College basketball conference favorites for 2018-19

It appears to be a two-team race between Vermont and Hartford in the America East. Both teams placed two players each on the preseason All-Conference team, led by Catamounts forward Anthony Lamb (14.3 points, 5.0 rebounds per game in 2017-18). UMBC, which won the league tournament then made history by knocking off No. 1 seed Virginia in the NCAA Tournament, is picked to finish third by the conference's coaches.

With eight of its top 10 scorers back in the fold, Johnny Dawkins' UCF squad hopes that talent will lead to its first regular-season conference championship since sharing the Atlantic Sun crown in 2005. That was also the last season the Knights made the NCAA Tournament. Defending regular-season and tournament champion, Cincinnati, as well as Houston, also expect to be in the mix for the title.

The toughest conference to project a winner from might be the A-10. The league's coaches and media like Saint Louis, which has three players on the preseason All-Conference teams. However, Saint Joseph and Davidson are not far behind, while George Mason might have the A-10's top player in Otis Livingston II (17.3 ppg). 

Complete with arguably the nation's three best freshmen, who each could be lottery picks next summer, the Blue Devils edge Virginia as the favorite in the stacked ACC. It's hard to believe Duke has not won a regular-season conference title since sharing it with Maryland in 2010 and an outright crown since 2006. Expect North Carolina, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Clemson and Florida State also to have a say in how things play out in the ACC.

Last season, Lipscomb won the Atlantic Sun tournament to earn its first trip to the NCAAs. For 2018-19, the Bisons are the favorites to take home the league's regular-season crown. Lipscomb senior guard Garrison Mathews  (21.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg) is the best player in the conference and someone to watch for on the national scene.

The preseason No. 1 in both major polls, the Jayhawks are the clear choice to extend their consecutive regular-season Big 12 winning streak to 15. The last five have been outright, and with Memphis transfer and preseason All-American Dedric Lawson and five-star freshman Quentin Grimes in the mix, Bill Self's group is the class of the conference. Rival Kansas State might have the best chance to dethrone the Jayhawks.

Villanova lost plenty from its national championship team but not enough to keep from earning the status as preseason favorite in the Big East. Veterans Eric Paschall and Phil Booth are well seasoned, but Marquette should be the Wildcats' main challenger in the league — especially with Markus Howard (20.4 ppg) returning to help the Golden Eagles build on last season's 21 victories. 

The Big Sky is definitely Grizzly country. Montana is the unanimous selection by the league's coaches and media to claim this season's title. The Grizzlies bring back four starters — all seniors, led by guards Ahmaad Rorie (17.2 ppg) and Michael Oguine (15.8 ppg). Weber State has some solid returning talent but not enough to catch Montana at this point.

Campbell's Chris Clemons might be one of the top under-the-radar players in the country after ranking fourth in scoring at 24.9 points per game last season, but defending Big South tournament champion Radford is the team to beat in the league. Three starters return for the Highlanders, who won 23 games last season and eight straight before falling to Villanova in the first round of the NCAAs.

Paced by preseason All-Big Ten picks guard Cassius Winston and forward Nick Ward, the Spartans are poised to repeat as conference champs. Reigning national runner-up Michigan, Carsen Edwards-led Purdue and sexy darkhorse choice Nebraska may all have a chance to give Michigan State a run during league play.

Things expect to be close in the Big West all season. We'll go with the Anteaters, who bring back all five starters from a team that won 18 games last season. However, Cal State Fullerton, UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara all should be worthy of challenging Irvine for the top spot in the league.

With five starters of its own returning from a squad that won 23 games in 2017-18, Northeastern is the team to beat in the CAA. Charleston, which shared the regular-season league crown with the Huskies and won the conference tournament, should again be Northeastern's main competition.  

The Hilltoppers boast one of the top freshmen in the country in 6-foot-11 Charles Bassey. Auburn graduate transfer DeSean Murray (10.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg) should also help the cause for Western Kentucky, which went from 15 victories in 2016-17 to an impressive 27 last season for a berth in the NIT. Marshall could be WKU's biggest hurdle within the league.

Defending regular-season champion Northern Kentucky has the Horizon's best player in Drew McDonald (17 ppg, 9.6 rpg), but Wright State appears to be the preseason pride of the league. The Raiders return four starters from last season's group that won the Horizon tournament and set a school record with 25 victories.    

Harvard won a share of the Ivy regular-season title last season and is the favorite to claim it again in 2019. Reigning Ivy League Player of the Year Seth Towns (16 ppg) is a big reason the Crimson have high expectations entering this campaign. However, Penn and Yale each received first-place votes in the league's preseason poll.

Rider earned a share of the MAAC regular-season title and an NIT bid in 2017-18, so there is plenty of positives to build on for the Broncs. Stevie Jordan (12.6 ppg, 5.9 apg) and Dimencio Vaughn (16.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg) are two of the best players in the league. Rider's last trip to the NCAA Tournament came in 1994.

