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Breaking down the top seven conferences in college basketball

It’s officially 2024 and that means league play in college basketball is here!

Check out our breakdown below for an in-depth assessment of the seven top conferences in the sport:

ACC
Favorite(s): Duke, North Carolina, Clemson
NCAA Tournament Worthy: Miami
Work To Do: Wake Forest, Virginia, NC State, Syracuse
Keep An Eye On: Wake Forest
The Skinny: The ACC has only had 10 teams reach the past two NCAA Tournaments, but three of its programs — North Carolina, Duke, and Miami — have participated in the last two Final Fours. Duke, North Carolina, and Clemson all look capable of winning multiple games during March Madness, but the team in this league that’s really intriguing is Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons have won nine straight games and are averaging 81.3 points. This is all happening without sharpshooting guard Damari Monsanto (13.3 points in 2022-23), who has yet to play this season due to a knee injury. After a 23-point win in its ACC opener on Saturday against Virginia Tech, Steve Forbes’ team will continue league play on Tuesday at Boston College.

Big 12
Favorite(s): Kansas
NCAA Tournament Worthy: Houston, Baylor, Texas, Oklahoma, BYU, Kansas State
Work To Do: Iowa State, Texas Tech, TCU, Cincinnati
Keep An Eye On: Houston, BYU
The Skinny: The Cougars are currently 13-0 and the top-ranked team in the NET, but Kelvin Sampson will be the first person to tell you that his team is about to step into a different weight class. Houston was a combined 46-6 in regular season league games over the past three years in the American Athletic Conference — that’s not going to happen in the Big 12. BYU meanwhile, is currently ranked second in the NET, but 10 of its first 12 wins have come against Quad 3 and 4 opponents. The Cougars though, are a perfect 9-0 at home, which will be critical as they also will begin their first season in the best conference in college basketball after a successful stint in the WCC.

Big East
Favorite(s): UConn, Marquette
NCAA Tournament Worthy: Providence, Villanova, Creighton
Work To Do: St. John’s, Butler, Xavier, Seton Hall
Keep An Eye On: St. John’s
The Skinny: The Red Storm haven’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 2000, but this rendition of St. John’s feels different because it’s being led by Rick Pitino. The Hall-of-Famer has drastically improved the Red Storm’s defense in the past few weeks after it surrendered 86 points in a loss to Boston College at the Barclays Center on Dec. 10th. Pitino’s teams have always gotten better throughout the course of a season and if that trend holds true over the next two months, St. John’s should be a very dangerous team in early March. This program hasn’t been to the main bracket of the NCAA Tournament since 2015 (it lost in the First Four in 2019).

Big Ten
Favorite(s): Purdue
NCAA Tournament Worthy: Illinois, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Ohio State, Michigan State, Nebraska
Work To Do: Maryland, Minnesota, Rutgers
Keep An Eye On: Illinois
The Skinny: The Illini looked like they were set to be Purdue’s top challenger in the Big Ten prior to Terrence Shannon Jr.’s arrest last week for rape. With Shannon — an All-American — now out of Illinois’ lineup for the foreseeable future, it’s hard to see any other team challenging the Boilers for the Big Ten regular season title. A few historical items: Northwestern has never played in the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons while Nebraska hasn’t heard its name called on Selection Sunday since 2014.

Mountain West
Favorite(s): San Diego State
NCAA Tournament Worthy: Colorado State, New Mexico, Nevada
Work To Do: Utah State
Keep An Eye On: New Mexico
The Skinny: Five teams from the Mountain West are currently ranked in the Top 38 of the NET — that’s simply incredible. This league has had four teams reach each of the past two NCAA Tournaments and history is on track to repeat itself in 2024. San Diego State, Colorado State, and Nevada all own wins against power conference opponents this season while New Mexico has yet to be consistently healthy due to nagging injuries to both Jaelen House and Jamal Mashburn Jr. If the Lobos can get all hands on deck, watch out.

Pac-12
Favorite(s): Arizona
NCAA Tournament Worthy: Colorado, Utah
Work To Do: Washington, Oregon
Keep An Eye On: Oregon
The Skinny: Despite Sunday’s loss at Stanford, it’s hard to see anyone challenging Arizona for a Pac-12 regular season title. Meanwhile, both Colorado and Utah have the best teams that they’ve had in years. A word to the wise though: Monitor Oregon closely. Dana Altman’s team is somehow 10-3 despite playing the majority of the season without both Nate Bittle (wrist) and N’Faly Dante (center) up front due to injuries. If the Ducks can somehow get their big men healthy, they’ll have answers on the baseline to complement burgeoning point guard Jackson Shelstad (14.7 points, 2.9 assists), who’s quickly separated himself as the best freshman in the Pac-12.

SEC
Favorite(s): Tennessee, Kentucky
NCAA Tournament Worthy: Auburn, Alabama, Mississippi State, Florida, Texas A&M, Ole Miss
Work To Do: South Carolina, Missouri, Georgia
Keep An Eye On: Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi State
The Skinny: The SEC is in position to have the most representation of any conference on Selection Sunday, but it remains to be seen just how many of those teams will be able to advance deep in the NCAA Tournament. Tennessee has yet to advance beyond the Sweet 16 under Rick Barnes despite averaging 24 wins in each of the past six seasons. Kentucky? The Wildcats have won eight of nine since falling to Kansas in the Champions Classic and look like they may have the sport’s highest ceiling. Meanwhile, the return of All-SEC big man Tolu Smith (16 points, nine rebounds on Sunday against Bethune-Cookman) from a foot injury makes Mississippi State a team to monitor. Another thing to note: Alabama’s 8-5 record is quite deceiving as eight of the Crimson Tide’s first 13 games have been played against Quad 1 and 2 opponents.

Leftovers