Conference Rankings Based on Final Four Potential in 2014-15 Season

Everyone agrees that Kentucky is the top-ranked college basketball team in the country at the moment.

But which conference is No. 1?

It's certainly not the SEC, where Kentucky resides—or rather dominates. Other than the Wildcats, the conference has no other team currently residing in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

So is it the ACC, with unbeaten Virginia, Duke and a slew of others? Or the Big 12, which, like the ACC, currently boasts of six teams ranked in the Top 25?

And since we're basing these rankings on the conferences with the best Final Four potential in 2014-15 and not solely on who is ranked where currently, what about the Big Ten, the Pac-12, the Big East or even the surprising Missouri Valley?

Sharon Katz of ESPN.com wrote recently: "Most would agree that the argument comes down to the Big 12 and ACC. The Big 12 could potentially place eight of its 10 teams in the NCAA tournament, while the ACC could have four top-three seeds."

Forge ahead for a comprehensive look at how all the conferences stack up in terms of potential to have one or more teams reach the Final Four.

10. American Athletic

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SMU and Cincinnati, while not (yet) ranked, are two teams no one will want to play in March.

Tulsa (14-5 overall) actually leads the American with a 7-0 conference record. But the best two teams in the league might be SMU (16-4, 7-1) and Cincinnati (14-5, 5-2), although none of the teams were ranked in the Top 25 in the latest AP rankings released Monday.

SMU is coached by the legendary nomad Larry Brown, who would love to do something really memorable in what likely will be his last run—and this might be the best team he'll ever have at the school.

Cincinnati lost coach Mick Cronin for the season after being diagnosed with a non-life-threatening vascular condition known as arterial dissection, per ESPN.com. But the Bearcats reflect all the characteristics that Cronin is using to deal with his illness: gritty, determined and persistent.

Per usual for the last few seasons, they are offensively challenged at times, but they remain one of the better defensive teams in the country.

This conference also is home to defending national champion Connecticut, although folks tend to forget that these days. UConn (11-7, 4-2) has struggled mightily at times this season but don't count the Huskies totally out as March approaches in guard Ryan Boatright's senior season.

They could go on another run—or as coach Kevin Ollie told his players , per the Hartford Courant, they could miss the NCAA tournament altogether.

9. Atlantic 10

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Dayton's Archie Miller is one of several coaches turning heads in the A-10.

The A-10 is becoming a hotbed of coaches, young and old.

VCU's Shaka Smart heads up the only program currently occupying a spot in the Top 25, up to No. 14 in the latest rankings. Honestly, Smart's club is becoming a Final Four threat almost every season and has looked dominant at times in the conference while opening up 6-0 (and 16-3 overall).

There also is Dayton, coached by Archie Miller (the younger brother of Arizona's Sean Miller). The Flyers (16-3, 6-1) made noise in the NCAA tournament last year and dropped out of the Top 25 only last week after a loss at underrated Davidson, which is coached by an equally underrated veteran, Bob McKillop.

For the uninitiated, McKillop was a nine-time Southern Conference Coach of the Year before Davidson left the comfort of the SoCon for supposedly rougher waters in the A-10.

Yet he has the Wildcats off to a 5-2 start in their new league and 14-4 overall, proving once again that he's far more than just the guy who once rode a skinny, sharpshooting guard named Stephen Curry to the NCAA's Elite Eight. The Wildcats average 81.9 points per game, ranked ninth in the nation.

Also in the mix is George Washington (16-4, 6-1), coached by Mike Lonergan. The Colonials travel to VCU for a conference showdown worth keeping an eye on this Tuesday.

8. West Coast

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Gonzaga usually dunks on all comers in the West Coast Conference.

The problem with the West Coast, meaning the conference and not the geographical place, is that it's Gonzaga and then everyone else.

By a long shot.

So while Gonzaga is off to its usual 9-0 start in conference play and is 20-1 overall, which is good enough to earn a current No. 3 ranking in the nation, no other team in the West Coast is any kind of threat at all to make the Final Four. As usual, all such lofty aspirations for stealing conference glory rest in the Zags' hands.

Saint Mary's (16-4, 8-1) might be upset to hear that, but it's the truth.