Buffalo has made the NCAA Tournament three of the last four seasons and last year stunned Arizona in the first round to highlight a school-record 27-win campaign. Three of the Bulls' top four scorers return from a team that averaged 84.6 points — good for sixth-best in the nation. Don't be surprised if Nate Oats' squad makes it into the Top 25 at some point this season.

In Ryan Ridder's first season as coach, Bethune-Cookman claimed a piece of the MEAC regular-season championship. Heading into this campaign, the Wildcats are the preseason league favorite with four starters and nine total players returning from that club. Howard guard RJ Cole (23.7 ppg, 6.1 apg), meanwhile, might be one of the most underrated offensive players in the country. 

Top scorers Clayton Custer and Marques Townes and the lovable Sister Jean are back as Loyola begins its follow up to a somewhat improbable run to the Final Four. What's perhaps forgotten is that the Ramblers won the MVC by four games in 2017-18. Southern Illinois should again be highly competitive, but maybe not quite on Loyola's level. 

The defending regular-season champion Wolf Pack have what many feel is the best front line in America with the Martin brothers and fellow forward Jordan Caroline. Boise State finished two games back of 29-win Nevada in the league a year ago, but the gap between Eric Musselman's crew and the rest of the Mountain West appears to be significant at the moment.

Looking for their first NEC title since 1991, the Red Flash are the coaches' preseason pick to win the league thanks to the best backcourt in the conference: Jamaal King (18.2 ppg) and   Keith Braxton (17.2 ppg). That duo along with a talented supporting cast will try to lead Saint Francis U back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since '91.

It's no surprise Belmont stands as the favorite to win the Ohio Valley. The Bruins have won four of the last six OVC regular-season titles and will try to extend their string of consecutive 20-win seasons to eight. Guided by longtime coach Rick Byrd and with six returning letter winners, Belmont should again tussle with defending regular-season and tournament champ Murray State.

Following two straight 30-win seasons and a Final Four run in 2017, Oregon took a step back by failing to make the NCAA Tournament in '18. However, the Ducks return star point guard Payton Pritchard and a stellar recruiting class led by 7-foot-2 Bol Bol, son of the late Manute Bol. UCLA and Washington are also ranked in the AP Poll, USC is a team on the rise and Arizona, well, is Arizona. So the Pac-12 should be fun to watch.

Another conference that should be tight all season. Lehigh, first in the Patriot's preseason poll, postseason staple Bucknell and Colgate each can stake claim as contenders to the regular-season championship. Lehigh, however, returns four starters from a squad that posted a fourth straight winning campaign and won its final eight games prior to the league tournament.

On paper, Kentucky has plenty of elite talent — young and old — but Tennessee, which shared the 2018 regular-season league title, is not too far behind. Don't forget, Auburn, the other co-winner of the SEC, and Mississippi State will also open in the AP Top 25. This has the makings of another fun year in the SEC, which saw six teams win 10 or more games within the league in 2017-18.

Greensboro has reached the postseason in some form or another in three straight seasons, and the run looks good to continue in 2019. The defending regular-season and conference tournament champion Spartans are led by guard Francis Alonso (15.6 ppg) and 6-foot-10 defensive stalwart James Dickey.  

In 2014 and '16, SFA earned NCAA Tournament victories and last season led Texas Tech at the half in the first round. The Lumberjacks return their top three scorers from that 28-win squad and might have the talent to pull off another upset in the Big Dance — should they get there. Southeastern Louisiana, which shared the regular-season Southland crown with Nicholls, could be SFA's main challenger.

Coming off its first regular-season conference title since 1989, Grambling has its sights set on making it two in a row. The Tigers are paced by versatile junior guard Ivy Smith, who averaged 16.7 points and 5.0 assists. Texas Southern, which won the league tournament and beat North Carolina Central in the First Four last season, is picked second by SWAC coaches and media. 

Led my All-American candidate Mike Daum (23.9 ppg, 10.3 rpg), South Dakota State appears to be in good shape to repeat as regular-season champs of the Summit. Daum, who averaged 21.5 points over his first three seasons, is the league's preseason player of the year and a potential first-round NBA pick. 

Junior guard D'Marcus Simonds (21.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 4.4 apg) might be the best collegiate player nobody knows about. However, he's a big reason Georgia State is picked to win the Sun Belt following a 24-victory performance. Simonds set a school record with 742 points and is the reigning Sun Belt tournament MVP. Georgia Southern and Louisiana are also worth watching.

With four players on the preseason all-WCC team, the Zags are lined up nicely to claim at least a piece of the league title for a seventh consecutive season. Though Saint Mary's and BYU might have NCAA Tournament-caliber teams, neither matches the overall talent possessed by Gonzaga, which is ranked third in the preseason AP Poll.

With six NCAA Tournament appearances in the last seven seasons, it's no surprise New Mexico State is again tabbed to win the Western Athletic Conference. The Aggies lost their top two scorers from last season's 28-win squad, but there is enough talent returning to be the easy favorite over Grand Canyon in the league.