Predictions for every 2023 college basketball conference tournament champion
Championship Week is finally here in college basketball. Let’s take a look at who will win each conference tournament and earn a bid to March Madness.
March is a magical time for college basketball fans and it isn’t just about the NCAA Tournament. Championship week is an underrated gem that features games at all hours with the pressure of automatic bids to March Madness on the line.
Who will earn the first 32 tickets to the dance? Read on for predictions for each conference tournament below.
College Basketball Conference Tournament Predictions for every 2023 Champion
Note: For tournaments that are already completed as of post time we will summarize what happened.
Atlantic Sun Champions – Kennesaw State Owls
The Owls capped off a tremendous regular season by topping Liberty by a point to win the A-Sun Tournament. This is the first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history for Kennesaw State.
America East Champions – Vermont Catamounts
The America East Tournament is already in progress with the semifinals slated for tomorrow and the final on Saturday. The breaks between games and home-court advantage for the top seeds plays to the strength of Vermont, which will hold off UMass Lowell to get back to the dance.
AAC Champions – Houston Cougars
It will require beating Memphis for a third time but Kelvin Sampson’s team has looked like the most complete group all season long. Houston wins the American to maintain its spot on the top line.
Atlantic 10 Champions – Dayton Flyers
The A-10 conference tournament should be a wild one in Brooklyn but it feels like everything is starting to click for Dayton, which barely missed the dance a year ago. The Flyers have already proven they can beat VCU, the league’s top seed, and take the lone bid with another win over the Rams in the final.
ACC Champions – Miami Hurricanes
The mediocre ACC should lead to some upsets in the conference tournament but when in doubt go with the team playing the best basketball. That squad is Miami, whose toughest game will come against Duke in the semifinals.
Big 12 Champions – Texas Longhorns
You could make a case for any of the Big 12’s ten teams to get hot enough to cut down the nets in Kansas City. Texas is on the easier side of the bracket than Kansas and should ride the momentum of their beatdown of the Jayhawks in the regular season finale to win the conference tournament.
Big East Champions – UConn Huskies
A three-week slide in January allowed everyone to forget about how good the Huskies actually are. UCONN is playing its best basketball and holds off potential bid thief Villanova in the final to improve their seeding on Selection Sunday.
Big Sky Champions – Montana State Grizzlies
We’ve already had some chaos in the Big Sky Tournament with top-seeded Eastern Washington getting knocked out in the quarterfinals on a buzzer-beater by 10-22 Northern Arizona. Montana State takes advantage of the situation and closes out its second straight NCAA Tournament bid.