WCC, Horizon, Summit, Sun Belt, and Patriot Conference Tournaments Preview

In the five conference tournaments I am previewing today, we see the first two mid—major tournaments that will have a real impact on the bubble.

Gonzaga in the West Coast and Butler in the Horizon will both be in the tournament, but whether they get in as an automatic or at-large bid is yet to be determined.

West Coast (Las Vegas, NV)

Seeds: (1) Gonzaga (2) St. Mary's (3) Portland (4) San Francisco (5) Loyola Marymount (6) San Diego (7) Santa Clara (8) Pepperdine

2009 Tournament Champion: Gonzaga (Advanced to Sweet 16 of NCAA Tournament)

Game Schedule:

Friday: (5) Loyola Marymount vs. (8) Pepperdine, (6) San Diego vs. (7) Santa Clara

Saturday: (4) San Francisco vs. 5/8 winner, (3) Portland vs. 6/7 winner

Sunday: (1) Gonzaga vs. four, five or eight seed, (2) St. Mary's vs. three, six or seven seed

Monday: Final

In one of the stranger tournament formats, West Coast fans get an extra round out of their conference tournament, but the action will not heat up until Sunday.

If Gonzaga does lose, the WCC will get two teams in the big dance, with St. Mary's being the ideal choice to join the Zags.

Horizon (Quarterfinals & Semifinals @ Indianapolis, First Round and Final @ Higher Seed)

Seeds: (1) Butler (2) Wright State (3) UW-Green Bay (4) UW-Milwaukee (5) Cleveland State (6) Valparaiso (7) Detroit (8) Loyola (IL) (9) UIC (10) Youngstown State

2009 Tournament Champion: Cleveland State (Upset Wake Forest in NCAA First Round)

Game Schedule:

Tuesday: (3) Green Bay 81, (10) Youngstown State 67, (4)Milwaukee 73, (9) UIC 67 (5) Cleveland St. 80, (8) Loyola (IL) 66, (7) Detroit 89, (6) Valpo 82

Friday: (3) Green Bay vs. (7) Detroit, (4)Milwaukee vs. (5) Cleveland State

Saturday:  (1) Butler vs. 4/5 winner, (2) Wright State vs. 3/7 winner

Tuesday 3/9: Final

In another unusual format that favors the higher seeds, the Horizon is also hoping to get two teams in the tournament, with Butler being a lock to get in.

Last year, that did happen with Cleveland State not only winning the tournament, but then beating Wake Forest in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Summit (Sioux Falls, SD)

Seeds: (1) Oakland (2) IUPUI (3) Oral Roberts (4) South Dakota St. (5) IPFW (6) North Dakota St. (7) Western Illinois (8) UMKC

2009 Tournament Champion: North Dakota State (lost to Kansas in NCAA First Round)

Game Schedule:

Saturday: (1) Oakland vs. (8) UMKC, (2) IUPUI vs. (7) W. Illinois

Sunday: (3) Oral Roberts vs. (6) North Dakota St., (4) South Dakota St. vs. (5) IPFW

Monday: Semifinals

Tuesday: Final

Last season, the Bison of North Dakota State dominated the conference and gave Kansas a run for their money in the first round of the tournament.

This year, look for Oakland or IUPUI to return to the Big Dance.

Sun Belt (Hot Springs, Arkansas)

Seeds: (1) Troy (2) North Texas (3) Middle Tennessee St. (4) Western Kentucky   (5) Arkansas St. (6) Denver (7) UL-Lafayette (8) FAU (9) South Alabama (10) UL-Monroe (11) FIU (12) Arkansas-Little Rock (13) New Orleans

2009 Tournament Champion: Western Kentucky (Upset Illinois in NCAA First Round)

Game Schedule:

Saturday: (4) Western Kentucky vs. (13) New Orleans, (5) Arkansas St. vs. (12)Arkansas-Little Rock, (6) Denver vs. (11) FIU, (7) UL-Lafayette vs. (10) UL-Monroe, (8) FAU vs. (9) South Alabama

Sunday: (1) Troy vs. 8/9 winner, (2) North Texas vs. 7/10 winner, (3) Middle Tennessee St. vs. 6/11 winner, 4/13 winner vs. 5/12 winner

Monday: Semifinals

Tuesday: Final

When the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky win this tournament, they are usually always picked as an upset team in the NCAAs, but teams like Troy and North Texas are looking to win and represent the Sun Belt.

Patriot (All Games @ Higher Seed)

Seeds: (1) Lehigh (2) Bucknell (3) Lafayette (4) American (5) Navy (6) Colgate (7) Holy Cross (8) Army

2009 Tournament Champion: American (Lost to Villanova in NCAA First Round)

Game Schedule:

Tuesday: (1) Lehigh 64 (8) Army 45, (7) Holy Cross 67 (2) Bucknell 64 (3) Lafayette 73 (6) Colgate 65, (4) American 62 (5) Navy 60

Sunday: (1) Lehigh vs. (4) American, (3) Lafayette vs. (7) Holy Cross

Next Friday: Final

The fans of Lehigh and Lafayette are hoping for a big rivalry game to decide the automatic berth for the Patriot and could happen with both teams playing at home in the semifinals.

But, Lehigh should not overlook American, who is always a contender in the Patriot tourney.

College Hoopla Conference Tournament Preview Schedule:

Wednesday: A-Sun, Big South, OVC and MVC Conferences

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/355918-college-hoopla-conference-tourney-preview-a-sun-big-south-ovc-mvc

Thursday: America East, NEC, Colonial, MAAC and SoCon Conferences

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/356539-america-east-neccaa-maac-socon-college-hoopla-tournament-preview

Today: WCC, Horizon, Summit, Sun Belt and Patriot Conferences

Monday Part 1: Big West, Big Sky, SWAC, Southland and MEAC Conferences

Monday Part 2: MAC, C—USA, Mountain West, WAC and A—10 Conferences

Tuesday: BCS Conferences