And as usual, as the NCAA tournament approaches, everyone will start wondering just how good Gonzaga really is. Haters can and will hate, no matter what, but so far the Zags own a home win over SMU, a road win at UCLA, plus a win over Georgia at a neutral site—and their only loss came by the narrow margin of 66-63 at Arizona, which is now ranked No. 6 in the country.

It's a slim resume against quality opponents, to be sure, and it's not likely to help prepare them for a Final Four run. Plus as good as the Zags have been while making the NCAA tournament in each of the last 16 seasons, they have yet to make it back as far as the Elite Eight since Dan Monson was coaching and the NCAA streak started in 1999.

Mark Few took over as coach the next season and has been brilliant overall, but he hasn't even sniffed a Final Four appearance, despite gobs of regular-season success.

7. Missouri Valley

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Coach Gregg Marshall and his Wichita State Shockers are all about being a total team.

Whenever the Missouri Valley Conference is brought up, any possible Final Four conversations start and usually end with Wichita State.

This year, there is another Mo Valley team in the mix in Northern Iowa (18-2, 7-1). 

While Wichita State, coached by Gregg Marshall, remains the conference's strongest candidate to reach the Final Four, Northern Iowa is no joke. Wichita State (18-2, 8-0) is up to No. 12 in the latest Top 25 poll, but Northern Iowa isn't far behind at No. 18.

You might remember the Panthers from the 2010 NCAAs, when, as a No. 9 seed, they knocked off UNLV and No. 1 seed Kansas before losing in the Sweet Sixteen to Michigan State.

Marshall's Shockers, who won 35 games in a row from the start of last season through a first-round NCAA win, are still the team to beat in the conference. But they will face a real test this Saturday when they play Northern Iowa for the first time on the road. The two teams will meet again at Wichita State to close out the regular season on Feb. 28.

6. Big East

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Villanova is the class of the Big East, but it's chasing something bigger.

Villanova rose to No. 4 in the national rankings before getting blown out, 78-58, by Georgetown last week.

That dropped 'Nova to No. 7 in the nation but allowed the Hoyas (14-5, 6-2) to move into the Top 25 at No. 21.

Overall, the Big East is stronger than it was a year ago when Villanova and Creighton clearly were the class of the conference. In addition to 'Nova and Georgetown, Butler (15-6, 5-3) also moved into the Top 25 this week, while Seton Hall (13-6, 3-4) dropped out.

Villanova coach Jay Wright noted that his team has survived dismal stretches to win games earlier this season, but Georgetown was too good to allow that to happen.

"We played a team that we couldn't overcome," Wright told USA Today. "We've done this before, got down, got a little sloppy offensively, and we've been able to overcome it. This team is too good, this atmosphere (on Georgetown's home court) was too good, to overcome playing like that."

Are any of these teams good enough to make a charge to the Final Four by March? It's doubtful, but it's certainly not completely out of the question.

5. Pac-12

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Arizona coach Sean Miller (right) has all the pieces in place to make it to the Final Four.

The Pac-12 boasts two teams currently ranked inside the AP Top 25 in sixth-ranked Arizona (18-2, 6-1) and 11th-ranked Utah (16-3, 6-1). Both appear to have Final Four potential.

Arizona coach Sean Miller has taken his Wildcats to the NCAA Elite Eight in two of the last four seasons and to the Sweet Sixteen in another of those years. But they've never breached the Final Four. Miller is close friends with Kentucky coach John Calipari and has made no secret of the fact that he'd like to make his program the Kentucky of the West.

Scott Terrell of Wildcat Universe wrote in December: "Is Sean Miller about to go full Kentucky? I do think that's where this program is headed. Miller's friendship with John Calipari is well-documented, and he is just as ferocious a recruiter. I expect the star-studded (Arizona) classes to get bigger and better, and that earns a lot of early draft entrants."

That also means a certain sense of urgency to win now and always.

Utah, meanwhile, became the first team to beat Wichita State during the regular season in two years and also showed something while battling back from a 21-point deficit before eventually suffering a close loss to Kansas.

4. SEC

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It will be an upset if Kentucky doesn't make the Final Four.

Maybe, just for this basketball season, the SEC should be renamed the Kentucky Conference.

