Every year after the Super Bowl, sports fans around the country wallow in their sorrows as football season officially comes to an end. But we always seem to forget the madness that ensues just weeks after the big game. 

Now more than ever, college basketball has all eyes on them as the NBA TV ratings continue to free fall, which makes this year’s March Madness tournament one of the most exciting in recent memory. 

Starting with our own Pennsylvania teams, Pitt and Duquesne have seen sharp declines in their play since last season. Jeff Capel’s Pittsburgh team has fallen to 15-10 after starting the year 12-2, and Dru Joyce and Duquesne have struggled in the coach’s first season at the helm, currently boasting a record of 10-15. 

Unless some true March “Madness” happens, we won’t be seeing any of our local teams going dancing, but that doesn’t mean MM won’t be full of excitement. 

Starting out with the SEC, this year could be the greatest year in the history of the conference. The SEC motto is “It just means more,” and this year, it absolutely does because, at the time of this writing, the SEC has 15 of 16 teams over .500, and 13 of those 15 teams are currently projected to make March Madness. The record is 11 teams in the Big East in 2011. And the conference’s dominance has been headlined by two teams: Auburn and Florida. The Gator’s resurgence has been a thing to marvel over, as the nation’s best backcourt. headlined by Walter Clayton, has Florida in a firm position to be a #1 seed come March. Likewise, the Auburn offense has been historic. They currently grade out as the best offense in the history of advanced metric college basketball (1997-2025), and the Tigers center Johnni Broome is in the thick of one of the best NPOY races in a long time. 

Let’s jump to the conference that holds the other NPOY frontrunner, the ACC. Duke has dominated this conference all year, plain and simple. The Blue Devils freshman stars, led by Cooper Flagg, have exceeded all expectations and then some. The Blue Devils are the only thing that stands in the way of four SEC teams getting #1 seeds on selection Sunday. Likewise, Louisville has been a great surprise to the conference. The Cardinals currently sit at 20-6. Last year, they won just eight games and only three in conference. The first year under new head coach Pat Kelsey has been nothing short of a home run. Also noteworthy is Clemson. Brad Brownell’s team has their eyes on another team tournament run just one year removed from an Elite 8 appearance. 

The Big 10 has done what they’ve done best for the last five years: cannibalize themselves. Year in and year out, these teams just beat each other up. Outside of last year’s Purdue team, who saw themselves atop the conference all year, this year is back to normal with a power struggle at the top. Both Michigan teams have shown they have the tools to win the conference, but both teams have struggled with consistency away from home. Illinois and Purdue have also shown signs of pride, with Purdue being the likely champion of the conference. Regardless, anybody can lose to anybody on a given night, which is frightening coming NCAA tournament time. 

The big dogs of the Big 12 have been rather quiet this season, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t quietly been dominating to their usual standard. The Big 12 is weaker towards the bottom compared to most power five conferences, but at the top is dangerous as ever. Houston sits in control of the conference right now after a slow start to the season, but teams like Texas Tech, Iowa State, and Arizona are all not far behind as each of the four teams are currently ranked inside the top 15. Even though Houston is currently the top team, Iowa State continues to be the team to beat in the conference. 

Lastly, leaving the Power 5, The Big East deserves consideration. Once upon a time, the Big East was a decorated and highly competitive conference with teams like Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and West Virginia all competing among St. John’s and UConn. Sadly, since money took over, the Big East has become a shell of its former self. 

Being a shell of themselves is exactly what UConn has done this year, intentionally or not. The two-time defending national champions have struggled mightily compared to their last two seasons, and while they will still compete in this year’s NCAA tournament, they are no longer the top dog in the conference. That’s because St. John’s has had a complete program revival. Legendary HOF coach Rick Pitino has the Johnnies in almost unfamiliar territory, as the Red Storm currently sit atop the Big East with a record of 22-4 and a top 10 ranking in the AP poll for the first time in over 20 years. Foes of the Red Storm, Marquette and Creighton, have both bounced back nicely after losing talent to the NBA Draft this past summer, Creighton once again is one of the most overlooked schools in the country even after losing lead guard Pop Isaacs to injury in mid-December. 

Everybody always expects the power conference teams to run in March, and rightly so. The combination of marketing, money, and recruitment from these 60 or so schools outweighs everything the remaining 300 schools have to offer. But almost every year, we are treated to a Cinderella story. So here are some candidates to bust brackets this March. 

The Missouri Valley Conference has long been one of the best mid-major conferences in the country, and this year is no different. Bradley University is an offensive juggernaut, but they have a long way to go in order to catch last year’s champion, Drake.  Even after losing all of its best players and head coach, Drake rebuilt and retooled, and the Bulldogs are looking to take over March. Even after a loss to Bradley over the weekend, Drake still sits atop the MVC with a record of 23-3. 

Another mid-major league that needs to be talked about more is the Big West Conference. Atop this league is UC San Diego and UC Irvine, two schools with records of 20 wins and four losses, which would already make both of them two of the best mid-major schools in the country. UC San Diego has a slight edge over UC Irvine in the HTH and Net rankings. Another exciting factoid is that this year is the first year UCSD is NCAA tournament-eligible, an exciting opportunity for the Tritons. 

When all is said and done, March Madness will blow us away once again, and the only thing we can expect is the unexpected.