The silliest, yet still entertaining, part of March Madness is upon as the big boys start their conference tournaments.  If anyone saw the sense of desperation in the VMI/Winthrop game Saturday, you know how intense the smaller, one or two bid conference tournaments can be.  That being said, you don't get that same kind of fire in the major conference tournaments because the major conference contenders, for the most part, have done their work to get in.  Some coaches, such as Mike Brey and Lute Olson, openly hate the damn things.

That being said, there are some major leagues who have some teams that can't afford to go down early, while others have teams looking to make the surprise run and slip into the Big Dance, stealing a bid away from a bubble team.  Let's take a quick run-through...

Big East Tournament (Bracket Here): Villanova, West Virginia and Syracuse all need to avoid "Notre Dame versus Rutgers in 2005"-like slip-ups and they should be in just fine.  If Georgetown or Pitt wants to get into the number two seed discussion, they're going to need to win out.  If Louisville or Notre Dame go on a run, they can creep into the 3 or 4 range.  Marquette going for three in a row over Pitt, Louisville playing the winner of that game and the potential Notre Dame/Georgetown rematch (the Hoyas embarrassed the Irish the first time around, not that I need to remind you) will highlight Madison Square Garden.

Big Ten Tournament (Bracket Here): This is the tournament where a lot of work has to be done.  That Indiana/Illinois game is a lot bigger for the Illini than the Hoosiers since Indiana has a 10-6 league mark - but really, is that overly impressive in a crappy league? - while Michigan has to get by Minnesota to get another shot at Ohio State after choking away the game on Saturday.  Michigan State and Wisconsin's neutral floor rubber game is sitting there, although the Spartans should be in if they get by Northwestern.  Iowa/Purdue is the least attractive quarterfinal game north of the Mason Dixon, but the winner of it has a legitimate shot at an underwhelming Ohio State squad.

ACC Tournament (Bracket Here): First off, props to the ACC for a very shiny bracket set-up.  However, I'm a little disappointed that I can see Duke getting to the finals, despite the seasons of strong play from both Virginia and Virginia Tech (nevertheless, it's also very possible Duke gets punked by NC State.  Even if they do, Seth Davis will probably make them a 3 seed).  The potential Maryland/North Carolina game in the semis would be really fun, and Georgia Tech might want to take care of Wake Forest just to be safe, although for all intents and purposes, the Yellowjackets are in.  Clemson's road to redemption must go through both Al Thornton and North Carolina, so, uh...good luck, Tigers.

Big XII Tournament (Bracket here): Is the top of the Big XII really that good, or is it simply the product of a crappy conference?  I'm going to go with the former, and my bracket this March will reflect that.  Acie Law IV vs. Kevin Durant, Round Three in the semis?  Sign me up, and unless Bobby Knight's team really gets on a roll - they really only need to beat Colorado and not get embarrassed against Kansas State to be in - the final of either the Longhorns or Aggies against Kansas will be, and this is a claim I can make without hesitation, the best conference championship game.  Oklahoma State has the potential to make a run since they're not playing on the road, but I'm not putting too much faith in that.

SEC Tournament (Bracket here): Looking at that bracket caused me to throw up all over the place.  Ole Miss and Mississippi State have byes in your conference tournament?  That's how bad you are?  Really?  Alabama/Kentucky is a big game in the first round, since the Crimson Tide are about to go from "Number four in the country and worthy of a Joyce Center court storming (stupid at the time, stupider looking back on it now)" to out of the tournament, and LSU/Rocky Top will be fun, but this is just terrible to envision.  A potential Arkansas run and the potential Rocky Top/Florida game in semifinals is the only thing that'll keep this thing interesting.  Yikes.

PAC-10 Tournament: (Bracket here, Seedings/match-ups here): The PAC-10 is such an incompetent conference.  They have terrible television contracts that lead to the claims of West Coast bias, when it's really just "We can't find your damn games on television", and now they can't get an intern to plug their teams into a bracket by 10:00 Monday morning?  I realize that it's only 7 out there, but come on.

Regardless, the PAC-10 has some really entertaining teams in it, so this should be a fun tournament, or, the opposite of the Big Ten and SEC offerings.  In the quarters, you could have Washington/Washington State to go along with Southern Cal/Stanford and Arizona/Oregon, which would all make for really good games, although Stanford is really the only team that needs a win to feel really sure about themselves at this point.  UCLA versus the winner of Arizona/Oregon will be a blast, and the potential for a Washington run - right now, they can't really get in without the automatic bid, but they looked good Saturday against the Bruins - should make most people's first look at this conference a lingering one.