College basketball 2022-23 predictions: Picking each conference champion

The college basketball season is about to get underway next week. Who will be the champion of all 32 Division I conferences?

We are less than a week away from the start of the 2022-23 college basketball season and the quest for 352 Division I programs to grab one of 68 spots in the NCAA Tournament is underway. The easiest path to the tournament involves claiming the automatic bid from one of the 32 conferences in Division I, a far simpler path than claiming one of the 36 at-larges, especially for schools that don’t play in power conferences.

Who will win their conferences and secure their tickets to dance? Let’s project the winners of each league, starting in alphabetical order with the America East.

2022-23 College Basketball Conference Champion predictions

America East Conference Champion – Vermont Catamounts

This race should come down to the wire between reigning America East champion Vermont and newcomer Bryant, which made the NCAA Tournament last season out of the NEC. The Catamounts’ experience in the league, along with the dynamic duo of Dylan Penn and Finn Sullivan, will prove to be the difference.

American Athletic Conference Champion – Houston Cougars

Kelvin Sampson’s team is loaded and on a mission to make the Final Four in their home city. The return of Tramon Mark and Marcus Sasser, both of whom missed the NCAA Tournament last season due to injury, will power Houston to a dominant showing in the AAC.

Atlantic Sun Conference Champion – Liberty Flames

The Flames have become an NCAA Tournament staple over the past few years and the return of Darius McGhee, the reigning A-Sun Player of the Year, will power Liberty past the competition.

Atlantic 10 Conference Champion – Saint Louis Billikens

Dayton has gotten all the hype in the preseason but the Billikens are strong enough to topple them and make the A-10 a multi-bid league. The return of Javonte Perkins, who missed last season due to injury, will push Saint Louis over the edge.

ACC Champion – North Carolina Tar Heels

North Carolina returns nearly every key contributor from last year’s national runner-up and adds Northwestern transfer Pete Nance to take the place of Brady Manek. As long as Hubert Davis’ team is focused on the task at hand, the ACC will run through Chapel Hill.

Big 12 Conference Champion – Baylor Bears

The Jayhawks are the reigning national champions but it will take a bit of time for Kansas’ new pieces to gel. Baylor has more continuity and experience on its roster, which will allow the Bears to edge Kansas.

Big East Conference Champion – Creighton Bluejays

The Bluejays are a loaded offensive team and have incredible depth throughout their rotation. Gregg McDermott’s team unseats Villanova and is a dark-horse Final Four contender.

Big Sky Conference Champion – Montana State Bobcats

The momentum continues for Montana State, which made the NCAA Tournament last season for the first time since 1996, as they are the clear favorites out of the Big Sky.

Big South Conference Champion – Longwood Lancers

Last year’s Big South champions are set to repeat as Longwood aims to secure another appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Big Ten Conference Champion – Indiana Hoosiers

There is a bit of a power vacuum atop the Big Ten that Indiana is poised to seize thanks to its incredible continuity. The forward combination of Trayce Jackson-Davis, a potential first-round pick, and Race Thompson is going to be very tough to stop.

Big West Conference Champion – UC Santa Barbara Gauchos

The Gauchos boast a pair of All Big-West Preseason performers in Ajay Mitchell, the reigning Big West Freshman of the Year, and Cal grad transfer Andre Kelly. That duo should help UC Santa Barbara hold off Hawai’i in the Big West.

Colonial Conference Champion – Towson Tigers

Towson won the CAA’s regular season title a year ago but came up short in the conference tournament. That won’t happen again as the Tigers boast three players on the All-CAA Preseason First Team.

Conference USA Champion – UAB Blazers

Jelly Walker is back as the Blazers look to build off of last season’s surprise run to the NCAA Tournament and pick up the program’s first March Madness win since 2015.

Horizon Conference Champion – Northern Kentucky Norse

The Horizon should be a back-and-forth affair all season long but Northern Kentucky edges out Purdue-Fort Wayne to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

Ivy League Conference Champion – Pennsylvania Quakers

The Ivy League figures to have a tight race this season but the Quakers return their top four scorers, including guard Jordan Dingle, who averaged 20.9 points per game last season.

