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Selection Sunday is less than two weeks away, and teams across the country are making last-minute attempts to secure their spot in the Big Dance. Conference tournaments have already begun with some teams’ season coming to an end. Successfully navigating through the conference bracket means a guaranteed spot in the NCAA Tournament. With so much on the line, we’re predicting the winners for all 31 conference tournaments in Division 1.
American East Conference (AEC)
American Athletic Conference (AAC)
No bid stealers from the AAC. Memphis has been ranked for over two months, going as high as No. 14 in the AP poll. Sophomore PJ Haggerty is a finalist for the Jerry West Award given out to the nation’s top shooting guard.
Atlantic 10 (A10)
Under HC Ryan Odom, the Rams excel at turning teams over and taking care of the basketball. They’ve lost just once since the calendar changed to 2025 and will continue their winning ways en route to an automatic bid.
Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)
The storied ACC would love nothing more than to add another team to the NCAA Tournament field. Duke enters as a heavy favorite, but the Tar Heels have consistently delivered on the biggest stage in recent years. Plus, Hubert Davis has them playing better as of late and they’ve never struggled to put points on the board (24th in scoring as of Mar. 4).
Atlantic Sun (ASUN)
Big 12
The Red Raiders are playing their best ball heading into March. They split the season series with the Big 12’s No. 1 seed, Houston, and boast one of the nation’s top offenses. Led by New Mexico transfer JT Toppin, pure point guard Elijah Hawkins, and deadeye shooter Chance McMillian, Texas Tech wins the Big 12 Tournament and earns a 2-seed in the NCAAs.
Big East
Winner: St. John’s
Hard to pick against the Johnnies in front of what should be a partisan crowd. The Red Storm recently clinched their first outright Big East title in 40 years. Now, they’ll look to win their first conference tournament title in 25 years. Rick Pitino’s team has not lost inside Madison Square Garden all year (18-0) and will continue that trend by steamrolling their competition in the Big East Tournament.
Big Sky
The Big Sky kicks off its conference tournament on Mar. 8 in Boise, Idaho. The top two teams in the conference, Montana and Northern Colorado, are expected to face off in the Finals for an automatic bid. While the Bears of Northern Colorado are led by a group of upperclassmen, don’t count out the Grizzlies. Leading scorer Money Williams (13.5 PPG) was moved to the bench in late January and the Grizzlies have gone 10-1 since the change.
Big South Conference
The High Point Panthers won the Big South regular season championship for the second year in a row. Last season, the Panthers lost in the semifinals of the conference tournament in an overtime thriller to Longwood. Alan Huss’ team is far better defensively this year and shouldn’t have trouble stamping their first NCAA Tournament berth in program history.
Big Ten
Big West
Coastal Athletic Association (CAA)
Conference USA (C-USA)
The C-USA regular season title will come down to the wire with three teams fighting for the top spot. For the tournament, the Liberty Flames should be considered the clear favorite over Jacksonville State and Middle Tennessee. The Flames stymied the conference’s top scorer, Jax State’s Jaron Pierre, both times they played this season. Pierre scored 22 points on 7-for-35 shooting across two games against Liberty.
Horizon League
The Panthers of Milwaukee boast a roster filled with experience. Five of their top six scorers are seniors. The only one who isn’t is junior Jamichael Stillwell who leads the Horizon League in rebounds (10.9 RPG).
Ivy League
Yale is looking to make its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance since 2016 under four-time Ivy League Coach of the Year James Jones. The Bulldogs are a well-balanced team that can light it up from three. The development of two-time Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year Bez Mbeng has been key for the Bulldogs in 2025. He leads the team in assists and steals and is shooting a career-high 36% from three.
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC)
The MAAC Tournament will more than likely have a first-time winner in 2025. The three top teams in the conference, Quinnipiac, Marist, and Merrimack, have never won the MAAC Tournament. Marist is the only one of the three to reach the NCAAs, having been eliminated in the Round of 64 in ’86 and ’87. The Bobcats of Quinnipiac are a tough and rugged bunch under HC Tom Pecora. Forwards Amarri Tice and Paul Otieno are double-double machines who can control the game down-low.
Mid-American Conference (MAC)
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC)
It’s Norfolk State’s tournament to lose. The Spartans play their home games 10 minutes away from where the MEAC Tournament will be held. They’ve dropped two in a row after starting 10-1 in conference play, but HC Robert Jones is familiar with game planning for a tourney format having won the MEAC Tournament twice before (’21 and ’22).
