College Basketball's 5 Most Competitive Conference Races

Conference play in college basketball is in full swing and we've already starting to label the busts, the sleepers and the favorites in each conference.

Some conferences seem as if they are locked up already (e.g. Syracuse in the Big East, which virtually needs to defend home court to win the Big East title) while others remain a total mystery. This article is dedicated to the latter.

Here are the five conferences that should prove to be the most competitive down the stretch. By competitive, I mean "even," not necessarily the best. This will be a list of conferences that have four to five teams that can walk away with the title. Therefore, apologies to the ACC; while it may be entertaining to watch Duke and UNC battle it out, they have no contender outside of Tobacco Road.

Enjoy!

5. Horizon

The Horizon League isn't nearly as strong as it has been in the past couple of years. While it may be down overall in talent, it has increased in competitiveness.

While we could say UW-Milwaukee and Cleveland State are the favorites in the league, this would be forgetting about a little team named Butler, which is never a wise thing to do. The Bulldogs struggled early with losses to Louisville, Indiana, Xavier and Gonzaga, but also beat Purdue, Stanford and the aforementioned UWM, indicating they are capable of beating anyone in the Horizon.

After that, you have a serious logjam of teams, all of which are not only capable of beating the top teams but winning the championship themselves. Valpo, Youngstown State and Detroit have all already pulled off upsets this season (Valpo over Butler, YSU over Cleveland State and Detroit over Butler) and they can all make things interesting this season.

Quick side note: I appreciate the Horizon because unlike the other conferences on this list, they play a true round-robin conference schedule. This gives us a true champion...and saves me time so I don't have to look up who plays who only once!

The Sleeper

It may seem like a cop-out to take Butler as a sleeper to win their own conference, but the Bulldogs are 3-2 and in a tie for fourth place. They've already lost to Youngstown State and Valpo, the latter coming at home.

Still, they can do themselves a big favor and beat Cleveland State tonight in Indianapolis. Given that they're a three-point favorite over the best team in the conference, they should be favored in their remaining home games. It's a must-win for them as they still have to travel to UWM and then Cleveland State (they beat UWM at home already).

The Favorite

Dart-at-a-dartboard time—I'm going to take UWM. Although Cleveland State beat Vanderbilt in the opening game, I feel that UWM is more battle-tested with losses against Marquette, Wisconsin and Michigan State. They each have only one loss, but UWM's came at Butler while Cleveland State's came at home against Youngstown.

4. CAA

The Colonial has some familiar names in the mix: VCU, George Mason, Old Dominion and even Drexel.

Then, they have the leader, a surprising Georgia State team. After starting 0-3, Ron Hunter's Panthers team has won 12 of 13, including wins over Drexel and VCU. Their lone loss did come against George Mason, which means we currently have eight teams within one game of each other.

There is a bit of a drop-off after those five teams, but that doesn't mean teams like UNC-Wilmington, Delaware and Northeastern aren't capable of upsetting a top team and causing a shake-up. Delaware has already beaten Drexel, LaSalle (out of conference) and lost to Temple by three and Old Dominion by two in OT.

That said, it is unlikely Towson will beat any of the big boys. The Tigers are 0-17 and have lost 36 games in a row, an all-time record (though they apparently have a new gym opening and a highly touted recruiting class).

The Sleeper

Drexel got a gift from schedule-makers. The Dragons only play VCU and George Mason once...and they've already beaten them both! They still have to play Georgia State at home and travel to ODU. It will be the only time they play ODU (they lost to Georgia State on the road earlier). Overall, they may only lose once or twice more.

The Favorite

It's hard to pick against Drexel's schedule and even harder to pick against a defending Final Four team, but I'm going to take George Mason. GMU has already beaten ODU on the road and beaten Georgia State in their only encounter.

They oddly don't play VCU until Valentine's Day and then play them twice in the final three games (the season ends for them early on Feb. 25). If they can avoid an upset at Hofstra or at Delaware, there's a chance GMU doesn't lose until they see the Rams.

3. Pac-12

The Pac-12 may be the worst major conference (by far), but at least it is producing some close, competitive basketball.

How close? Figure that Stanford is considered one of the top three teams in the conference. Last night they beat Utah, the worst BCS team in the nation, by three points in Palo Alto. That is a close call.

Cal, Stanford, Arizona and Washington will all be there at the end, and heck, I wouldn't be surprised if UCLA and Oregon State found themselves in the thick of things.

Here's an interesting theory involving the Pac-12. Last week, Cal and Stanford made a trip to the Oregon schools. In all four games, the Oregon schools were favored over the Bay Area schools.

Stanford and Cal are considered the two best teams in the conference. If they are underdogs at Oregon and Oregon State, that means that every team visiting the Oregon schools will be an underdog this year.

