TBI's Conference Calling 2014-15 College Basketball Conference Rankings (Part 1)

Oh, hai. Been a long time.

Normally around this time of year, I'm trying furiously to churn out a full-on conference preview for every league in America. And normally by opening day, I haven't even covered more than a dozen of the 32 conferences. If I were Joe Blow Single Guy writing in his underwear with Cheeto stains on his fingertips, I'd have a lot more time to finish these things, but kids and a wife have this annoying habit of asking for a little time with Daddy. And since none of you are paying any of my bills, the writing is usually let to slide.

Still, I'm always interested in how the conferences stack up at this time of year, which is why TBI is still going to turn out a full set of conference rankings. We all know who the worst league in America is (hint: it's one letter away from being SWAG, something that the conference in question almost totally lacks), and everybody's got their own perspective on who's the best. (Sit down, SEC fan. That ridiculous all-conference second-team ballot says it all.)

But now, here comes The Back Iron to settle it all. Strap in, kids, and prepare to bitch as we unveil the bottom half of the nation's leagues.

Below, you'll find TBI's picks for conference regular-season (and we'll presume tournament) champions, along with each league's expected Player of the Year and a potential Game Changer selection. The Game Changer may be a newcomer or returnee, but he'll certainly be a player who's not getting the publicity he deserves for his ability to shift the balance of power in his league.

Conference Calling's 2013-14 College Basketball Previews: #32 MEAC

The MEAC was a big sack of hot mess when last season was totaled up. If not for North Carolina Central losing a road squeaker to Savannah State, the league would have had regular-season co-champions with matching 16-0 records. Meaning Norfolk State and NC Central never played each other.

At all.

Not once.

Who in the blue flames of hell does this? Unbalanced schedules are one thing, but at least make everybody play everybody once.

Meanwhile, North Carolina A&T went into the conference tournament with a losing record and came out with a bid to the Big Dance, thanks to a totally goofed-up championship event in which none of the top four seeds reached the semifinals. The good news was that all the conference tourney carnage put three MEAC teams into postseason tournaments for the first time ever, as Norfolk State went to the NIT and Savannah State played in the CIT.

In a league like this, there's a real chance that preseason predictions will be shot to hell by one team making a four-day charge like A&T did. There's not much reason to expect that anyone projects as an all-conquering Harvard-esque juggernaut this season, so the MEAC falls in dead last among TBI's conference rankings.

For standings and awards, read past the jump.

(All statistics and rankings per StatSheet.com unless otherwise noted.)

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.

Conference Calling 31 in 31 Series: 2012-13 MEAC Preview

The Conference Calling 31 in 31 preview series will examine each of the NCAA Division I auto-bid conferences (so no Great West or independents), one per day, leading up to college basketball's opening day on November 9.

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If you know nothing else about the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, know this: the league is responsible for three of the biggest, most annoying, most bracket-shredding upsets in NCAA tournament history.

1997: Coppin State stops a B.J. McKie/Melvin Watson-led South Carolina team 78-65. The MEAC's first tournament win, and only the third time a 15-seed had beaten a No. 2.
2001: Hampton (another No. 15) beats Jamaal Tinsley's Iowa State team 58-57, scoring the final basket with less than seven seconds left.
2012: You know about Norfolk State over Missouri. This writer certainly does, because he pegged Mizzou as a Final Four team.

Six times a No. 15 has beaten a No. 2, and three of those upsets have been perpetrated by MEAC schools.

Are there schools in this year's MEAC that could add to the line of scalps on the league's figurative wall? There might be one. Read on to find out who.