No one else in the SEC is worth much, but no team in the country is more loaded with talent than Kentucky. It will be an upset if the top-ranked, unbeaten Wildcats (19-0, 6-0) don't make it to the Final Four. In fact, they should make the championship game and win it all.

But they are ever so young and tend to lose focus from time to time. And with four freshmen part of a deep player rotation, several players have yet to experience the pressure of an NCAA tournament where one bad game spells the end of a season.

So for now, Kentucky lifts this otherwise mediocre conference higher than most in these rankings. And the Wildcats are so deep and talented that it isn't likely to change. But they truly are all this conference has to offer in the way of championship contenders this season (or most seasons lately, for that matter).

3. Big Ten

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The Big Ten is loaded with talent—and teams that could begin a run in March.

It took a last-second 3-point shot by Kentucky's Aaron Harrison, then only a freshman, to send Wisconsin home in last year's Final Four semifinal.

Coach Bo Ryan's Badgers have not forgotten the disappointment of that defeat one step away from the NCAA championship game. As a direct result, they have played this entire season as if on a singular mission, led by versatile senior center and All-American Frank Kaminsky, who can score inside and out, hitting the standstill jumper or putting it on the floor and getting to the basket.

Wisconsin (18-2, 6-1), currently ranked fifth in the nation, is not all the Big Ten has to offer by way of legitimate Final Four candidates, either.

Also ranked in the Top 25 in the latest AP poll was Maryland (18-3, 6-2) at No. 16. Indiana and Iowa both were ranked, too, until getting knocked off last week by Ohio State and Purdue, respectively, which only speaks to the conference's quality depth.

Two other Big Ten teams who could surprise down the stretch are Nebraska and Michigan State. Michigan might be in that mix, too, but it's not likely after losing All-American candidate Caris LeVert for the season because of a foot injury.

2. Big 12

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Coach Bill Self (left) has Kansas in position to win a very tough conference once again.

Kansas leads a total of six Big 12 teams in the latest Top 25 rankings.

Nothing in that sentence is a surprise. Kansas usually leads the way in this conference, which seems to get deeper in quality teams every season.

The Jayhawks (16-3, 5-1) are currently ranked No. 9 in the nation but are joined in the Top 25 by conference mates No. 15 Iowa State (14-4, 4-2), No. 17 West Virginia (16-3, 3-2), No. 19 Texas (14-5, 3-3), No. 20 Baylor (15-4, 3-3) and No. 24 Oklahoma (12-7, 3-4).

Iowa State was ranked as high as ninth before losing 78-73 at Texas Tech last Saturday. But the Cyclones under coach Fred Hoiberg are a legitimate Final Four threat, and so is Kansas. West Virginia and Baylor are going to be handfuls come March Madness as well.

Only one other conference in America is as deep with as many or more true threats to make it all the way to the Final Four.

1. ACC

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Virginia coach Tony Bennett wants to shout for all to hear that his team is for real.

Coach Tony Bennett and undefeated Virginia lead a contingent of five ACC schools ranked inside the Top 15 in the latest AP poll, including four inside the top 10. A sixth ACC team, Miami (Fla.), cracked the Top 25 poll at No. 23 just this week.

In addition to No. 2 Virginia (19-0, 7-0) and Miami (14-5, 4-2), the other ranked ACC schools include No. 4 Duke (17-2, 4-2), No. 8 Notre Dame (19-2, 7-1), No. 10 Louisville (16-3, 4-2) and No. 13 North Carolina (16-4, 6-1). 

Citing the ACC's mediocre 42-42 overall record against other top-10 RPI conferences, Mike DeCourcy, the highly respected Sporting News college basketball writer, wrote recently that "this may be the worst best conference ever."

But DeCourcy also correctly surmised that Duke and Virginia are true championship contenders, and both North Carolina and Louisville have enough young talent to get on a roll and make possible runs to the Final Four. That's more legitimate Final Four possibilities than any other league in the country can offer with a straight face.

"Duke and Virginia have been extraordinary, and North Carolina is not beyond developing into a team that could be their equal," DeCourcy wrote. He could have added that no one should ever count out Louisville as long as Rick Pitino coaches the Cardinals.

Joe Menzer has written six books, including one on college basketball entitled "Four Corners," and now writes about that sport and others for Bleacher Report as well as working as a writer and editor for FoxSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @OneMenz.