College Basketball: Preseason Conference Ranking

    
October 13th, 2009 by CHN
» Tags

After finishing 1st in the RPI the last two years, the ACC should fall back slightly thanks to the big-name departures at UNC & Wake Forest. This should allow one of the Big 12, Big Ten, or even SEC a shot at being #1. The Pac-10 is weak enough that a high-major like the A-10, MVC, or MWC could surpass it. 

 

Chime in with your thoughts below if you agree or disagree with CHN's preseason conference ranking.

 

 

2009-10 Conference Ranking

*08-09 is last year's conference RPI. Commentary by Shawn Siegel, ranking by CHN.

 

  Conference 08-09*

1

Big Ten

9 of 11 teams go into season with ncaa hopes, and as many as 7 may reach that goal

2

2

Big 12

ku is the clear title contender. the bottom few teams are weak though and the middle-tier is hit or miss

3

3

ACC

no dominant team like last year, but solid as always.

1

4

SEC

rise of uk brings league back to prominence after down year..

6

5

Big East

lose tons of big name players, and still held down by likes of depual, rutgers, etc

4

6

Pac-10

conceivable the pac-10 only receives 3 tourney bids.

5

7

Atlantic 10

should get at least 2 invites to the ncaa tournament

8

8

MVC

with improvement expected from usual leaders creighton & siu, mvc should be solid all-around

9

9

MWC

just about every top team loses a top player, but mwc should be one of the more entertaining leagues

7

10

Conference USA

though memphis takes step back, rest of league is better than usual.

10

11

WAC

after some down years, wac will once again be compeititve league

11

12

Horizon

butler has top 10 hopes, but squads like csu and green bay lose key seniors.

12

13

Colonial

while still 1 bid league, likes of odu, n'eastern, gmu, and vcu are all quality

14

14

Sun Belt

more then just wku, the entire east division is solid

17

15

MAAC

siena, niagara, and rider all have postseason hopes

13

16

WCC

gonzaga and smc both worse then season ago

15

17

MAC

#'s should be better than last year, but west division still a struggle

21

18

Big West

led by up-and-coming long beach state. always finish around this #.

18

19

Summit

darling ndsu loses a lot, so usual contenders like oru and oakland should be at forefront again

26

20

Big Sky

with exception of sacramento st, this is a solid league top to bottom.

24

21

Southland

underrated league always good for some non-conference upsets

19

22

Ivy

cornell will be the best the ivy has offered in quite some years

29

23

Southern

steph curry's departure opens up door for charleston

20

24

America East

decimation of binghamton will hurt league #'s

16

25

Atlantic Sun

the league's upper half is as solid as it's been for a few years

27

26

Patriot

could use a rebound from former top gun bucknell.

22

27

OVC

morehead st continues its improbable rise..

23

28

Big South

outside of radford, not much to get excited about here..

25

29

NEC

nec hasn't had much going for it in recent years

28

30

MEAC

as usual, will battle swac for title of country's worst

30

31

SWAC

solid jackson st gives swac hope of surpassing meac

31

  

College Basketball Preview - 144 Teams in 144 Days - Alphabetical Ranks/Previews
»