Cinderella slides into her glass slippers every March. But many times before the Madness ensues, she can be found warming up for the Big Dance, cutting the rug at a weekend party.
No matter how poorly a college basketball squad played during the season, most teams are afforded an opportunity to win their conference tournament and grab a rung on the bracket ladder.
Covers dissects the six major conferences along with the most potent mid-major heading into this year’s NCAA Tournament. We also take a look at some of the biggest conference tournament upsets over the last decade in honor of Championship Week.
ACC – Greensboro, N.C., March 11-14
Duke had won five straight ACC titles going into the 2004 conference tournament. The Blue Devils had cruised to victories in the quarter and semifinal rounds but then ran into a Terrapin buzzsaw.
Maryland was a bubble team and the No. 6 seed heading into the tourney that year, but earned an automatic bid after defeating Duke, 95-87 in overtime, as 9-point underdogs. John Gilchrist and Jamar Smith combined to score 61 of the team’s 95 points.
After knocking off all three of the top ACC seeds, the Terps went on to win their first NCAA Tournament game versus UTEP but then lost to Syracuse in the second round.
Maryland will be one of the favorites to win the conference this season, but should also be getting plus-money odds in the wide open ACC.
A-10 – Atlantic City, N.J., March 12-14
This is the mid-major conference many pundits are predicting will make some noise during the 2010 Dance.
Last year in the A-10 tournament, No. 4 seed Temple downed No. 7 Duquense, which proves this conference crown is always up for grabs. But there was actually a bigger upset in the 2006 title game.
It sounds askew, but Xavier was the No. 10 seed in the tournament that year. Beginning with a defeat of No. 7 seed UMass, the Musketeers won four games in four days (4-0 ATS) to secure a berth in the national tourney.
In the title tilt, Justin Doellman knocked down two free throws with 5.1 seconds left and then Xavier blocked two shots at the other end of the court to hold off St. Joseph’s 62-61.
Big 12 – Kansas City, Mo., March 10-13
Upsets have come at a premium in the Big 12 for more than a decade.
Only three times since 1997 has a seed higher than No. 4 advanced to the conference championship. During that timeframe, on four occasions the No. 1 and 2 seeds have met and another four times the No. 1 and 3 seeds have played.
Last year, No. 9 seed Baylor reached the title bout but were defeated by Missouri. Over the last 10 seasons in the Big 12, the No. 1 and 2 seeds have won three championships while the No. 3 seed has claimed four.
Kansas will be the clear-cut favorite to hoist the Big 12 trophy this year, but the conference is full of dangerous teams like Kansas State, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Baylor and Texas.
Big East - Madison Square Garden March 9-13
Although Pittsburgh’s defeat of Georgetown in the 2008 Big East tournament was surprising, the biggest upset winner of the conference title during the last decade came in 2006.
Gerry McNamara and the Syracuse Orange entered the tourney seeded No. 9 and were out of the NCAA Tournament picture.
But the come-from-behind kids managed to squeak past Big East opponents with a one-point win in the first round, a two-point overtime win in the quarters (vs. No. 1 UConn), a one-point win in the semis and a four-point victory against Pitt in the championship game.
Syracuse became the lowest seed ever to win the conference and the first to win four games in the tournament.
The Orange covered three games as underdogs of 3.5 points or more during the run, but were dropped by Texas A&M in the opening round of the Dance.
Big Ten – Indianapolis, March 11-14
Not surprisingly, there haven’t been too many conference championship upsets in the boring Big Ten. Two years ago, Illinois advanced to the finals as a No. 10 seed but was beaten handily by Wisconsin.
You have to go back to the 2001 tourney to find any semblance of a surprise. Iowa rolled into the title match as a No. 6 seed while Indiana had just knocked off Illinois, who was the top team in the conference.
In an offensive struggle, Iowa took down Indiana, 62-61, as 5-point underdogs. The Hawkeyes continued to steam during the first round of the Madness by defeating Creighton but then got bumped by Kentucky to end the run.
As fans and bettors have witnessed, any school can beat any other school in the Big Ten so predicting this year’s tourney winner is a tough task.
Pac-10 – Los Angeles, March 10-13
The NCAA Tournament is usually littered with Pac-10 mainstays but the conference will be lucky to get three teams in this year. And it could be just one if Cal wins the tournament and Arizona State and Washington don’t show up.
You only have to look back to last year’s Pac-10 championship to find a major upset. Despite having two future NBAers on the squad, USC was a No. 6 seed with the only chance of getting to the Dance being on the wings of a conference title.
The Trojans did earn the automatic bid after defeating ASU, 66-63, becoming the lowest seed ever to win the championship. The victory was undoubtedly assisted by the home crowd at the Staples Center, but DeMar DeRozan’s 25 points didn’t hurt either.
The Men of Troy won’t be vying for a repeat as they banned themselves from postseason play for NCAA rules violations. The Golden Bears of Cal will be favored to don the crown this season, but the Pac-10 is another conference that could go to a team beyond the bubble.
SEC – Nashville, Tenn., March 11-14
It seems like every season there is a Cinderella team storming through the SEC tournament.
Two years ago, the surprise squads were Georgia from the East and Arkansas from the West. The two teams had a combined 13-19 conference record on the season but both bullied their way to the finals.
The Bulldogs came into tournament having lost 11-of-13 regular season games and were 7.5-point underdogs to the Hogs in the championship. Georgia stunned the Razorbacks, 66-57, and stole an NCAA bid away from a bubble team.
Georgia’s remarkable run came after it had endured a tornado, a change of venue and a Saturday doubleheader.
This season, Kentucky is a team that holds the talent to win by double digits in every game but is young and can be caught with its head in the clouds at times.