8-8, 19-11, 62), #3W Arkansas (7-9, 18-12, 49), #5W Alabama (7-9, 20-10, 45), #5E Georgia (8-8, 17-12, 63)
Most likely early upset: #1W Mississippi State over #4E Kentucky
Best first round matchup: #3E Tennesee vs. #6W LSU
Best potential quarterfinal: #2W Mississippi vs. #3E Tennesee
Best potential semifinal: #1E Florida vs. #3E Tennesee
Best potential final: #1E Florida vs. #2E Vanderbilt
Predictions: All five of the bubble teams in the SEC need a deep run in the conference tournament, to the semifinal at least and probably to the final, to have a chance at getting an at-large bid. There is a very good chance that not a single team from the SEC West will get into the NCAA tournament. I see only one of the bubble teams making it to the semifinal, #1W Mississippi State upsetting #4E Kentucky in the second round, and none of them making to the final. I think that #1E Florida will get it's game back together for the tournament and will avenge earlier losses to #2E Vanderbilt and #3E Tennesee on it's way to the SEC tournament championship. None of the bubble teams will do enough to get in, and the SEC West will be held without an NCAA team.