Patriot League:

Headline: It might not be good for the strength of this league, but the Lafayette Leopards are one of the most interesting stories in basketball. They entered conference play 0-12 against D1 opponents, yes not a single D1 win!! They promptly flipped a switch when conference play began to be 6-0 in conference, that start includes a win at Colgate who has owned this league in recent years. How sustainable is this run? Can the Leopards keep it going or will Colgate take back over? We can’t forget the American Eagles either as they are lurking in 3rd place in case the top 2 stumble.

Surprise(s): Lafayette Leopards – Lafayette isn’t just a surprise because of how they started the season, but they were tied for 7th in the preseason poll. Seriously this amazing run to start conference play for the Leopards came out of nowhere!

Disappointment(s): Lehigh Mountain Hawks – Lehigh was expected to be the team to challenge Colgate for the conference title this year but they’ve struggled instead. The Mountain Hawks are 2-5 in conference play and 5-13 overall. Not what they had in mind. Just to end this on a positive note, I will say that we don’t give enough credit to what an awesome moniker the Mountain Hawks is.

SEC:

Headline: The SEC once again has some top contenders. Tennessee is once again one of the best teams in the regular season. It’s what you can usually expect for the Volunteers, their defense is fantastic but sometimes their offense can get cold. Can they find enough offensive consistency to finally make a long tournament run? Kentucky is the exact opposite. The Wildcats are led by an explosive offense that can score on everyone. The issue for Kentucky is the inconsistency on the defensive side, can Calipari find answers for this before the tournament? The best national title contender from this conference may not be Kentucky or Tennessee, but Auburn. The Tigers are electric on the offensive end and are one of the hottest teams in the country. Auburn only lost an opener to Baylor and a road game to Appalachian State (seriously Auburn you deserve massive props for scheduling that game, very awesome). Since that Appalachian State loss, the Tigers have won 11 straight. Watch out for Bruce Pearl’s squad to be a championship contender.

Surprise(s): South Carolina Gamecocks – Nothing was expected of the Gamecocks this year, they were picked dead last in the preseason poll but instead they find themselves solidly in the tournament especially after a massive win over Kentucky last night. The last time South Carolina made the tournament they went on a surprise final 4 run. They aren’t the only surprise though, the Georgia Bulldogs were 12th in preseason but are solidly in the middle of the conference and could make the tournament for the first time since 2015! Ole Miss also started strong but have slid in conference play.

Disappointment(s): Arkansas Razorbacks – The Muss Bus typically takes a little time to start up each year, but the Bus goes strong once it gets rolling. It kept feeling like the bus would get started at some point, but instead it’s broken down on the side of the road. Arkansas isn’t going to make the tournament. Texas A&M was expected to be one of the best SEC teams this year but instead find themselves squarely on the bubble.

SOCON:

Headline: If you aren’t familiar with the SOCON you need to be. This conference is always a lot of fun and the champion often is a threat in the NCAA tournament. Last year Furman upset Virginia, the year before Chattanooga came soooo close against Illinois. Don’t forget Wofford’s fantastic season a few years back where they were a 7 seed and years back when Mercer upset Duke. The conference is competitive once again. Samford leads the way with an unbeaten conference record and the nation’s longest winning streak. The Bulldogs opened the season 0-2 but haven’t lost since. They play a very aggressive style to force turnovers and make opponents uncomfortable, they seriously could be a lot of fun to see in the tournament. They aren’t alone, however, UNC Greensboro has a fantastic team as well. The Spartans took down Arkansas before the wheels came off the Muss Bus and are 14-5, Samford got the best of them at Samford but the Spartans will get a return trip from the Bulldogs soon. Western Carolina can’t be forgotten about either, the Catamounts are 15-4 including beating Notre Dame and McNeese State early in the year. Chattanooga will always be a factor too. Again a very fun conference to watch any time it’s on TV.

Surprise(s): Samford Bulldogs – This isn’t a complete surprise, Samford was expected to challenge for the conference but they weren’t expected to be this great.

Disappointment(s): Furman Paladins – The Dins were expected to repeat as conference champs with the nucleus of last year’s amazing team back. A tough non-conference schedule and some injuries got the best of them in a disappointing start. They aren’t out of it though, Furman is beginning to gain momentum winning their last 4 games.

Southland:

Headline: The story of this conference is the comeback of Will “strong ass offer” Wade. Most are familiar with his story by now, but McNeese State, desperate for some positive momentum gave Wade a second chance. It has worked out beautifully for the Cowboys as they’ve charged to a 17-2 start. They slow the pace and play awesome defense. They are far and away the dominant team in this league, and the best team this league has seen since Stephen F Austin left the conference. The Wade story is an interesting one clearly, some don’t like him getting a 2nd chance, but when you consider all that the city of Lake Charles has been through, giving them this exciting team to cheer for is a nice story. There’s some teams that are ready to deny McNeese State a tournament bid. Texas A&M Corpus Christi has been one of the top programs in the conference lately and took McNeese State to the wire in an absolutely wild game the other night. Nicholls upset LSU early in the year and has been in the top half of the conference as well.

Surprise(s): Lamar Cardinals – Lamar is another nice story out of this conference. They’ve been a struggling program but finally found momentum this year. They were picked near the bottom of the conference but instead they are currently 3rd in the Southland standings and have a winning record.

Disappointment(s): Southeastern Louisiana Lions – The Lions just barely edged McNeese State as the favorite to win the conference in preseason but this season has been a massive disappointment. SE Louisiana has struggled to a 7-12 record (albeit against a tough non-conference schedule) and are 2-4 in conference play.

SWAC:

Headline: The SWAC is wide open or is it? There are 6 teams all within a game of the conference lead. Alabama State, Jackson State, and Grambling are all tied at 4-1 and just behind are Southern U, Bethune-Cookman and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (UAPB has an awesome logo by the way.) This league feels wide open, but if you know anything about SWAC basketball you know it isn’t. Lurking just behind those 6 are the Texas Southern Tigers and they absolutely own this league. It doesn’t matter how the regular season goes for the Tigers, they always win the conference tournament to get the NCAA tournament bid. Last year was a little more dramatic than usual as Texas Southern was an 8 seed but still won the conference tournament. If Texas Southern doesn’t win it there are still are some interesting teams in this conference, no one has a good record because they all play a lot of buy games to fund their programs but Jackson State beat Missouri, and Southern has wins over UNLV and Mississippi State so those might be a couple teams to watch for.

Surprise(s): Alabama State Hornets – Not much was expected of Alabama State this year, they were picked to finish 8th and yet they’re currently tied for the conference lead. Alabama State has won 5 of their last 6 so they’re getting hot at the right time. Bethune-Cookman and Arkansas-Pine Bluff were picked 9th and 10th but as mentioned above they sit just a game back! Lots of competition in the SWAC.

Disappointment(s): Alcorn State Braves – It’s hard to name a disappointment because this league is so competitive and we’re just learning how these teams match up with each other following them having so many buy games. Alcorn State was picked 3rd in the conference but only has 3 wins all season so far. That being said, they did go TWO WHOLE MONTHS without a home game! So the Braves may just be figuring things out. They are 2-3 in conference play so they’re behind early. Texas Southern technically qualifies here too but past history tells us we aren’t in Texas Southern season yet. Mississippi Valley State is currently winless at 0-19, c’mon Delta Devils get that win on the board soon!