Conference Tournament Predictions 2015: March 5 Starts

March 5, 2015 - by Aaron Barzilai

Two conference tournaments begin today.

The Missouri Valley Conference Tournament is the first to tip off, and we currently expect more than one team from the MVC to make the 2015 NCAA Tournament. The MAAC (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) Tournament also begins today.

Below you will find our 2015 conference tournament projections for both tournaments. All projections were generated before the first games tipped.

MVC Tournament Predictions 2015

Our 2015 MVC bracket projection sees Wichita State and Northern Iowa as a cut above the rest of the field; almost 90% of the time, our simulations show either Wichita or UNI winning the conference tournament.

Still, Wichita State and their two first-team all-conference players Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker are expected to prevail over Northern Iowa (and conference player of the year Seth Tuttle). Wichita takes the title more than half the time according to our predictions.

Our Wichita State bracketology projection sees them most likely to be a 3 seed in the 2015 NCAA tournament. The Northern Iowa bracketology projection expects them to be a 6 seed.

Both teams are locks to make the tournament, so an upset winner in the MYC tourney would push a bubble team out of the NCAA Tournament.

MAAC Tournament Predictions 2015

Our 2015 MAAC bracket projection sees Iona as the conference champion 40% the time, nearly four times the odds of any other team.

However, Manhattan and Rider are currently expected to play an extremely close game in the tournament semifinal, with the winner’s prize being a chance to spring an upset in the conference tournament final and go dancing.

If Iona does win the MAAC tournament, our Iona bracketology projection sees them as a likely 12 seed in the 2015 NCAA bracket, with a reasonable chance to be an 11 seed.