Missouri Valley Conference (MVC)
Mountain West Conference (MWC)
The Aztecs may need at least a deep run in the Mountain West Tournament to secure their spot in the NCAAs. That’s good news for a team that has reached the MWC Tournament Final in seven-straight seasons. They lost to New Mexico last year in the Final. But, the Aztec defense is much better this year thanks to the elite rim protection of 7-foot center Magoon Gwath.
Northeast Conference (NEC)
A loss for the Blue Devils in the Northeast Conference Tournament would be a massive surprise. They haven’t dropped a game since Jan. 12, and have since avenged both of their losses in conference play. The NEC Tournament games are held at the higher seeds’ home arena, granting the Blue Devils a home-court advantage for their entire run.
Ohio Valley Conference (OVC)
The SIUE Cougars secured the all-important double-bye by locking in the No. 2 seed in the OVC Tournament. That means they won’t play their first game until the semifinals. March is all about guard play, and the Cougars have a good one in the OVC’s leading scorer Ray’Sean Taylor (19.7 PPG).
Patriot League
Colgate has been the dominant team in this league, having won three-straight regular season titles and four consecutive Patriot League Tournament championships. However, they’re currently enduring one of their worst seasons under long-time HC Matt Langel. With the Raiders out of the way, the Bisons of Bucknell have a chance to seize the opportunity. They’ve won six in a row heading into tournament play and have had the No. 1 ranked offense in Patriot League play.
Southeastern Conference (SEC)
The most competitive conference in college basketball, the SEC Tournament will be one to surely keep an eye on. Out of 16 SEC teams, there are only two programs that would need a tournament championship to secure a berth in the NCAAs (LSU and South Carolina). The other 14 teams are either locks or on the bubble. The bracket could play out in any number of ways, but it will end up depending on which team can get hot. With the games set to be played in Nashville, the Volunteers are a definite contender. They’re playing well coming off wins against Alabama and Texas A&M. The defense is once again stout under HC Rick Barnes, and senior guards Chaz Lanier and Zakai Zeigler are game-changers on both ends of the floor.
Southern Conference (SoCon)
The Mocs are absolutely on fire with wins in 11-straight. It’s a team that loves to share the ball and get the best possible shot. They’ve had eight different players lead them in scoring in a game this year. Guard Honor Huff plays almost the entire game (35.1 MPG) and is shooting 41.7% on 7.8 three-point attempts.
Southland Conference
Teams don’t go 19-1 in conference by luck. The McNeese Cowboys ran roughshod through the Southland Conference during the regular season. Former LSU coach Will Wade has turned them into a powerhouse with 55 wins over two seasons. They won the conference tournament last year with two blowout victories. Expect a similar result this time around.
Southwest Athletic Conference (SWAC)
There are some strong NBA ties in the SWAC. Two-time NBA All-Star Reggie Theus is the head coach and athletic director at Bethune-Cookman. And, Jackson State’s coach is Mo Williams — 2009 All-Star and 2016 NBA Champion with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Williams’ Tigers started the season 0-13, but are 12-4 in conference play. The roster has no shortage of talent, including former four-star guard and Ole Miss transfer Daeshun Ruffin (15.0 PPG).
Summit League
The Bison are perhaps the best shooting team in the nation. Their starting lineup contains five players who can all knock down shots from the outside — including 6-foot-10 Jacksen Moni (20.6 PPG, 40.8 3PT% on 5.8 attempts). And, they’re able to use the space created by their shooters to generate easier looks at the basket.
Sun Belt
The Sun Belt is another conference where having a top-2 seed is incredibly important. The two top teams automatically gain entry into the semifinal. Four teams in the conference finished with a 13-5 record in conference play, but the extra byes were granted to South Alabama and James Madison. South Alabama has the experience, but the Dukes of James Madison have a very talented roster from top to bottom — including the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year, Mark Freeman. They’re not quite as good as they were last year when they went 32-4 under Mark Byington, but the Dukes have enough to win two games in the Sun Belt Tournament and take the crown.
West Coast Conference (WCC)
Winner: Saint Mary’s
The Gaels dethroned the Zags last year and will make it two in a row in 2025. Saint Mary’s has proven to be the better team this season, sweeping the season series over Gonzaga. Their lone loss in WCC play this year came against San Francisco, but the Gaels also have a 20-point win over the Dons. Mark Few’s Zags won’t go down without a fight, but Randy Bennett and Saint Mary’s take the WCC Tournament Championship again.
Western Athletic Conference (WAC)
It’s a two-team race in the WAC. Grand Canyon and Utah Valley are head and shoulders above the rest. We’ll give the nod to the Antelopes who have made the tournament three times since March Madness legend Bryce Drew took over as head coach in 2020.
