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What a difference having the best player in the country on the floor makes. And apparently the down time helped Zion Williamson, who had a perfect return to Duke’s lineup in a takedown of Syracuse in the ACC quarterfinals, setting up another tilt with North Carolina. The Heels won both regular season meetings, but they will have to contend with the future No. 1 NBA draft pick for the first time, and we’ll see just how good they are. ... 

Things are getting interesting in a number of conference tournaments with the excitement building for the weekend. The top-seeded teams in the American Athletic, Big Ten and Southeastern Conferences will hit the hardwood for the first time after watching the lower-seeded teams thin the ranks. Regular season AAC champ Houston opened as a 10-point favorite for its first game against UConn. We also have a double-digit favorite in the Big Ten with No. 1 seed Michigan State laying 11.5 points to Ohio State. ... 

The deeper we get into the conference tournaments the more intensity we see on the floor. Maybe that’s because in some of the leagues, the better teams are starting to see action. The field has been trimmed in the Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, ACC and Pac-12, and we’re also seeing some larger spreads with the higher seeds battling lower-seeded squads. ... 

The last of the conference tournaments get underway on Thursday with first-round games in the AAC, Big West and WAC taking place. We’ve also thinned out the ranks in the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12, meaning the big boys will hit the hardwood. And that’s just a lead-in to what will certainly be a chaotic weekend.... 

If you think the Madness only happens in the NCAA Tournament, think again. We got our first taste of it on Tuesday when No. 1 ranked Gonzaga was upset by Saint Mary’s in the West Coast Conference championship. That’s a boost for the WCC, which now gets two teams into the Dance and proves once again that David can slay Goliath. ... 

With first round tournament action getting underway Wednesday in a number of conferences, we’re seeing some tight lines on the opening. Leagues are trying to reward the top regular season squads by giving them a bye and in some cases a double-bye before hitting the hardwood. That typically pits the worst of the group against each other in the early rounds and therefore we have closer spreads. ... 

As has been the case all season, the Duke Blue Devils closed out the regular season as the favorite to win the 2019 National Championship. I would have to guess that their odds of +233 are based on Zion Williamson making a complete recovery from an injury that cost him all but one minute of the final six regular season games. Over that span the Dookies went just 3-3 straight up and narrowly got by a bad Wake Forest team.... 

A quick glance at the odds for the Big East Tournament tells us one thing: There is no clear-cut favorite. Oh, the defending national champion Villanova Wildcats surged late in the regular season to claim the title. But that was more because Marquette stubbed its toe by losing four straight to close the year. They were the only two teams to finish above .500 in conference play and they both lost their final regular season game, so expect chaos to ensue when the Big East takes over the Garden starting on Wednesday. ... 

The top three teams in the Big Ten stumbled down the stretch and it appeared for a while that nobody wanted the regular season title. Purdue and Michigan State finished as co-champs with the Spartans earning the No. 1 seed. And they did it even after losing Joshua Langford in January and playing the last month without second-leading scorer Nick Ward, who is expected to return for the tournament. That’s a big boost for the Spartans, who came off as the favorite to win the conference tournament ah... 

Tuesday is a busy day in college basketball with the start of the ACC Tournament and several other conferences ready to crown a champion. Tournament week is always tough on oddsmakers with teams having a short turnaround as they progress through their bracket. That’s why we have yet to see an opening line for a number of games on the slate. But rest assured, those numbers will be up and you can bet the house on that.... 

Where there’s a beginning there is also an end, or something like that. But that is the case in the college basketball world for Tuesday’s slate of games. The ACC Tournament gets underway while the No. 1 ranked team in the country goes for yet another win in a West Coast Conference tournament final that has become all too familiar. Gonzaga can wrap up a No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament by taking down Saint Mary’s.... 

The Kentucky Wildcats have dominated the SEC men’s hoops tournament in recent years, winning four consecutive titles heading into this year’s action. Kentucky will be a fashionable pick once again, but in a rarity, it is not the favorite to claim the tourney title. That honor goes to the Tennessee Volunteers, who have put together an impressive season and would love to knock the Wildcats off the perch.... 

The Kansas Jayhawks’ long run as the regular season champion in the Big 12 ended this year, but the storied program has a chance to redeem itself in the conference tournament. Kansas is only the No. 3 seed but pick against the Jayhawks at your own peril, because this is still one of the most talented teams in the nation.... 

