Conference (Tournament) Calls...Before The Madness!

Is it March (Madness) yet? Yes, it's here! It's time of the year again. The time of the season where the unexpected can be expected.

The season where the underdogs come out of nowhere, and pull off one upset after another, until they win their conference tournament, and get what's usually an elusive to the NCAA tournament.

Speaking of which, for some teams, they're hoping at least one of two teams in their conference tournament, in solidifying their chances of advancing to the Division II big dance.

For other squads, the conference tournament basically becomes a one-game season and Final Four all wrapped into one.

And still a select few squads, such as the Georgia Southwestern women, UNC Pembroke, and even the West Georgia men didn't even earn the privilege of playing in their own league tourney, much less winning a game there.

So, with that in mind, let's take a quick look at each of the championship fortnights (or days) if you will, in each of the three conferences of D-II South Nation.

Peach Belt (at Aiken, S.C.): After an exciting regular season, especially on the men's side, it all comes down to just five days, starting Wednesday. While No. 1 seed Augusta State and No. 2 USC Aiken are obvious to win the men's title, teams such as Armstrong Atlantic State and Georgia College & State University are capable a strong run, while North Georgia and Francis Marion could come out of nowhere to pull off one upset after another. On the women's side, FMU coasted to a regular season title, but Clayton State could give the Patriot women a run for their monedy.

SIAC (at Birmingham, Ala.): Unlike their other brethren in D-II South Nation, the SIAC will have all 25 of its teams (13 men, 12 women) compete in this marathon of a March Madness affair. The Fort Valley State women (23-4 overall) accomplished one of the hardest, if not impossible, of feats in all of sports: finish conference play a perfect 22-0. Oh, and the Wildcats haven't lost so far in 2009 either. But don't count out Clark-Atlanta, whose Lady Panthers were the only other women's team in the league to finish the regular season with at least 20 wins (24-3 overall, 20-2 SIAC).

As for the men, it was a two-team race during the regular season as well, with newcomer Claflin (23-2, 22-2) finishing first, and defending tournament champion Benedict (23-4, 21-3) coming in a close second. Another team to watch is Lane, whose Dragons (20-7, 18-6) enter the SIAC tourney seeded third. But the sleeper team to pay attention just might be Albany State (13-14, 12-12). Although the Golden Rams have been up and down all season, they've won five of their last six games to close out the regular season.

Gulf South Conference (at Southaven, Miss.): This could be among the most competitive conference tournaments in all of D-II, as seven of the 10 teams in the women's bracket have won at least 18 games overall, while nine of the 10 teams in the men's bracket finished the regular season with a .500 or better overall record.

While No. 12 (NABC) Christian Brothers is favored to win the autobid to the NCAA tournament, there are plenty of teams that want take home the title, like GSC East champion Valdosta State (22-5), Delta State (20-7), Arkansas Tech (19-8), and Arkansas-Monticello (19-8), among others.

Oh, and the women's bracket doesn't lack any drama either, as West Georgia (21-6) and Delta State (23-6) could very well find themselves playing in the title game come Sunday, while Valdosta State (20-7), Arkansas-Monticello (18-7), and Arkansas Tech (19-8) could be the teams that disrupt that order.

So, there you have it. March Madness. Will the favorites go all the way, or will there be chaos the between now and Selection Sunday? Those will be among the obvious questions that will be answered over the next five days. So sit back and enjoy all the fun that is the postseason in NCAA Division II basketball.