March Madness: Saturday’s conference tournament breakdown

To true college basketball aficionados, the real “March Madness” already has started. That’s because the “lesser” conference tournaments have begun; those are the leagues in which you must win your tourney to even get into the Big Dance. The pressure is immense, and a marvelous regular season can mean nothing.

Here’s a look at the two tournaments that start Saturday. (Here’s a look at the complete conference tournament schedule. All hail March Madness.)

Colonial Athletic Association

When: March 5-8 (the schedule is here)
Where: Entertainment & Sports Arena, Washington, D.C.
TV for final: March 8, 7 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Net
Regular-season champ: Towson
Format: Nine of the 10 teams qualify. Because James Madison is leaving for the Sun Belt, league officials barred them from CAA postseason events this academic year. JMU finished eighth in the league.
Projected NCAA bids: 1.
The buzz: Towson (24-7) and UNC Wilmington (21-8) tied for the regular-season title, but Towson is the No. 1 seed by virtue of the tiebreaker. Towson comes in having won 10 of 11. The Tigers are a solid offensive club that does excellent work on the offensive boards. In addition, per kenpom.com metrics, they’re the best defensive team in league play; they play solid perimeter defense and force turnovers. UNCW doesn’t turn it over and does a good job of getting to the free throw line. Worth noting: Towson and UNCW met in Wilmington with first place on the line on February 17, and Towson won by 24. And keep an eye on third-seeded Hofstra. The Pride, coached by former NBA G Speedy Claxton, got hot late in the season and have won eight of their past nine. Oregon transfer Aaron Estrada can fill it up for Hofstra; he has had four 30-point games this season and hits 93.2 percent from the line.
The pick: Towson.

Summit League

When: March 5-8 (the schedule is here)
Where: Sanford Premier Center, Sioux Falls, S.D.
TV for final: March 8, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Regular-season champ: South Dakota State
Format: Eight of the 10 teams qualify. St. Thomas (Minn.), which finished tied for eighth, is in its first season in Division I and thus is ineligible for the NCAA tournament. Also missing is North Dakota, which finished 10^th in the league.
Projected NCAA bids: 1.
The buzz: South Dakota State (27-4) cruised to the league title, going 18-0 in conference play and winning the title by five games. The Jackrabbits’ average margin of victory in league games was 12.5, and they had just four games decided by single digits. They were 1-2 against Power 5 foes, losing to Alabama (by 16) and Washington (by 11) and beating Washington State (by 3). The Jackrabbits lead the nation in 3-point field-goal percentage (44.3 percent, which equates to 66 percent from 2-point range), and their effective field goal percentage of 60.1 percent leads the nation, per kenpom.com. Their defense? Ehhh. Then again, when you average 87.2 points per game, second nationally to Gonzaga, we guess you don’t worry about playing defense. Well-rounded 6-foot-6 G Baylor Scheierman averages 16.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists; he is the only player in the nation who leads his team in all three categories. He also shoots 52.1 percent from the field, 47.1 percent from 3-point range and 80.6 percent from the line. Considering the way the Jackrabbits dominated the league and that they are playing about an hour from their campus in Brookings, it would be a stunner if they don’t win this. But third-seeded Oral Roberts is dangerous; ORU won two games in last season’s NCAA tournament as a No. 15 seed and played SDSU close twice this season (total margin of the two losses: 10 points). G Max Abmas is averaging 22.7 points per game, which is No. 5 nationally.
The pick: South Dakota State.