Conference recaps

(Photo illustration via ESPN) The regular season has less than a week remaining, and the conference tournaments are coming soon. Without a doubt, college basketball was its usual beast this season; offering plenty of upsets, beat downs and all-around excitement. It’s no surprise Kentucky’s success, but the SEC in general was certainly weaker than most projected, so let’s dive deeper… Going back to see how the conferences and specific teams fared compared to their pre-season predictions. There is under- and over-achievement abounds, and a few conferences really made a name for themselves — in good ways and bad.  -- SEC: Kentucky sat in the driver’s seat throughout the year and had little trouble controlling the conference from day one. Others struggled during out-of-conference play, as well as in-conference where competition was generally stiffer. Vanderbilt was ranked seventh in the nation, but quickly dropped out and has yet to regain a foothold in the rankings. Alabama was a slight disappointment, but rebounded late, and what has become almost an embarrassment to the conference, Mississippi State just flat-out tanked. In what was expected to be a very competitive Southeastern Conference, and one which Coach Calipari said seven teams were worthy of making the Big Dance, it seems unlikely any more than five teams will get in. All-in-all not the worst season the SEC could have had, but certainly a disappointment considering the lofty expectations. -- ACC: Duke and North Carolina were your two premier ACC members and were the only representatives of the conference early on. But the ACC had plenty to gain, and they capitalized. Florida State has managed to pull some big upsets, and Virginia has surprised some people creeping into the rankings. In what was expected to be a less-than-stellar year for the ACC, having four teams represented in the Top-25 is certainly respectable. Granted, overachieving with low expectations isn’t hard to do. -- Big East: The Big East had some turnover, but replaced its top-teams with new ones. Connecticut and Pittsburgh were both ranked in the top-ten, but are now solidly in the bottom half of the conference. Louisville has had its ups and downs, but is still poised to make a run in the tournament. A couple of surprise teams have wiggled their way up with the traditional powers having down years, namely Seton Hall and South Florida. Whether or not they can run with the big boys in March remains to be seen. -- Big Ten: The Big Ten probably had the most to lose, because of their stereotypical style of play and how fragile that seems to be; and in individual instances they’ve experienced some disappointment. Ohio State is still a solid team, but it’s hard to argue against their losing a few games they probably shouldn’t have. Indiana came out early in the season red-hot, as I’m sure we all know, but has some really ugly losses more recently. Michigan State and Wisconsin are representing well, but just don’t possess that pristine résumé that some other teams around the nation do. Nonetheless, the Big Ten has had one of the better seasons as a conference and its teams are peaking at the right time. -- Big XII: Kansas probably overachieved from their preseason expectations, but generally the Big XII didn’t gain or lose any ground. It was solid throughout the year and the top teams stayed put. The Big XII is a conference with stellar teams at the top, like Kansas, Missouri and Baylor, and maybe throw in Kansas State and even Iowa State has surprised some people this season. But beyond that the wheels really, and I mean really fall off. That must be what Billy Gillispie does to a conference. (By the way, his team is 8-21 and 1-16 in the conference. Yikes.) -- Pac-12: For the most part this season, the majority of conferences only slightly dipped below expectations, which allowed some other teams to climb in the rankings. No other conference took as hard of a hit as the Pac-12 did. With three teams in the preseason rankings, none currently remain. Washington sits atop the conference with eight losses overall, and California is not far behind. Beyond that, this is by far the weakest "major" conference (and I use that term loosely, even considering some big-time "mid-majors"), and the Associated Press clearly agrees. The Pac-12 may be lucky to get two teams into the Big Dance depending on how the conference tournament plays out. -- Mountain West: The conference with the most to gain, the Mountain West received no love in the preseason, but currently have two teams inside the Top-25, San Diego State and UNLV, with New Mexico just barely dropping out this week. All three are all bracket buster teams that seem poised to pull and unexpected upset over a major player. Don’t sleep on these Mountain West teams; we don’t see or hear much about them on the East coast, but these guys can ball. Remember those Runnin’ Rebels that knocked off North Carolina? -- Everybody else: The West Coast Conference lost its only Top-25 member from the preseason, Gonzaga. But the Bulldogs are knocking on the door of climbing back in. Xavier had a pitiful start and never rebounded, dropping the favorite of the A-10 from the polls. Memphis was another flub, eliminating the C-USA’s lone Top-25 team. These vacancies opened the door not only for those previously mentioned Mountain West teams, but also Wichita State, Creighton, Murray State and Temple. There are plenty of mid-majors making moves this season, and it looks to continue well into March.