MAAC Champion – Iona Gaels

The Gaels peaked in January last season and stumbled down the stretch before a shocking elimination in the first round of the conference tournament. Rick Pitino has reloaded his roster with talent as Iona returns to March Madness for the sixth time in eight years.

MAC Champion – Toledo Rockets

The MAC figures to be a three-team race but Toledo returns four starters from last year’s 26-win team and adds three quality transfers to sneak past Akron and Kent State.

MEAC Champion – Norfolk State Spartans

Reigning MEAC Player of the Year Joe Bryant Jr is back as the Spartans will look to return to the NCAA Tournament for a third consecutive year.

Missouri Valley Conference Champion – Drake Bulldogs

Loyola-Chicago’s departure for the A-10 opens the door for Drake to claim MVC supremacy behind the stellar duo of MVC Preseason Player of the Year Tucker DeVries and Roman Penn.

Mountain West Conference Champion – San Diego State Aztecs

The Aztecs will look to represent the Mountain West better in March Madness after all four of the conference’s tournament teams were bounced by the end of the Round of 64. Few teams in the country have a better trio of players than San Diego State’s Nathan Mensah, JaeDon Lee and Matt Bradley.

NEC Champion – Sacred Heart Pioneers

Merrimack may be the best team in the NEC but remain ineligible for the NCAA Tournament for another year after transitioning to Division I in 2019, opening the door for Sacred Heart to claim the league’s automatic bid.

Ohio Valley Conference Champion – Tennessee State Tigers

Belmont and Murray State moved up to the Missouri Valley Conference, creating a power vacuum atop the OVC that Tennessee State fills this season on the backs of four Preseason All-OVC players.

Pac-12 Conference Champion – UCLA Bruins

Arizona’s losses in the talent department open the door for UCLA, which still has Tyger Campbell and Jaime Jaquez around to lead a loaded roster. There is stealth Final Four potential for the Bruins, who advanced that far as an 11-seed just two years ago.

Patriot League Champion – Colgate Raiders

The Raiders have gained a reputation for being a dangerous out in March thanks to their lightning-fast offense and that trend will help them blitz the Patriot League once again.

SEC Champion – Kentucky Wildcats

Getting back reigning National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe not only has Kentucky as a Top-5 team entering the season but one with legitimate national title hopes. John Calipari has put together a ridiculous non-conference schedule designed to test his squad ahead of March Madness, making them the clear favorites in a strong SEC.

Southern Conference Champion – Samford Bulldogs

The underrated mid-major league should have a fun battle between Furman and Samford but the depth of the Bulldogs allows them to pull the title out late.

Southland Conference Champion – Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islanders

The Islanders are one of just three teams in the country to return all five starters and their top five scorers this season. For a team that made the First Four a year ago, Corpus Christi has to believe that they can make the Round of 64 outright in March.

SWAC Champion – Texas Southern Tigers

The Tigers have the conference’s best defensive player in Karl Nicholas as they are poised to claim the SWAC title for the fifth time in seven years.

Summit League Conference Champion – Oral Roberts Golden Eagles

Max Abmas, one of the stars of Oral Roberts’ Sweet 16 run in the NCAA Tournament bubble in 2021, is back to help the Golden Eagles pursue another miraculous March run.

Sun Belt Conference Champion – Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns

Louisiana will look to build on a stunning run to the Sun Belt title game as an 8-seed last year by dominating the conference from start to finish behind Preseason Player of the Year Jordan Brown.

West Coast Conference Champions – Gonzaga Bulldogs

There’s no reason to overthink this one as Gonzaga is still the class of an improving WCC. The Bulldogs are deep and have a bona fide star in forward Drew Timme, who will look to finish his college career by delivering Gonzaga its first national championship in program history.

WAC Champion – Grand Canyon Antelopes

New Mexico State has dominated this conference for years but the Antelopes, behind WAC Preseason Player of the Year Jovan Blacksher Jr, have the firepower to knock off the Aggies this season.