A Jersey Guy: SEC could rule in hoops

The Southeastern Conference has become a basketball power source

The changing of the guard took place in 2015 when Greg Sankey took control of the Southeastern Conference, replacing Commissioner Mike Slive, a potent force in putting the SEC on top of the college football mountain. 

The state of SEC sports  was strong, but Sankey wanted more, especially in men's basketball, where the SEC had  Kentucky as a perennial force, but there was not much beyond that on a consistent basis.

Sankey, pro active as usual, wanted to change that ASAP and went to a strong source in former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese, who had retired from the commissioner business, but was keeping himself busy as a consultant.

Sankey hired Michael T, with a clear mission, identify the problem and fix it.

"I remember talking to ( coaches and athletic directors)  and saying the SEC is great in every sport but college basketball. Why?,  said Tranghese with a laugh. "They told me a story about how no one cared about basketball in December and how hard it was.

I told them I lived in a town (Providence, R.I) where basketball was king and it was hard to sell basketball in December there as well.''

Tranghese's advice to Sankey, was simple: Hire better coaches and  play tougher non conference games

The SEC has steadily done that. with growing success

With Selection Sunday less than a week away, and other major conferences such as the Atlantic Coast Conference and Pac-12, weaker at the top than usual, the SEC is primed to sweep into March and April and capture another national championship.

Although the SEC isn't likely to go more than 6 teams deep, NO ONE will want to see an SEC team in their bracket on Sunday evening.

In regular season champion Auburn and Kentucky, the SEC has two prime candidates for a No. 1 seeds, while Tennessee, Alabama, LSU and will require at least 40 minutes of blood, sweat and perhaps tears to put away.

The reigning national champion in college baseball is Mississippi State. Georgia, with a win over Alabama, is the college football national champion.

The South Carolina women are also ranked No. 1 in women's basketball going into the NCAA tournament.

Don't be stunned if you see a Final Four in New Orleans with Kentucky and Auburn filling half the field

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It's officially championship week and we have a trove full of tasty tidbits

  Let's look at the major conference breakdowns of contenders for NCAA success

ACC--Down year for conference. Duke is legit and North Carolina is showing signs of life, but everyone else could be a double seed  (Miami, Wake Forest, Notre Dame).

Big East--Providence won the regular season crown, Villanova remains the team to beat. PC must also perform in the NCAA tournament to validate the season for Coach Ed Cooley.

Big Ten--Could have 9 teams in the field. The top 5: Purdue, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio State and Iowa are almost interchangeable.

Big 12--Baylor and Kansas are both No. 1 seed worthy and capable of wining the national championship.

SEC--See above.

Pac-12--Arizona is a step ahead of UCLA, which is two steps ahead of USC. Beyond that will be a surprise.

Atlantic 10--Down year, Davidson is a lock, beyond that is iffy. Watch out for Dayton, VCU or St. Bonaventure to make a conference championship run

American Athletic Conference--Houston is a lock and Memphis is surging. SMU needs to reach the finals to get into the discussion of the NCAA's.

Mountain West--Balance at the top could mean four bids--Boise, Colorado State, San Diego State and Wyoming.

West Coast Conference--Gonzaga is No. 1 but USF and Saint Mary's can do damage in the NCAA tournament.

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Coaching rumor season is peaking.

UMass has an opening. Look for either former Dayton and Indiana coach Archie Miller or current Wagner coach Bashir Mason to emerge. St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt and Towson coach Pat Skerry are in the mix....

Speculation on whether Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing will resign this week  continues. Georgetown had made it clear Ewing will not be fired, even after a stunning 0-19 conference season. But Ewing might decide to resign on his own, rather than deal with what looks like a massive rebuilding project....Maryland and Louisville are the most high profile job openings, although there will be many others by next week, including the SEC which could have multiple openings (Missouri and Georgia are most likely, with Miss State and South Carolina possible).

With Harvard done for the season, wonder if Coach Tommy Amaker wants to get involved in the coaching carousel (Maryland, Georgetown if it opens?)