CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK--CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT PREVIEW

The regular season is over. The postseason is here. And in between both the regular season and NCAA tournament, there are the conference tournaments. Here is how the tourneys in the three "D-II South Nation" conferences stack up.

Gulf South Conference--at Southaven, Miss. (March 5-9)

Women's Bracket

Men's Bracket

Analysis: Both the Delta State women (26-0 overall) and the North Alabama men (23-7) are the overwhelming favorites to not only win their respective brackets, but also to host the South Regionals next week. Still, this is "March Madness", where every team starts 0-0. With three other nationally ranked teams (West Georgia, Valdosta State, and Arkansas Tech) playing in the GSC tournament, it won't be an easy path for the Lady Statesmen to navigate.

Peach Belt Conference--at Aiken, S.C. (March 5-9)

Women's Bracket

Men's Bracket

Analysis: USC Aiken (25-2 overall, 19-1 in PBC) and Augusta State (22-5, 17-3) have dominated regular season play all season. But if there's a sleeper in the men's bracket, it might Georgia College & State University (19-8, 13-7), whose Bobcats finished a respectable third place at the end of the regular season.

On the women's side, after one of the most parity-filled regular season title races in league history, the conference tournament could also be one of the most unpredictable, especially after five teams (Augusta State, Clayton State, Lander, Francis Marion, and USC Aiken) managed to get a five-way split of the crown. A sixth team, Columbus State, finished just one game behind that quintet. So, it wouldn't be a surprise if a lower-seeded team came out of nowhere, and won the tournament title come Sunday.

SIAC--at Birmingham, Ala. (March 5-9)

Women's Bracket

Men's Bracket

Analysis: Like the Peach Belt Conference, the race for the women's SIAC regular season championship also came down with the wire, with Tuskegee (18-8 overall, 17-3 in conference play) beating out Fort Valley State (18-9, 15-5) by two games for first place. But the conference tournament is anyone's for the taking, as any of the underdogs could get hot, and steal the automatic bid to the NCAA Division II tournament.

On the men's side, Benedict (23-4, 20-2) has run away with the top regular season title, but hopes to avoid a meltdown that stopped their run in the SIAC tournament in 2007. As the fifth seed, Albany State upset the Tigers en route to the conference tourney title last year, but the Golden Rams must win four games as the ninth seed in order to repeat this year.