2013 March Madness Begins

There have been a couple of themes with College basketball this season:

1) There is no dominant team this season. All of the top teams have shown flaws this season. There are literally at least 15 teams that have a legitimate shot of winning the NCAA tournament.

2) The Big Ten is the power conference this year. They have consistently had 5 teams in the top 25 all season long. That being said, only Indiana has proven to be dominant. Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Ohio State have all shown weaknesses.

Here are the current teams that are definitely have a spot in the Tournament so far:

ACC - Duke, Miami, NC State
The ACC is pretty top-heavy with Duke and Miami leading the conference. NC State would have to absolutely collapse not to make it to the Big Dance. The other teams that have a look at it are North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland. Of these teams, I could only see Duke and Miami going past the 2nd round.

A10 - Butler, St Louis
The A10 should get four teams in the tournament this year. Butler has proven to always be a tough team to beat, although they are currently looking up at St Louis in the standings. VCU, La Salle and Temple will be fighting for the third and fourth NCAA bid. If things work out right, the conference may get a fifth team in the First Four. Big East - Louisville, Syracuse, Georgetown, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame
It's too bad that the Big East is breaking up. This was the best basketball conference for the majority of the past 25 years. Now, the Catholic 7 schools (DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall and Villanova) are leaving and they are being replaced with Conference USA squads.

With all of that being said, the Big East is still the second best college basketball conference. Louisville, Syracuse, Georgetown and Marquette are all capable of a making deep runs this year. The Big East will probably get at least 8 team into the tournament.

Big Ten - Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois
The Big Ten has been the power conference this year so far. They have had to beat up on each other during the season and you will probably see the conference champion with 4 losses. The seven teams listed are all definitely in the tournament.

Of these teams, I would be worried about taking Michigan or Ohio State deep into the tournament. Both teams have shown significant weaknesses that a bad matchup will exploit during tournament time. On the other hand, I would expect Indiana, Michigan State and Wisconsin to be able to make decent runs past the first weekend.

Big 12 - Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma
Kansas is still the class of the league, although Kansas State and Oklahoma State are hot on their trail. Those are the only teams that I really see making any noise during the tournament. Oklahoma should be in based upon their strength of schedule. This gives them the nod over Iowa State, who still could make it as well.

Mountain West - New Mexico, Colorado State, UNLV, San Diego State
Don't sleep on the Mountain West this year. The strength of schedule for New Mexico, Colorado State and UNLV are all top 30. However, you will want to watch out because this conference has traditionally struggled with their high seeds, so be careful taking them deep.

Pac 12 - Arizona, Colorado, Oregon
Now, there should be more than 3 teams making from the Pac 12, like UCLA and California. But, this is just indicative of the Pac 12 being one of the weaker conferences again this year. The problem is that many of the teams play a very soft non-conference schedule so many of the teams records seem better than they actually are.

SEC - Florida, Missouri
Perhaps the biggest surprise this year is how poor the SEC has been. Kentucky should still get in as well, although they won't be the same without Nerlens Noel. But, there is likely only one other team that will make the tournament between Tennessee, Ole Miss, Alabama and Arkansas. As with the Pac 12, many of these teams' strength of schedule is very poor.

Mid Majors - Gonzaga, Wichita State, Memphis, Creighton
Belmont should also probably be in the tournament as well, but they should probably still win their conference tournament so they don't give the selection committee a reason to leave them out. The same holds true for Middle Tennessee, Saint Mary's (been snubbed a couple of times), Akron and Louisiana Tech. All of these teams have great records for conferences that will likely only receive 1 NCAA bid.

Gonzaga is primed to be the #1 ranked team in the country. This is a team that will likely go deep into the tournament. Wichita State and Creighton will also be a very tough out.

You can learn more about this year's upcoming NCAA tournament at MarchMadnessAction.com. March is the best time of year for betting on basketball. The NCAA tournament is second only behind the Superbowl for placing wagers. You can find live betting at http://www.marchmadnessaction.com/betting.php. Visit them for more information.