MADDENING

Well, there are a butt load of tourneys kicking off in the next couple days. Now these predictions will not be quite as in depth as the previous posts, because most of them are the major conferences and you know all about them, plus there's so many that if they were too in-depth this post would drag on forever. Plus it's just so draining. So these'll be pretty short and sweet. got it? Good. Alright, here goes:

BIG WEST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP:
Well the top two seeds get a free pass to the semis, so ya gotta like their chances. This tourney seems cut and dry, no upsets on the way. Which means it'll come down to the Aaron Nixon and the Long Beach State 49ers over Derek Stockalper and the Mustangs of Cal-Poly. My wild card team is the Titans of Cal-State Fullerton, and not just because their best player is Bobby Brown. I like them cuz, well, it's my perogative. We do wish that Cal-State Northridge Matadors would make the tournament. I mean really, that would be the ideal team for the "Ole, ole, ole" chant. So, you heard it here, the 49ers are going dancing like there's a gold rush!

THE FIRSTENERGY MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP:
The Zips of Akron are the favorites and we are not one to argue. The Zips are the top dog, led by Romeo Travis. Now Toledo and Kent State couldmake a run at the title, and Buffalo does have this year's "Shaq of the MAC", Yassin Idbihi. But, Idbihi doesn't have the supporting cast, and we feel it's the Zips'll take this one.We dolike the Broncos of Western Michigan to pull off a quarterfinal upset over Kent State. Zipitty-do-dah, Akron is going to the Big Dance.

SOUTHWESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
The favorite is the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils. But we are going way, way, way, way out on a limb and picking an upset special. We like Deforrest Riley-Smith and the Jaguars of Southern University. We don't really know why, just a hunch. I mean you could go gambling on Grambling, but we wouldn't. It's all Jaguars, baby!

THE ATLANTIC-10 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONHIP
This conference is not what it once was. We love that UMASS is somewhat good again, with A-10 Player of the Year, Stephane Lasme, and of course Tiki Mayben. But we don't feel the Minutemen have enough to get by the mighty Musketeers of Xavier. XU is the #1 seed and the defending tournament champs. Led by Justin Doellman, Xavier should cruise to the finale against UMASS. The two had one meeting this year at Xavier, with the Musketeers taking it by 6. Now this will be on a neutral court, but we think the Musketeers will still edge the Minutemen to lock up the automatic bid, leaving Umass to wait and wonder if, they too, will be dancing.

BIG EAST MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY AEROPOSTALE
Once you get tothe majors,it gets harder and harder to predict, because there are over a handful of temas who could make a run. Last year Syracuse, was all but done,when they headed to the MSG, before rattlin' off four straight victories en route to their second consecutive Big East Tournament title. Now Syracuse could be poised to make another run, but could have trouble with the Huskies in the opening round. We think Marquette is another team that could make a run, but Pittsburgh stands in thier way. We like the Panthers to head to the finals against the Hoyas of Georgetown, even though we think Aaron Gray is overrated. The Hoyas will need a big tournament from Roy 'the Doctor' Hibbert. We think the Hoyas are the team to beat, but they could run up against the Orange, who may just have their number. It doesn't seem too far-fetched for the 'Cuse to three-peat, but unfortunately we feel the Hoyas will win it.

CONFERENCE-USA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY AEROPOSTALE
We're not gonna go to deep into this one, as Memphis is the runaway favorite. They were 16-0 in conference, and we don't think they'll lose this week, unless they give up and half-ass it. If that happens, it's up for grabs between Central Florida, Houston and Tulsa. We like Houston to come out of that group. But Memphis may not even need their A-game to win this one.

THE PACIFIC LIFE PAC-10 TOURNAMENT
Our wild card team in this one is Stanford. The Cardinal have played well against the cream of the PAC-10. They could give the Washington State Cougars are realrun for the money in the semis. Meanwhile, the other semifinal should have UCLA and Oregon matching up. Which could mean trouble for the Bruins. This was a real head scratcher. We feel either UCLA or Washington State will be upset in the semis, the other will be the champ. We think it'sstill the Bruins Tourney to lose, and we don't feel they will, lose, that is. It's the Bruins who will win it.

THE O'REILLY AUTO PARTS SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Texas A&M- Corpus Christi Islanders are the regular season champs, but for smoe reason we like Ryan Bright and the Bearkats of Sam Houston State. ow sure, the Kats lost by 17 in their last meeting with the Islanders, but there's something about the Bearkats that makes us think they have a good run in 'em. Buut if you're betting take the Islanders.

ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
Unfortuantely we feel Duke will make a run in this tournament. Don't worry, because since we're picking them to go far, they'll probably lose in the first round. But they should take down Virginia in the quarters in the semis and then the Hokies of V-Tech in the semis, before losing to the Terrapins in the final. Yep, the Terps are hot, and we like them to make a run right over the Tar Heel of North Carolina and the Dukies. Don't expect much from the Eagles of Boston College or the Hokies either. We like the Terps in this one, slow and steady wins the race.

THE BIG TEN BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
You want an upset special? How 'bout the Spartans of Michigan State? They beat Wisconsin once, and almost twice and now the Badgers are without leading rebounder Brian Butch. So look for Drew Neitzel to carry the Spartans to the final against the Buckeyes. But that's where "Greg Oden's Raven!" and OSU will take the title. We're not fans of the Buckeyes or the Big Ten, but we do like Thad Matta,and the fact he adheres to the 5-second rule.

THE PHILLIPS 66 BIG XII BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
Don't look for any big upsets in this one, but watch out for the Red Raiders of Texas Tech.bobby Knight's squad is 4-2 against the rest of the top 5 in the conference. Meanwhile, don't look for Kansas State to make a run, as they were 1-4 against the top of the conference. We like Texas A&M and Kansas to reach the finals with the Aggies winning the whole enchilada.

THE SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
There are a lot of inconsistent teams here. Florida is the favorite but has struggled a bit lately. We think the Razorbacks of Arkansas will upset the Commodores of Vanderbilt in the quarters, while Tennessee willonce again knock off the Gators. Mississippi State's side of the bracket seems kind of weakand a result Ihave them against the Volunteers in the final. In that game, we'll take the Volunteers of Tennessee to take the title.

Well, there ya have it, we've now made predictions for each and every conference tournament, and man are we exhausted.