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: #26 Southern

Over the past 18 seasons, the Southern Conference has been Davidson's toy to play with as it saw fit. 13 of those seasons ended with the Wildcats either hoisting the regular-season or the tournament championship. Six times, they did the double.

Because of that, next season will truly feel like the end of an era when Davidson heads off to the Atlantic 10. Charleston has already left for the CAA, with Elon to follow next season. Appalachian State and Georgia Southern will chase football crumbs off to the Sun Belt. In place of these rising programs, the SoCon will pull Mercer and East Tennessee State away from the Atlantic Sun and regain former member VMI from the Big South.

Doesn't look like a tremendous trade, does it? Davidson is a college basketball power hitter in this deal, perhaps not Frank Robinson-caliber, but still. Guess that makes Mercer Milt Pappas.

If there's good news, it's for writers and sportscasters everywhere. Both the Big South and SoCon will settle at 10 members, removing the division structure and the need for announcers to spout gibberish like "they lead the Big South North" or the "Southern South" with a straight face.

What makes it even more bittersweet for the SoCon is the expectation that the departing programs will be the primary powers this season, one or another likely to take a championship with them to their new home.

Who's got the inside track? Read on after the jump.

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

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

Conference tournaments begin in the next few hours, with the Big South tipping off near Myrtle Beach and the Horizon League playing its openers tonight.

It's about to get real, kids.

In honor of those events starting, let's examine each league and find one player who can determine his team's fate as relates to an automatic NCAA Tournament bid. We'll hit the first 10 today, the next 10 on Thursday and finish up on Saturday, by which point most brackets should be close to set.

Tournaments will be presented in the order they begin after the jump.

Conference Calling's 31 in 31 Series: 2012-13 Southern Conference 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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Davidson's happy in the Southern Conference. At least that's what we can infer from the school's rejection of an invitation to join the Colonial Athletic Association.

The College of Charleston thinks it might be happier in the CAA. We can infer that from its Board of Trustees authorizing negotiations with the Colonial yesterday afternoon.

The question of who'd get the better deal if Charleston leaves is one to be debated in its own post. Right now, the question is: Which SoCon titan will be dancing in March, the Wildcats, the Cougars, or some other cats altogether?

Let's examine. Follow me past the jump.