<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0Byuz5_0wMhSo9600" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0Byuz5_0wMhSo9600" width="1000" height="600" ></figure><p>We are just over a week away from the official start of the college basketball season. As we begin to wrap up our pre-season coverage, here are the five power conferences ranked ahead of the season!</p><h2>5. Big 10</h2><p>The Big 10 is fascinating this year, despite being ranked last on this list. There are a number of massive question marks within the conference: How will Purdue replace Zach Edey? Will Mike Woodson put it together in Bloomington? Can the freshman carry Rutgers to a conference title? These questions, among many more, will provide a year of fantastic storylines, but the conference, as a whole, isn’t as good or deep as it has been in the past.</p><p>The bottom of the conference may be the worst of all the five conferences and the top of the conference is absolutely the weakest with no title contenders as of late October.</p><h2>4. ACC</h2><p>The ACC has been down significantly over the past few years, but I expect them to begin to creep back towards the top of college basketball in 2024. Louisville, who has 12 wins in the last two years, will be back in the mix with new head coach Pat Kelsey, Miami will look to rebound after a 15-17 season last year, and schools like Georgia Tech and Syracuse aim to take year two leaps with their new coaches.</p><p>The issue with the ACC in past years has been the bottom of the conference dragging down all of the metrics. When you have a team as bad as Louisville, and others, have been in recent years, it reflects poorly on the rest of the conference. The rising tide raises all boats and I believe that will be the case in the ACC.</p><h2>3. Big East</h2><p>The Big East is interesting. UConn has been the king of college basketball over the last couple years, and Marquette and Creighton have been really good as well. Like the ACC, I expect the Big East to have multiple teams drastically improve and it will look much better for the conference as a whole.</p><p>Xavier will return to form after a year decimated by injuries, Georgetown and Butler will be improved in year two under Ed Cooley and year three under Thad Mata respectively, and DePaul has a higher floor under Chris Holtmann. I also expect St. John’s and Providence to return to the NCAA tournament in 2024.</p><h2>2. SEC</h2><p>The SEC, not very long ago, would be at the bottom of this list and it wouldn’t be close. Now, they are in heavy contention to be the best conference in the sport of college basketball. The SEC now has great coaches from Bruce Pearl, Chris Beard, Nate Oats, John Calipari, Buzz Williams, Rick Barnes, and countless more experienced guys. They also have interesting newcomers in Mark Pope at Kentucky and Mark Byington at Vandy.</p><p>There is a realistic chance that the SEC has 11 teams make the NCAA tournament. The conference not only has national title contenders in Alabama, but the depth is incredible with Ole Miss and Georgia aiming to return to the NCAA tournament.</p><h2>1. Big 12</h2><p>The Big 12 has been the best conference in the sport for years. Kansas, obviously, has been the king of the conference forever, but with conference realignment over the years, Arizona, Houston, Cincinnati, and BYU have given the conference even more depth than before. Iowa State, Texas Tech, Baylor, and Kansas State also hope to do significant damage this year.</p><p>Like the SEC, the Big 12 can legitimately get double digit teams into the tournament and have serious contenders to cut down the nets in San Antonio.</p><p><b>FOR MORE COLLEGE BASKETBALL CONTENT, CHECK OUT THE FOLLOWING LINKS:</b></p><p>It’s Time for Kentucky Fans to Accept Rick Pitino Back Into BBN | The …</p></div></body>

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The Big Five Conferences in College Basketball Ranked Ahead of 2024-25 Season

We are just over a week away from the official start of the college basketball season. As we begin to wrap up our pre-season coverage, here are the five power conferences ranked ahead of the season!. 5. Big 10. The Big 10 is fascinating this year, despite being ranked last...