The ACC is perennially the best basketball conference in the country. Blue bloods like Duke and North Carolina are almost always among the favorites to win the NCAA Tournament, and the conference is responsible for five of the last 10 national champions. More than half of the teams in the ACC are likely to make it to the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday, and a few teams are looking to play their way into the field with a strong performance in Charlotte. The ACC Tournament will last from March... 

The most underrated part of the college basketball season is the week before the start of the NCAA Tournament. Almost every conference is holding its conference tournament then, and that gives all 350+ Division I teams one more time to save their season. Only a handful of Cinderellas manage to emerge and oust the top teams in their conference in order to claim their conference’s automatic bid, but those that do get the chance to become March Madness legends.... 

College basketball’s regular season is over, and soon we will see which teams will be dancing on Selection Sunday. There are more than 350 Division I programs in the country, but only 68 will have the chance to call themselves NCAA Champions at the beginning of April. None of the power conferences are playing on Monday, but some mid major conferences are in the midst of determining which team will get their conference’s automatic bid to the Big Dance.... 

Three tickets to the Big Dance will be punched on Sunday, highlighting the day’s slate of games. The Atlantic Sun, Big South and Missouri Valley Conferences all hold their tournament championship game. The A-Sun got it right with the top two teams squaring off. Unlike most other conferences, the games are played on campus sites with the Lipscomb Bison hosting the Liberty Flames. ... 

Fans of college basketball can rejoice and get primed for the Big Dance with a full slate of games on the Saturday schedule. There are conference tournament matchups, rivalry games, and rivalry games that will decide a regular season conference champion. Two games between nationally-ranked clubs will not only give one team bragging rights, the outcome will also determine league champions. ... 

The Ohio State Buckeyes steamrolled through their non-conference slate and won their first two Big Ten games to end the calendar year with just one loss in their first 13 games and a national ranking. Things haven’t been as sweet since and OSU’s hopes for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid evaporated with a 6-11 mark in 2019. Adding to the problem, the Buckeyes’ best player was suspended and likely won’t play on Saturday. With Kaleb Wesson out, OSU was outscored by 53 points in pair of defeats.... 

The North Carolina Tar Heels showed the rest of the basketball world just how susceptible to losing the Duke Blue Devils are without Zion Williamson. The Heels exploded for a huge win at Cameron Indoor when the future No. 1 NBA draft pick blew out a shoe and tweaked his knee in the opening moments of UNC’s eventual 88-72 victory. The Heels have rattled off six straight wins to share the ACC lead heading into the final weekend of regular season play.... 

Does anyone want to win the Big Ten? The top contenders all lost recently, leaving a three-way tie at the top of the standings heading into the final weekend of the regular season. This matchup between the Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans will leave the winner with at least a share of the title and MSU has a chance to sweep the season series, which will give them bragging rights in the state for the next year.... 

The Florida Gators are on the NCAA Tournament bubble and likely have to upset the Kentucky Wildcats to secure a spot. The Gators blew a chance to improve their chances with an overtime loss to LSU in their last game and need some good fortune to get in. The Cats are hobbling down the stretch, though they have won two of three. They sandwiched a pair of four-point wins around a big loss to Tennessee, leaving the Cats a game off the lead heading into the final regular season tilt.... 

Can divine intervention from Sister Jean propel Loyola-Chicago into the Dance again this season? The Ramblers earned a share of the Missouri Valley Conference regular season title and begin defense of their tournament championship as the No. 1 seed. The MVC will get one ticket to the Dance, making every tournament game a one-and-done. The Southern, Metro Atlantic Athletic, Ohio Valley and West Coast Conferences are all in the process of determining their automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournamen... 

While a number of leagues head into the final few games of the regular season, a few others are getting the Madness started with their conference tournaments underway. Teams in the Big South, Atlantic Sun, Patriot, Missouri Valley, Ohio Valley and West Coast Conferences all begin the quest for the automatic bid to the Big Dance as part of a full slate of betting action on the Thursday college basketball schedule.... 

The Duke Blue Devils showed they can win without Zion Williamson, putting a 30-point thrashing on Miami in Saturday’s ACC tilt. And with the man-child expected back in the lineup soon, the Dookies remain the favorite to win the 2019 NCAA basketball national championship at BookMaker. Oddsmakers weren’t overly concerned about Duke’s chances as their odds remain virtually the same from last week. ...