College basketball’s top conferences are preparing for their respective tournaments this week before the chaos of the NCAA Tournament begins. With multiple at-large bids still up for grabs and new faces participating in various power-conference tournaments throughout the sport, the final days before Selection Sunday should provide fireworks.
Not only will league champions be determined this week, but a handful of teams on the bubble reveal can either win their conference tournament to secure a coveted automatic bid or add key wins to their respective résumés to ensure an at-large berth.
One team needing a big run to secure a potential at-large berth is North Carolina. Coming off a loss to Duke over the weekend, the Tar Heels will likely need to replicate what NC State did last spring and running the table in the ACC Tournament to avoid missing the NCAA Tournament for the second time in the last three years. The Blue Devils, meanwhile, are a heavy favorite to capture the ACC title.
Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah will participate in the Big 12 Tournament this week after departing the Pac-12 last summer. Houston is the favorite to win the Big 12 conference title, while Arizona has the fourth-best odds of winning the Big 12 in its first season as a member of the conference.
Two-time reigning national champion UConn is seeking a repeat as Big East champions but enters its tournament with the third-best odds behind St. John’s and Creighton. In the SEC, regular-season champion Auburn is the favorite to capture the conference title, followed by Florida and Alabama.
Our experts have combed through the conference tournament brackets of the sport’s top leagues and have come up with championship predictions and sleeper picks from each bracket.
Odds from SportsLine consensus
SportsLine conference tournament odds, picks: Proven experts share best bets for every tourney
ACC Tournament
ACC Tournament bracket, schedule, pairings
Breakdown: NC State went on a stunning run in last year’s ACC Tournament and parlayed its success to a Final Four appearance. If North Carolina — or any other team in the league — is going to cut down the nets, it starts with knocking off Duke as part of a similar run. The Blue Devils are a heavy favorite to capture the ACC Tournament title after steamrolling the competition during league play. Duke’s lone loss in the regular season against ACC opponents came on the road against Clemson. There’s a possibility for a rematch in the ACC title game.
Odds to win ACC Tournament
Big East Tournament
Big East Tournament bracket, schedule, pairings
Breakdown: One of the best stories in college basketball this season has been the resurgence of St. John’s under Rick Pitino. The Red Storm captured the Big East regular-season title and enter this week as the favorite to win the conference tournament. Regardless of how lackluster UConn was in the regular season (by its standards), the Huskies will be a dangerous out. Creighton and Marquette round out the teams from the Big East with the best odds of winning the title at historic Madison Square Garden.
Odds to win Big East Tournament
Big Ten Tournament
Big Ten Tournament bracket, schedule, pairings
Breakdown: The Big Ten expanded league membership to 18 this season, but only 15 teams will participate in this week’s conference tournament. That’s because the teams with the three worst records in league play (Nebraska, Penn State and Washington) finished below the cut line. Michigan State is seeking its first conference tournament title since 2019 and is a slight betting favorite over Maryland, Illinois and Purdue.
Odds to win Big Ten Tournament
Big 12 Tournament
Big 12 Tournament bracket, schedule, pairings
Breakdown: Before Houston joined the Big 12 conference ahead of the 2023-24 season, Kansas had won the regular season league title 16 of the last 18 years. Houston captured its second consecutive Big 12 regular season title after going 19-1 in league play and is favored to win the conference tournament. A team to keep an eye on this week is Baylor. The Bears began the season as a top-10 team but are in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament entirely. Iowa State is the reigning champion.
Odds to win Big 12 Tournament
SEC Tournament
SEC Tournament bracket, schedule, pairings
Breakdown: It’s possible when it’s all said and done, the SEC gets three No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament this weekend. That hasn’t happened since 2019, when Duke, North Carolina and Virginia earned a No. 1 seed. Auburn is in the driver’s seat to earn the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, while Florida, Tennessee and Alabama are all contenders to finish on the top line. Alabama is coming off a dramatic win over Auburn last weekend, and there is potential for a rematch in the SEC title game if both teams run the table.
Odds to win SEC Tournament
Who wins every college basketball game today, and which favorites should be on upset alert? Visit SportsLine now to get picks and predictions for every college basketball game, all from a model that simulates every game 10,000 times.
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