Midseason Predictions

With the conference season set to begin this week, or already underway in some cases, here's a look at who has the best shot at an automatic bid in each conference.

A10

Preseason: St. Louis/VCU. 

Midseason: SLU/VCU/UMass. St. Louis and VCU have been as good as advertised and look a lot like tournament teams at this point, but UMass has joined what looked to be a two-team race thanks to an 11-1 start to the season.

AAC

Preseason: Louisville. 

Midseason: Louisville. The Cardinals still are the pick in the American at 11-2. Memphis and UConn will contend, but Louisville is the best team in the league and will have a good chance to return to the Final Four.

ACC

Preseason: Duke.

Midseason: Syracuse. The Orange have passed up Duke and would be in line for a No. 1 seed heading into the conference season. Syracuse's zone usually causes problems for teams unfamiliar with it, which should work to their benefit as they make their way into their first ACC season.

American East

Preseason: Stony Brook.

Midseason: Stony Brook.  The Seawolves are the only team entering the conference schedule above .500 and have done nothing to lose their status as the preseason faves.

Atlantic Sun

Preseason: Mercer. 

Midseason: Mercer. The Bears have only expanded the gap between the rest of the league, entering at 9-4 including a win over bubble team Mississippi.

Big 10

Preseason: Michigan State. 

Midseason: Ohio State. The Spartans will still be a threat to win the Big 10, but the Buckeyes (along with Wisconsin) enter conference play unbeaten and have inched past MSU to this point.

Big 12

Preseason: Kansas. 

Midseason: Oklahoma St. The Cowboys were a close second to Kansas entering the year and have gotten off to the better start at 11-1. The Jayhawks have three early season losses, and while none will look bad on the resume come tourney time, that's just too many at this point in the year.

Big East

Preseason: Georgetown. 

Midseason: Villanova. This was an open race from the start of the year and with 11 straight wins to begin the season, the Wildcats will enter the conference slate as the team to beat. Creighton and Georgetown look to have the best chance of finish ahead of Nova.

Big Sky

Preseason: Weber State. 

Midseason: Montana. The Grizzlies and The Wildcats came into the year as the top two teams, but Montana passed up Weber with a better non-conference performance. This conference still has a long way to go though if it wants to avoid a No. 16 seed.

Big South

Preseason: Charleston Southern.

Midseason: Charleston Southern. The Bucs haven't been great in the non-conference, but they're still looking like the best in a bunch of bad teams. No. 16 seed for whoever wins this.

Big West

Preseason: UC Santa Barbara.

Midseason: UC Santa Barbara. Defense looked to be the Gauchos ticket to the tournament, but the team's been really solid offensively and established themselves as a the favorites entering the muddled Big West conference season.

CAA

Preseason: Drexel.

Midseason: Drexel. The Dragons are still a slightly better team over Delaware in this league, but it will come down to the conference tournament since neither has a chance at an at-large bid.

Conference USA

Preseason: Southern Miss. 

Midseason: USM, La. Tech.  Southern Miss has been good all year, but Louisiana Tech has been up to the task and make it a two-team race heading into the conference season.

Horizon League

Preseason: Wright State.

Midseason: Green Bay. Wright State's defense looked to give them the best chance in this league and while it's been good, the Raiders have been putrid offensively. At 9-3, the Phoenix have set themselves apart from the rest of the league.

Ivy League

Preseason: Harvard. 

Midseason: Harvard. Still the best team in the league, although Princeton has had a good season and may pose a threat in conference play.

MAAC

Preseason: Manhattan. 

Midseason: Manhattan. The Jaspers are sitting at 9-2 and still look like the class of the MAAC after winning their opening two conference games.

MAC

Preseason: Akron. 

Midseason: Toledo. Akron has struggled scoring this year, opening the door for the Rockets, who's only loss is to Kansas, to take the pole position.

MEAC

Preseason: NC Central. 

Midseason: NC Central. The MEAC look destined for a No. 16 seed, but NC Central gives the league a chance of getting off that bottom line after starting 9-3.

MVC

Preseason: Wichita State. 

Midseason: Wichita State. The Shockers are looking like one of the best teams in the country and could make another run at the Final Four. Bubble teams will be rooting hard for the Shockers to win this conference tournament, because they appear to be the only team in the at-large running.

Mountain West

Preseason: New Mexico. 

Midseason: San Diego St.  The Lobos will still have a solid chance to win the league, but the Aztecs have had the better season to date at 10-1, with their lone loss coming to top-ranked Arizona.

NEC

Preseason: Wagner. 

Midseason: Bryant. Wagner has been nowhere near as good offensively as projected prior to the year. Bryant isn't great by any means, but they've been the best in this league so far.

OVC

Preseason: Belmont. 

Midseason: Belmont. No difference here. Belmont is clearly the best team in the league, but will need to win its conference tournament to get a bid.

PAC 12

Preseason: Arizona. 

Midseason: Arizona. The Wildcats have been even better than anticipated, sitting at 13-0 and currently the No. 1 ranked team in the country. They'll be looking to get a top seed come March.

Patriot League

Preseason: Boston U.

Midseason: Boston U. The Terriers have started 7-5 and been above average on offense and defense, so they'll keep their spot as the team to beat over Bucknell.

 

SEC

Preseason: Kentucky. 

Midseason: Kentucky/Florida. The Wildcats have had some tough losses, while Florida has been a little better than expected. Both teams look like they could end up in the No. 2/3 seed range.

Southern

Preseason: Davidson. 

Midseason: Elon. Davidson (4-8) entered the year as the clear favorites, but have been really inconsistent, and Elon has played all right at times and should be the class of the league unless the Wildcats can turn the season around in conference play.

Southland

Preseason: Stephen F. Austin. 

Midseason: Stephen F. Austin. The Lumberjacks are among the slowest paced teams in country and the style has worked for them, winning 10 of 12 to start the year.

Summit League

Preseason: Denver/NDSU. 

Midseason: North Dakota State. The Bison set themselves apart from Denver, mostly because of the Pioneers road woes. Denver is 3-5 away from home and to get to the dance, they'd have to win the conference tournament, which is played outside of Colorado.

Sun Belt

Preseason: Georgia State. 

Midseason: Louisiana Lafayette. The Rajin' Cajuns have moved past Georgia State this season, in large part due to the Panthers defense. It was expected to be serviceable, but Georgia State has struggled to get stops all season.

SWAC

Preseason: Southern. 

Midseason: Southern. A No. 16 seed awaits whoever wins this conference tournament. No team is over .500 to this point in the year.

WAC

Preseason: New Mexico State.

Midseason: New Mexico State. The Aggies still look like a good team and still have the best chance of any team in the country to be undefeated in conference play. They'll be close to double digit favorites in every game.

WCC

Preseason: Gonzaga.

Midseason: Gonzaga. This conference is going to preseason form. The Zags have one of the best offenses in the country, while BYU and St. Mary's are firmly on the bubble.