It also means that Arizona and Washington, two teams that are rated higher than the Oregon schools (and maybe UCLA), will be favorites at all of their home games!

All in all, that means that Stanford, Cal, Oregon, Oregon State, Arizona and Washington will be favorites in at least half of their games this season. How are you supposed to pick a winner out of that?!

The Sleeper

Colorado seemed to be the beneficiaries of an easy start to their schedule, winning three straight Pac-12 games against lesser foes in Boulder. Then, last night they went into Berkeley and gave the Bears a serious scare. They don't have the most favorable schedule, getting to play the Washingtons and the SoCals only once, but they've already beaten both Washingtons (they go to LA for UCLA and USC next week).

Their next five are at Stanford, ASU, Arizona, at USC and at UCLA. If they can go 3-2 in that stretch then they'll be in it until the end.

The Favorite

Cal still figures to be the favorite. Last night they beat previously undefeated Colorado by seven at home despite 2-of-17 shooting from Jorge Gutierrez. They have one of the easier schedules, having to play Washington and Arizona only once. They'll go to Seattle next week and host Arizona in early February.

Besides those two games, the championship can come down to their home-and-home series against Stanford. They host the Cardinal next week and then travel to Palo Alto in the final game of the season.

2. Atlantic 10

If you think conference realignment has caused some problems with enumeration in football, then take a look at the A-10. Despite boldly showcasing "10" in their title, the conference has 14 teams.

Six of those teams, nearly half the total, have a legitimate shot to walk away with the regular-season crown: Xavier, Temple, LaSalle, St. Joseph's, St. Louis and Dayton.

Most teams in the conference have only played three games, yet, save for LaSalle, all have already lost once.

The great thing about this conference is that while those six figure to be the best, the next teams in the next tier can all play spoiler. We didn't mention St. Bonaventure, Richmond, UMass or Charlotte as being in the mix for a championship, but they can all beat any team in the conference on any given night. Case in point: Charlotte has already beaten St. Joe's, and St. Bonaventure beat Dayton.

The Sleeper

As mentioned previously, LaSalle is the only undefeated team and they finish with a relatively easy schedule. The next two weeks will be crucial for them. They travel to Dayton and Temple before coming home to host George Washington and Rhode Island.

A record of 3-1 in that stretch could put them in a position to win it all. They've already beaten Xavier and do not play them again.

The Favorite

It's tough to call, but I will pick Temple. We saw what the Owls are capable of with their win over Duke last week. Better yet, Temple plays St. Louis and Xavier only once. They've already beaten SLU on the road and their lone game against Xavier will be in Philadelphia.

They need to avoid upsets on the road against Charlotte and Richmond in the next four games.

1. Big Ten

The best conference in the nation is also going to be the most competitive (I suppose that makes sense). Ohio State and Indiana may appear to be the favorites in the conference, but they each sit in a tie for fourth place with two losses apiece.

It's Michigan State who has looked like the dominant team thus far. The Spartans haven't lost since before Thanksgiving and have already beaten Wisconsin and Indiana. They have to play each of those teams again, along with Purdue, Michigan and Ohio State twice each.

Like the Atlantic 10, the Big Ten gets its strength from the depth of the conference. We've already seen Illinois knock off Ohio State, Minnesota beat Indiana, Penn State beat Purdue and Iowa beat Wisconsin. Champaign, Happy Valley, Iowa City and Evanston are death traps for opposing teams. You have to bring it every single game in the Big Ten (it'll be interesting to see if Nebraska has any upsets in them as teams are not accustomed to Lincoln yet).

Michigan State, Indiana and Ohio State are all final four contenders. Then, throw in Wisconsin, Illinois, Purdue and Michigan as not only tourney teams but possible Sweet 16 representatives, and you see why the Big Ten is so competitive.

The Sleeper

Wisconsin looked absolutely awful against Michigan and Iowa (and, to a lesser extent, Michigan State). Still, they played much better against Purdue and have a schedule tailor-made for success. It is very possible that the Badgers win their next five (Nebraska, NW, at Illinois, Indiana, at Penn State) before they host the Buckeyes.

They only play Northwestern and Indiana once, both at home, and they've already played Michigan and Purdue on the road. They split with those two, but don't have to face them again.

The Favorite

Ohio State may be the best team in the land, but Michigan State remains the favorite in the conference (this alone should speak to the competitiveness). They have one of the harder schedules, getting to play Illinois, PSU, Iowa and Northwestern once, but they have already beaten Wisconsin and Indiana and are the only undefeated team in the conference.

They travel to Northwestern and Ann Arbor in the next week before returning home for Purdue and Minnesota. They should be able to go 3-1 in that stretch, but 4-0 would put them at an astounding 8-0.