TBI's Conference Calling 2014-15 College Basketball Conference Previews (Part 2)

Back for more, eh? Expecting that the new guy over at BT Powerhouse, SB Nation's finest stop for all your Big Ten basketball needs, will mindlessly anoint his favorite conference as America's best?

If you expect that a guy who's glossed himself The Professor for the better part of a decade will do anything mindlessly, you obviously haven't passed through here much.

So let's check out Part 2 of TBI's conference rankings and see if the Big Ten does, in fact, reign supreme once more. (BTW, this is also post No. 100 in the sporadic history of this slightly-above-mediocre college basketball repository. So, yay me, I guess.)

Conference Calling: Players to Watch for Championship Week (Part II)

Tuesday, we hit up the first batch of conference championships to point out some players who would make an impact. Some are still alive, some have already been sent home. (Looking at you, Alex Francis, although major props to first-year Mt. St. Mary's head coach Jamion Christian. Dude's done some good and fast work.)

Today, 10 more events, and then we hit up the rest tomorrow.

Read on after the jump.

Back Iron Tournament: The REAL 68 Best Teams in America

It used to be called the Bilas Invitational, but the Back Iron Tournament (BIT for short) has evolved to a point where even Bilas's epic swag cannot contain it.


Suffice it to say that this is a tournament that will never happen, but certainly should. It lacks the democratic appeal of the everyone-has-a-vote NCAA tournament, preferring a more résumé-based approach.

The only way to get into the BIT is to earn it by being one of America's 68 best teams.

For those who are unfamiliar, check the explanation after the jump. For those who are familiar, the parameters have changed, so they need to check after the jump, too.

Conference Calling: The Top 13

So, the 31 in 31 series has met its unfortunate demise. It was an ambitious project for a one-man operation, especially when said man has family and work obligations to contend with and no media monolith like ESPN or CBS behind him providing a paycheck.

If that paycheck came, it would seriously help defray the other stuff, so if anyone's willing to donate...ahem.

Since we didn't reach the upper echelon of the conference rankings, let me at least disclose where the top 13 leagues ranked in this season's TBI list...after this here jump.

Atlantic 10 Expansion: How Big East Affects Plans for VCU, George Mason, Butler

The Atlantic 10 is already one of college basketball's strongest non-BCS conferences, led by perennially solid programs like Xavier, Richmond and Saint Louis. Even the A-10, however, has not been immune to the crazed climate of conference realignment.

In 2013, the A-10 will lose one of its bellwether schools as Temple waves goodbye and becomes a full member of the Big East. In response, the league has been linked with a trio of leaders from other conferences, all of whom have made recent Final Four appearances.

Butler, which had ruled the Horizon League for five years until being deposed in 2011-12, has an agreement "all but signed" to join the Atlantic 10 for the 2013-14 season.

The Bulldogs bring the prestige of national runner-up finishes in 2010 and 2011. No current A-10 member has reached a national final since Dayton--then an independent--in 1967.

Butler has also been the only Horizon member to earn an at-large tournament bid since 1998. Atlantic 10 membership presents an even greater chance to earn such a bid, as the league has sent at least three members to each of the last five NCAA tournaments.

In addition, the A-10 is reportedly in talks with Colonial Athletic Association kingpins Virginia Commonwealth and George Mason. GMU reached the Final Four in 2006 and VCU battled Butler in the 2011 semifinals.

An ironic twist to the story is that the same unrest that has prompted the Big East to pluck Temple could also be interfering with the A-10's effort to add replacements.

Hampton Roads (Va.) Daily Press columnist David Teel has reported that VCU's outgoing athletic director, Norwood Teague, is recommending that the school remain in the CAA for at least one more season.


VCU may be holding off until the simmering tension between the Big East's FBS football members and its basketball-oriented schools can be resolved.

Preseason reports of the seven non-FBS members considering a split into their own basketball conference were not advanced during basketball season. Still, if such a league did form, Xavier and Dayton would be natural additions connecting Notre Dame, DePaul and Marquette to their east coast opponents.

Losing Xavier and Dayton would do further damage to the A-10's basketball brand, making it a less attractive destination for a solid program like VCU.

Reports have yet to surface regarding how VCU's plans would affect George Mason's decision. If one or both decide to bolt, Old Dominion could be watching intently.

Like fellow Colonial member Georgia State, which is headed for the Sun Belt to accommodate its new FBS football program, ODU is pondering its options. Leaving the CAA for some other league --like the Sun Belt or Conference USA-- would likely entail a premature rise to FBS for its own program, which is only entering its fourth season.

Such a move would not be necessary if ODU headed to the Atlantic 10, but no reports have suggested that the A-10 would consider an invitation.

Either way, if the planned Colonial exodus continues, the last team out may need to turn off the lights. Meanwhile, Horizon members like Valparaiso, Detroit and Cleveland State may enjoy not having Butler to kick them around anymore.

Joey Brackets' "Best Conference": Is Big 12 Just Top-Heavy?

Last month, Joe "Joey Brackets" Lunardi made an argument that the Big 12 was, in fact, college basketball's best conference. It's an Insider piece, so if you're not slipping the WWL some money, just take my word for it.

Lunardi based his arguments on five-year RPI averages, 10-year averages of NCAA bids by conference, and NCAA win averages and winning percentages.

While the ACC had the best five-year RPI average, the Big 12 topped the charts in NCAA bids, NCAA wins, NCAA winning percentage, and percentage of possible NCAA bids. However, there are a few caveats.

Joey went ahead and applied the results of Conference Roulette 2011, such as Texas A&M to the SEC, Pitt and Syracuse to the ACC, and Colorado and Utah shipping out to make the Pac-10 into the Pac-12. I'll go one step further and add TCU to the Big 12, although they make absolutely no difference in the numbers, having not been to the tourney since the Billy Tubbs era. (However, the Big East's latest round of invitations are not included in my data.)

For me, though, the biggest red flag came when Lunardi named the six schools that have been in each of the last 10 NCAA tournaments: Duke, Pitt, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Kansas, and Texas. Two from the Big Ten, two from the Big 12, and two from the "new" ACC.

So, here's the question: is the Big 12 really tops in college basketball, or is it simply being propped up by the consistent success of the Jayhawks and the Longhorns?

This experiment will cut the heads off the snakes, so to speak. Take out each conference's top two NCAA Tournament performers and examine which conferences spread out the production, and which ones are dominated by two powerhouse programs.

Read the figures after the jump.