I know that we are more than halfway through the college basketball season, but I am still going to do a checkup. I guess we will call this one the 3/4 mark checkup. After all, there is still about 4 weeks until selection Sunday. I'm going to quickly go through each conference and pick a new winner. I will also name a few surprise teams, both disappointing and good. Okay, lets go.

I'll start with the SEC. Wow was I way off. I, much like everyone else, thought Kentucky would cruise. Kentucky stinks. They have lost 4 straight. This might be one of Calipari's "worst" teams. A few other teams that I had high hopes for, Missouri and Texas A&M, have been subpar. Part of that is injury, Missouri, and part is a very slow conference start, A&M. Texas A&M has turned it around lately, and Missouri may be getting Michael Porter Jr back, but it might be too little too late. A few teams in the SEC that have really surprised me, in a good way, are Auburn and Tennessee. I don't think i even mentioned either of them, and both are ranked. Auburn is a top 10 team in fact. I'm sure they will be sanctioned soon, Bruce Pearl is their coach, but Auburn is playing great right now. Tennessee has hovered around the top 20, but they have steadily been ranked almost all year. Besides the teams I have mentioned, no none else in the SEC has really stood out. South Carolina won't be making another miracle run, LSU is lousy, Vanderbilt stinks, Georgia is blah and Florida just doesn't seem to have it going right now. So, at this point, i do not see how Auburn doesn't easily win the conference. They will have to probably vacate it soon, but good for them right now.

Next, lets go to the Big 12. KU is still leading, but they have not been the force that they usually are. They have won 12 straight Big 12 titles, and 13 is possible, but it will be harder. Oklahoma and Trae Young looked like a real threat, but they have stumbled lately. They look to be a flash in the pan. West Virginia made it all the way up to number 2 in the country earlier this year, but they have fallen back to earth recently. TCU is better, but not as good as some thought they could be. Baylor is very hit and miss. Same with KSU. And Texas, even with Mo Bamba, isn't that great. No, KU biggest threat is Texas Tech. They have been awesome this year. Kudos to them for the way they have come out and play. This has been a wonderful year for them so far. I'm still going to go with KU, but it wouldn't shock me is Texas Tech finally took the crown from them.

Now lets look at the Pac 12. There is not one team that really stands out to me. Arizona and Arizona State are the 2 best teams, but they have really had up and down years. Arizona lost 3 of their first 7 games, but started to win again, but have faltered lately. ASU, much like WVU started super hot, raised to number 3, but they are barely still in the top 25. The usual powers in the conference, UCLA and Stanford, they are mediocre. Washington is better, but still not good. Washington State stinks. Oregon is really bad, and I thought they might find some sustained success. Oregon State may as well not even have a basketball program. The rest of the conference is blah. I would not be shocked if the Arizona schools are the only ones that make the tournament. For now, I'll go with Arizona to win because they have DeAndre Ayton, and he is amazing.

The ACC is good as usual, but maybe a tad overrated, in my opinion. Duke is great offensively, and Marvin Bagley Jr is incredible, but they are horrendous defensively. Also, if they aren't hitting threes, they struggle. I have also loved watching Grayson Allen play very poorly this year. Coach K has a good squad, but if he doesn't get these kids, the freshman he recruits just like John Calipari, to play defense, they can be bounced early. Virginia plays the best defense in the country, but their offense is bad. They are the opposite of Duke. They can win games with defense, but if they don't hit shots, they are susceptible to lose any given night. UNC, the defending champs, have been very hit or miss this year. Some nights they look great, other night, blah. They have seniors too, which baffles me as to why they are so up and down. Clemson has been awesome this season. They are fun to watch, and I think they can surprise some people. Louisville is somehow near the top, but none of their games matter because they are a bunch of cheaters. Miami is solid, but being a top 10 team earlier this year was a bit of a stretch. Virginia Tech and FSU are okay, and they will fight for a win, but they will be bubble teams the rest of the year. The rest of the conference is a clutter of teams with anywhere from 11-15 wins. The ACC isn't as tough as it usually is. I'm still going to pick Duke, they have the most talent. But, I would love to see Clemson pull it out somehow.

The Big East is a 2 team race. Either Xavier or Villanova is going to win. Creighton is okay, so is Providence, and shouts out to Butler for always playing hard. But, they won't matter in the end. Seton Hall has been a disappointment this year. They were supposed to be better. But, both Xavier and Villanova are top 5 teams and they have earned that ranking. I'm going to go with Xavier just to appease RD, but they better go further than the second round in the NCAA tournament. They are hyper talented this year.

The AAC is like the Big East, a 2 team league. Those 2 teams, Cincinnati and Wichita State. While both have squandered a few games recently, Cincy is better and they could be as high as a 2 seed in the tournament. I know Houston has 20 wins, and 10 in conference, but Cincy and WSU are better. Again, to appease RD, I'll go with the Bearcats, but they better do good in the tournament too.

Finally, as far as major conferences go, the Big Ten. This conference is between 5 teams. The University of Ohio State, MSU, Nebraska(WHAT!), Purdue and Michigan. Everyone else is very ho hum. PSU has 19 wins, and have played really well, but i do not think they are a tourney team. Northwestern has stumbled. Iowa, Wisconsin and Rutgers all stink. Illinois is god awful. The Big Ten, near the bottom, is really down this year. But, those 5 teams at the top are solid. The University of Ohio State is the biggest surprise to me. I expected very little of them, but they have been very good. MSU, while I think they should get the death penalty, still has some very solid players, and they know how to win. They will always be a tough out. Nebraska has been a total surprise to me as well. They have 11 wins in conference. That is awesome. They could easily make the tournament this year. Purdue, and I know they have lost 3 straight, is still very, very good. They have upperclassmen everywhere, and it is good to get the losing out of the way now. They did win 19 straight after all, and that is a sign of a great team. Michigan has 21 wins, and 10 in conference, but they have been wildly inconsistent on offense, which is kind of a shock. They do play solid defense though. Even though MSU beat them recently, I'm going to go with Purdue. They are having a special year.

A few teams outside of major conferences i want to single out are Rhode Island, St Mary's and, of course, Gonzaga. These teams are all very good, they are ranked, and they can make deep tourney runs. Every year a mid major does, and these are the three best suspects to do that this March.

As far as my Final Four, I'll go with Duke, Purdue, Texas Tech(my wild card) and Xavier. The title game will pit Purdue against Xavier, making this a real "Sophie's Choice" for RD. I'll go with Purdue to win the title. Like I said, they are having a magical year, even with their recent "slide". My Player of the Year will be Trae Young. Everyone loves this kid, and he is great. He has struggled as of late, but he will catch fire again, and he has built up a great reputation all year long. I think Matt Painter will win a much deserved Coach of the Year this year as well.

Okay, there is my 3/4 NCAA men's basketball checkup. As far as the women's game, UCONN is on a war path and will obliterate every team in their way. They will be the women's champ easily. Now lets get to some March Madness.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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