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Just over a week ago there were many questions about the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the aftermath of their loss to defending MAC Tournament champion Akron, one that featured listless play from their big men and uneven play from their guards. But just as Rick Stansbury's team can be a bit maddening in one week they can be just as productive the next, which is what happened in New York this week.

Much has been made of Long Beach State playing five non-conference opponents who were ranked in the Top 15 of the major preseason polls. Many wondered how Dan Monson's team would navigate such a slate in spite of the fact that this experienced group went through a similar schedule last season. If Wednesday night showed anything about the 49ers it's that they're ready for the challenge, as they handed Pittsburgh its' first loss in November or December at the Petersen Events Center in the history of the arena.

 

Xavier star Tu Holloway headlines CollegeHoops.net's Preseason Mid-Major All-America teams. He's joined by fellow seniors Andrew Nicholson of St Bonaventure and Drew Gordon of New Mexico. With the likes of Xavier, Temple, New Mexico, Gonzaga, and Memphis all capable of making runs in March, this could be a banner year for the Non-BCS conference schools.

 

After going over the teams expected to win their regular season titles, we move on to talking about the top freshmen in each conference. Will all automatically take over and become the stars of their respective teams and leagues? It's tough to say at this point in the season, but that doesn't mean that we can't discuss it. Below are the picks for final 16 conferences, and Part One can be found here.

MAC: Kris Brewer (Kent State)

With the college basketball season finally on the horizon, the game that's been overlooked by many in conference realignment will once again have the center stage. Perennial contenders will once again make a run at a national title while some new faces will pop up as well. The first four-part preview will focus on the conferences, and more specifically who will win each of the 32 leagues.

The bubble has been so bad that we've become used to the sight of someone else shooting themselves in the foot. But outside of losses incurred by Colorado State (to a New Mexico team that could work its way back into the conversation), UAB (in overtime to East Carolina) and Washington State (to Washington) it was a good day for the teams most in need of wins at this stage in the season. On the flip side of Washington State's misfortune despite a performance for the ages from Klay Thompson was the second half revival for Washington, with C.J.

Friday offers up some big matchups but none may be bigger than Georgia and Alabama in the first game of the day at the SEC Tournament. Both can still use wins (to be honest, who can't?) with the winner today keeping alive the ability to state their case on the floor while the loser has to hope their resume is good enough to warrant an NCAA Tournament bid. And the scouting reports should be fresh as the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide met in Saturday's regular season finale, a 65-57 Alabama victory in Tuscaloosa. The difference: turnovers.

With more games come more opportunities to see who actually wants to go to the NCAA Tournament. Now that the Big 12 (for the most part) has sorted itself out it's time for conferences such as the ACC, Big Ten, Mountain West, Pac-10 and SEC to begin their tournaments in earnest (the Mountain West and Pac-10 had games yesterday but none had an impact on the field of 68).

One game to keep an eye on tips off late in Greensboro with banged-up Virginia Tech taking on Georgia Tech in the final game of the day.

There was the question about how BYU would get along without the suspended Brandon Davies, who was their third-leading scorer and leading rebounder before his dismissal. But while the early returns certainly don't look good, keep in mind the fact that New Mexico beat BYU in their first meeting with Davies on the floor. But they weren't beaten on the boards in that contest as they were tonight, as the Lobos out-rebounded BYU 45-29 on their way to an impressive 82-64 win at the Marriott Center.

The lesson learned this weekend: almost anyone can be had. And that should make for an exciting month of March if results like the ones we saw become the norm. Twelve ranked teams went down on Saturday, but it should be noted that four of the losses came to opponents who were also ranked and eight of the twelve lost on the road. How does one narrow these results down: ask the simple question of which losers may be in some trouble at this point in the season. One such victim has to be Syracuse, who has now dropped four straight and has to play at Connecticut on Wednesday night.