In the spirit of remembering that there are over 4,000 NCAA Division I basketball players, and most of them will do go pro in something other than sports...

It's gettin' down to conference championship time. What's happening in those "other" conferences?

In the Atlantic Sun, it looks to be down to East Tennessee State (17-2 in the conference) and Florida Gulf Coast (17-3).

Eastern Washington rests atop the Big Sky and boasts a nice in- and out-of-conference record: 17-9 (10-3). But it's never wise to sleep on the Montana Grizz.

Big South? Gardner Webb has a leg up on traditional leader, Liberty. But remember, #3 High Point beat Florida.

Big West has three teams in contention: UC-Davis (10-3), Cal Poly (10-4) and UC Riverside (10-4). Considering the budget trauma California and, as a result, all Cal schools are undergoing, you've got to give'em a "Keep up the good work!" shout-out.

The Colonial shouldn't be part of this group, as I'm sorta going for teams who haven't garnered a lot of attention from the national media -- or the WHB. But tough noogies. I'm putting this together and it's a snow day (as I can attest by the delightful sound of laughter outside my window as sledders make like lugers. Oh, to be young....)

Anyway, the Conference storyline has featured ODU's recovery from a brutal OOC record and they now rule the roost. But it looks like the conference tourney could be verrrrry interesting: ODU, James Madison, Virginia Commonwealrth, Drexel, Delaware (especially if EDD can stay out of potholes) and Hofstra are going to beat up on each other big time.

Tulane (under coach Lisa Stockton) is in the top spot of C-USA, but Memphis (under Melissa McFerrin - who lost a top recruit early to an ACL) is tapping on their heels. Both were featured in the 2/17 Shootaround podcast.

North Dakota rules the Great West, but New Jersey Institute of Technology is in second place. This is the conference that -- when it comes to geography -- redefines the meaning of "west."

The Horizon has been full of surprises this year -- not the least of which was Wisconsin Green-Bay tallying three in-conference losses. Add to that that they're tied with Butler for the top conference spot AND Detroit is only a game in the loss column behind.... More veerrrrrrry interesting stuff. (Oh, and the Penguins are still un-victoried.)

The Independents are... well... independent. Cal State Bakersfield finds itself the boss of this hodgepodge of teams.

At 22-2, Princeton rules the Ivy League. Undefeated in conference play, their only losses came to Rutgers and UCLA.

Marist is head-and-shoulders above everyone in the MAAC. How long do we think Giorgis will stay with the Foxes?

It's Bowling Green, as usual, in the Mid-American Conference (12-2). But Kent State is right behind them, and the Golden Flashes get a chance for some revenge/tie-breaker mayhem when play the Phoenix tomorrow. Both teams are riding win streaks. And they would do well to pay attention to MAC-West leader, Toledo, who's 11-3 in conference play.

North Carolina A&T survived the whammy Beth and Debbie put on them, and rule the MEAC with a 12-1 record.

The Redbirds of Illinois State have a 14-game win streak going. They're sittin' the Missouri Valley Conference catbird seat, with only one loss. That was to #2 Creighton, who they play on Thursday.

The Northeast Conference, unlike the Great West, is just that -- in the northeast and Robert Morris (16-1) towers above all the rest.

Eastern Illinois and Morehead State share the same overall record (20-9) but in the Ohio Valley Conference, EIU Panthers trump the MS Eagles.

McFerrin's former team, American, is tied with Lehigh for the Patriot League lead. They split the regular season match-up, so their final contest looms large for both teams.

The Southern Conference features perennial leader Chattanooga, though Samford (14-5/20-) and Appalachian State (14-5, 18-10) may have something to say about that.

There's a traffic jam in the Southland East and West between Central Arkansas, Stephen F. Austin, Lamar and Texas A&M-CC.

Surprise, surprise, Cynthia Cooper's Prairie View team is not #1 in the SWAC (maybe more of that Shootaround jinx?) -- it's Southern University followed by Arkansas A&M. But it's mighty crowded up there....

Speaking of crowded -- it's crowded at the Summit: Oral Roberts, Oakland, South Dakota State and the UMKC Kangaroos. Okay, it's not THAT crowded, but I wanted to type Kangaroos.

Is anyone surprised that Middle Tennessee is still the one to beat in the Sun Belt? But, pay attention to Arkansas Little-Rock, who's also 16-1 -- in the SU-West.