AthlonSports.com - 2008 Conference Notes

Big 12: Texas, Kansas among nation's elite

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:00:03 -0500

The Big 12, officially formed in time for the 1996-97 season, has gone 11 years without one of its members claiming a title. It has had six No. 1 seeds in that time and sent five teams to the Final Four. Here's a look at the league's chances of ending that streak.

SEC: League receives six bids in down year

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:00:02 -0500

Georgia somehow found a way to win four games in four days during the most bizarre SEC Tournament ever played and find its way into the NCAA Tournament. Check out the Dawgs' prospects along with the other five SEC teams.

ACC: All four league bids could make noise

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:00:02 -0500

As expected, North Carolina earned the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament while Duke, Clemson and Miami picked up at-large invitations to the Big Dance. We break down each team's chances in the tournament.

Big Ten: Little love shown to the Big Ten

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:00:01 -0500

The architects for this year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament must not think much of the Big Ten. While the four teams that received bids were no surprise, the real show of disrespect was in where the four qualifiers were seeded.

Big East: League ties record with eight bids

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:00:00 -0500

This year, the Big East tied its own record with eight NCAA Tournament bids. In addition, four Big East teams have been seeded 4th or higher and six are seeded 6th or higher. Here's a rundown of the chances of the Big East entries.

Pac-10: The year of the Pac-10

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:00:00 -0500

A record-tying six Pac-10 teams received NCAA Tournament bids and yet, that wasn't enough. League coaches believed that Arizona State should have been included as well. Here's a rundown of the prospects of the six Pac-10 entries.

Big Ten: Ready for redemption

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 10:00:00 -0500

As Big Ten conference tournament action commences this afternoon, several teams will have an opportunity to prove they’re better than either their record or the public’s perception suggests they are.

Big 12: Beasley is the Big 12's best

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:55:00 -0500

It seems unlikely, more so even than one-upping Kevin Durant, that someone could step in and be more dominant than Michael Beasley has been since first donning a Kansas State uniform, which is why he's Athlon's Big 12 Player of the Year.

ACC: Best conference may only get four bids

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 09:15:00 -0500

The ACC posted the nation’s best RPI for the fourth year out of the last five yet with play soon to begin in the 55th annual ACC Tournament in Charlotte, N.C., plenty of prognosticators predict that the conference will receive just four bids to the NCAA Tournament.

Pac-10: Love, Bruins prepared for postseason run

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 09:00:00 -0500

As the 11th Pac-10 Tournament unfolds Wednesday through Saturday at the Staples Center, UCLA has won its third consecutive regular-season conference championship, is heavily favored to capture its third postseason league title among the 11 events held and is readily counted on to advance to the Final Four for the third time in as many trips.

SEC: A look at the league's best

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 09:00:00 -0500

In this week's SEC notebook, Mitch Light hands out his postseason hardware and predicts the results from the upcoming SEC Tournament in Atlanta.

Big East: League tournament returns to New York

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 08:45:00 -0500

The 29th annual Big East Tournament returns to the Big Apple this week for its 26th run at Madison Square Garden. The Big East Conference has held its tournament in the same location; in this case the World’s Most Famous Arena, longer than any other conference tournament.

Big 12: Coaches looking for six NCAA bids

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 10:00:00 -0600

Big 12 Conference basketball coaches are begging for respect, and they want it in the form of NCAA Tournament bids. With three teams sitting on the 8-7 bubble, the coaches are looking for six entries into the Big Dance.

Big Ten: The silver lining for Penn State

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 09:45:00 -0600

Several Big Ten teams can claim missed opportunities during the 2007-08 season – Minnesota, Ohio State, Michigan State – but only Penn State has a valid ‘excuse’ for why it has failed to live up to lofty preseason expectations.

Pac-10: UCLA, Stanford battle for league title

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 09:30:00 -0600

Two months of black eyes and bruised egos have left two teams — UCLA and Stanford — standing, a pair of survivors reaching for a league championship while ducking the punches of one determined challenger after another.