Conference Carolinas Tournament Preview
The battle for the Carolinas is about to get started.
The second conference tournament of the 2025 season kicks off on Wednesday. With an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament on the line, expect anything.
The Bracket
The Conference Carolinas is the only conference to have a hybrid location where higher seeds host the quarterfinals and the remaining matches are at a host location. This year, #6 King University will host the semifinals and finals.
Mount Olive earned the top seed by going undefeated in conference play at 14-0. Right behind them was Belmont Abbey, who earned the Conference’s bid to the NCAA tournament last season.
With eight teams in the Conference Carolinas and only six spots in the tournament, two teams did not make the tournament (Emmanuel & Lees-McRae).
Round-by-Round Projections
I used the VBelo model and simulated the Conference Carolinas tournament 50,000 times. Below are the results for how often each team progressed through the tournament.
Unsurprisingly, Mount Olive is the favorite to win the Conference Carolinas tournament. The model has the Trojans with over a 50% chance of booking tickets to Columbus, Ohio in May. Right behind them, though, is Belmont Abbey with a 36% chance of winning it all.
Both Barton and NGU will host their quarterfinal matches, and thus are the strong favorites to advance to the semifinals. Although they still have a slim chance of making it all the way to the National Tournament, wild things can happen.
Will Mount Olive continue their conference domination? Will Belmont Abbey find a way to return to the big dance? Can a lower seed shake things up?