Top 2019 NCAAB Conference Winners Predictions

We’re working our way through the last weeks of conference play in the 2018-19 NCAA men’s basketball season, and it’s time to start thinking about who will win each conference. Injuries are taking their toll here and there, as Duke has found out — losing Zion Williamson to a knee injury after his shoe blew out in the early moments against North Carolina has led to two Blue Devils losses in three games. Some teams are building their case for a high seed, such as Michigan State, while other teams are asking the committee to burst their bubble, such as TCU. As you consider college basketball betting on futures wagers regarding the top NCAAB conference winners, here are our thoughts for you to keep in mind.

Top 2019 NCAAB Conference Winners Predictions

There is a new No. 1 in the AP Top 25 college basketball rankings. 1. Gonzaga 2. Virginia 3. Duke 4. Kentucky 5. North Carolinahttps://t.co/8vCgopQ41Q

— CBS Sports CBB (@CBSSportsCBB) 25 de febrero de 2019

ACC: Duke*

Why the asterisk? Because without Zion Williamson, the Blue Devils may not even make the tournament final. They lost to North Carolina, beat Syracuse and then lost to Virginia Tech without their phenomenal freshman. So even with the likes of R.J. Barrett scoring tons of points, without Zion, the Blue Devils become a lot less intimidating.

ACC: Virginia

If Zion can’t come back, Virginia will win the conference. The Cavaliers have had a couple of sloppy halves, but that hasn’t stopped them from winning. They have Georgia Tech and Pitt this week after taking down Louisville on the road last weekend, and they should dominate ACC play going into the tournament.

SEC: Kentucky

We thought this would be Tennessee for a while, but then they lost a couple of games lately, to Kentucky and to LSU. Tyler Herro had 29 points on 10 shots, including five makes from downtown, as Kentucky was able to beat Arkansas by four. We’ll see if Tennessee can respond this weekend when Kentucky heads to Knoxville, but for now we like the Wildcats.

Big Ten: Michigan State

The Spartans went to Michigan and won by seven, even though Joshua Langford and Nick Ward were not available. Even so, they put up 77 points, the most Michigan has permitted in a loss since the 2018 national championship game against Villanova. Cassius Winston was huge for the Spartans in that rivalry win, scoring 27 points and dishing out eight assists.

American: Central Florida

Houston is the national darling right now from the American, but their only impressive win so far is a four-point win over LSU back before Christmas on a neutral floor. They are running through a soft conference slate — and lost to a Temple team that got thrashed by Tulsa. Central Flroida was the preseason favorite, and while they lost at home to Houston, they beat SMU by 47 this past weekend — an SMU team that won at Georgetown (who beat Villanova). Houston’s primed for a fall, and Central Florida will emerge as the conference champs.

Big 12: Texas Tech

The Red Raiders just routed Kansas by 29. But can they keep these results going on a neutral floor? Texas Tech has scored 255 points on 188 possessions over their last three games, and we’ll see when they head to TCU on Saturday how they fare in a game they should win on the road.

Pac 12: Washington

The Huskies lead Arizona State by 3 ½ games in the conference standings and stand at 13-1 in Pac-12 play. No one in the Pac-12 is getting a ton of respect this year, because of a collective lack of a real contender, but the Huskies could come out of conference play and surprise a few teams along the way.

Big East: Marquette

Marquette routed Providence on the road this past weekend, but Villanova dropped its fourth contest in 15 days. If Marquette wins at Villanova on Wednesday, the regular-season title will be theirs. They could still win it later, but this would be the first chance they have to clinch.