Predicting Power 6 NCAA Men’s Basketball Conference Tournaments

The Power 6 conferences in college basketball of the ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12, & the SEC produce very talented teams each season. With the regular season just about wrapped up, we’ll be predicting who will win their respective conference tournaments and earn the automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. 

ACC Winner: UNC Tar Heels

2023 is the first year in decades that we’ve had a Duke squad & UNC squad without Coach K or Roy Williams in charge at the same time. We’re entering a new era of basketball and the ACC is up for the taking. UNC & Duke aren’t the heavyweights they once were and there has been a battleground this year to get to the top. Only 3 teams are ranked in the top 25 from the ACC being Virginia, Miami, & Pittsburgh, but neither of the 3 are in the top 10 teams in the country as this conference is not as strong as it once was. The automatic bid from this conference is honestly anyone’s to take, but we think UNC is going to come up clutch when it matters most as they are a bubble team in need of that automatic bid if they hope to avenge their NCAA Championship loss last year.

Big 12 Winner: Kansas Jayhawks

The 2022 National Championship winner is looking to defend their title, but first they get a practice run with the Big 12 Tournament before the big dance. To put themselves in a better position for a run at the overall national championship, it would be most advantageous for the Jayhawks to go for it all in the Big 12 to get one of the four #1 seed up for grabs. The Jayhawks should run the table with their Big 12 foes. 

Big East Winner: Marquette Golden Eagles

The new look Big East has Villanova as a team not at the top anymore as the juggernaut has fallen since Jay Wright’s retirement. At the top currently is Marquette, but the Big East tournament could be won by a handful of teams looking for better seeding in March Madness including UConn, Xavier, & Providence who all have talented rosters. We’re giving the edge to the Golden Eagles to pull out the conference championship as Shaka Smart is making a legitimate case for coach of the year. 

Big Ten Winner: Indiana Hoosiers

The Boilermakers sit atop the Big Ten and are top 5 in the country, but they haven’t been as dominant in a conference that isn’t the powerhouse we’re accustomed to seeing. The only team in the Big Ten that Purdue lost to twice was the Indiana Hoosiers and for that reason we’re giving them the best chance of pulling out on top in the conference tournament. Indiana has its own fair share of losses, but so does everyone else in this conference besides Purdue. Purdue can’t seem to get past Indiana and it’s going to hurt their chances of trying to win this tournament and their seeding in the big one. 

PAC-12 Winner: Arizona Wildcats

The PAC-12 features two of the best teams in college basketball in the UCLA Bruins and the Arizona Wildcats. The winner of the PAC-12 is going to be one of those 2 teams as there is no one left in the conference that is even ranked. These are two teams that could win it all in the tournament and both have a lot to play for in terms of seeding with UCLA going for a #1 seed and #1 overall while Arizona is trying not to slip past the #2 lines. The two split the regular season series with UCLA winning the most recent bout which if they face in the conference tournament should be another exciting game to watch. 

SEC Winner: Alabama Crimson Tide

If you asked us 10 years ago, that Alabama’s basketball team would fare better than their football team, we would have never believed you. But here we are as Alabama has dominated the SEC all season. Alabama only has 2 conference losses which were against Tennessee & Texas A&M on the road and only 3 non-conference losses on the year as well. The Crimson Tide are the #2 team in the country and should have no problem getting through their conference opponents.