Tom's Sports Blog

College Basketball

NCAA Basketball: My Final Field of 68

My final field of 68 is below. Teams in bold and italics are the bubble squads. If you don’t want to go through all of it, here is my bubble: In: Dayton, Florida Atlantic, Colorado State, Texas A&M, TCU, Seton Hall Out: St. John’s, Oklahoma, Virginia, Indiana State This is not an easy bubble to […]

College Basketball

Conference Tournament Preview: Ivy League

History: Until 2017, the Ivy League awarded their automatic bid to the regular-season champions. In the five tournaments played starting in 2017 (remember, the 2020 and 2021 tournaments were canceled), Princeton and Yale have won two apiece. The other title went to Penn. Three champions entered the tournament as the #2 seed, while two entered as the #1 seed. While […]

College Basketball

Conference Tournament Preview: Pac-12

History: The history is strong but will never be the same and is likely dead after this season. Only two teams (Washington State and Oregon State) were left behind during a mass exodus. Both schools will be affiliate members of the WCC next season, adding extra competition for St. Mary’s and Gonzaga. The Pac-12 ran four tournaments between […]

College Basketball

Conference Tournament Preview: AAC

History: The AAC is in constant churn. In the first year of the league (2013-2014), UConn gave the league instant credibility, using a second-place finish in the conference tournament to catapult them to winning the NCAA Tournament. UConn has since left for the Big East, while Louisville (who won the inaugural tournament – later vacated) is now in the ACC. Raiding […]

College Basketball

History: The league that produced UNLV‘s dominant squads from 1989-1991 is now a collection of California schools + Hawaii. UNLV leads the way with seven conference titles. Amongst current schools, Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara have the most titles (5). Their last NCAA Tournament win was in 2019 when UC Irvine defeated Kansas State in a 13-vs-4 matchup. […]

College Basketball

Conference Tournament Preview: SEC

History: Kentucky has 32 titles. The rest of the conference has 31. The Wildcats haven’t won since 2018. No team has pulled off the SEC Tournament/NCAA Tournament double since 2007 when Florida accomplished the feat for the second straight year. Returning Champion: Alabama The Crimson Tide won their eighth championship. As the #1 seed, they won three games […]

College Basketball

Conference Tournament Preview: SWAC

History: The SWAC is traditionally fodder in the NCAA Tournament, but their conference tournament is filled with history. Texas Southern has three straight championships and seven in the last nine years. Their streak of success has allowed them to overtake Southern for the most titles in history (11-9). In 2013, Southern played Gonzaga within six in a 16-vs-1 contest. The last time a […]

College Basketball

Conference Tournament Preview: Mountain West

History: Several teams have left the Mountain West through the years, but San Diego State is a constant and the all-time leader in titles (7) and title-game appearances (15). They have been in the championship game for six straight years. Returning Champion: San Diego State  It wasn’t easy, but the Aztecs (as the #1 seed) defeated Colorado […]

College Basketball

Conference Tournament Preview: Big Ten

History: The Big Ten has produced five straight different conference champions. In the 25 years this tournament has been played, the #1 seed has won ten times. Michigan State has the most titles, with six. Minnesota, Penn State, Indiana (wow), Rutgers, Nebraska, Maryland, and Northwestern have never cut down the nets. The only team to ever win this tournament and the NCAA […]

College Basketball

Conference Tournament Preview: WAC

History: The remaining league members are happy New Mexico State has moved on. From 2010-2023, the Aggies won this tournament nine times, including stretches where they won four and three in a row. The new king of the hill is Grand Canyon, who has won the crown in two of the last three years. The Antelopes […]