NCAA Basketball

10 Low-Seeded Teams To Watch In Conference Tournament Play

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By @TSturmRS

10 Low-Seeded Teams To Watch In Conference Tournament Play

Florida Basketball
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

With just a few days before Selection Sunday, it’s conference tournament time in college basketball. Many teams need a miracle to run the table and earn an automatic qualifying bid to get into the 2015 NCAA Tournament after disappointing seasons. Here are the 10 teams with the best chance of stealing a coveted AQ berth.

10. Oregon State Beavers

Oregon State Basketball
Godofredo Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

10. Oregon State Beavers

Oregon State Basketball
Godofredo Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Beavers may not have the RPI that suggests a legitimate danger to the Pac-12 Tournament favorites, but Oregon State was a completely different team at home than on the road. With upsets over Arizona and UCLA under their belts, Gary Payton II and Co. could do some damage.

9. Memphis Tigers

Memphis Tigers Basketball
Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

9. Memphis Tigers

Memphis Tigers Basketball
Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

In what could be Josh Pastner’s final foray at the helm of the Tigers, Memphis finished the season on the outside looking into the Big Dance. This team knows what is at stake for them and their coach by losing, so expect the best play we’ve seen so far this season by the usual tournament locks.

8. Arizona State Sun Devils

ASU Hoops
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

8. Arizona State Sun Devils

ASU Hoops
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The key to winning the Pac-12 Tournament will be beating Utah or Arizona and hoping another team does the same. Already proving they can defeat Arizona this season, the Sun Devils could pull off a few major upsets.

7. Minnesota Golden Gophers

Minnesota Hoops
Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

7. Minnesota Golden Gophers

Minnesota Hoops
Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

With an RPI of 95 and a BPI of 54, Minnesota lost eight games this season by two scores or less. This team may have disappointed, but they could change that by upsetting some of the best teams in the country and winning the Big 10 Tournament.

6. South Carolina Gamecocks

South Carolina Basketball
Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

6. South Carolina Gamecocks

South Carolina Basketball
Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Perhaps the biggest surprise on this list, the No. 11 seeded Gamecocks have an RPI of 96 and have almost won games against top opponents all season long. If they can pull things together, they could pull off a few major upsets in the SEC Tournament behind their highly underrated talent.

5. Connecticut Huskies

UConn Basketball
David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

5. Connecticut Huskies

UConn Basketball
David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

UConn has been one of the most disappointing teams in college basketball all season long. Expected to easily make it into the tournament, the Huskies struggled in conference play. This team has the talent to win the AAC Tournament, but can they do it?

4. Clemson Tigers

Clemson basketball
Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

4. Clemson Tigers

Clemson basketball
Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

The 16-14 Tigers have wins over most of the ACC’s other bubble teams, so if they could string together at least a trip to the finals, they should have enough wins over good teams to at least be a top two seed in the NIT and, potentially, sneak into the Big Dance.

3. Seton Hall Pirates

Seton Hall Hoops
Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

3. Seton Hall Pirates

Seton Hall Hoops
Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

Remember when the Pirates entered Big East play by defeating the then Ranked St. John’s Red Storm and then the undefeated Villanova Wildcats? Since then, Seton Hall has only won four of their last 17 games. If this team could find the form they had in late December, they could make it far into the conference tournament.

2. Florida Gators

Florida Basketball
Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

2. Florida Gators

Florida Basketball
Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

The Gators are still one of the most talented teams in the nation, despite their disappointing season. This team has what it takes to win the SEC Tournament, but can Billy Donovan squeeze all the talent out of his roster to upset undefeated Kentucky?

1. Kansas State Wildcats

KSU Hoops
Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports

1. Kansas State Wildcats

KSU Hoops
Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports

The Wildcats are baffling. They came into this season expected to be a lock for the 2015 NCAA Tournament, and now they’re fighting to finish above .500. West Virginia is the only team in the Big 12 to beat KSU twice. This team has proven that they can beat the elite teams in the conference, but can they do it on the big stage?

Taylor Sturm is a Featured Basketball Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSturmRS, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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