Remember when league title races in major conferences at the end of February were pretty easy to figure out. It's usually that time of the college basketball season when separation between one or at the most two teams start to become clear.
That's definitely not the case this year.
Aside from the Pac-12 where Washington reigns above one of the worst years for the conference in recent memory, four of the other five major conference races are between three or more teams.
ACC and Big East
Duke (11-1), Virginia (11-2) and North Carolina (10-2) are separated by one game or fewer as of Tuesday in the ACC standings. Arguably the biggest rivalry in the sport could make things even more interesting if the Tar Heels upset the Blue Devils in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday. The Big East race between Villanova (11-2) and Marquette (10-2) is also separated by just a half game as of Tuesday. The Golden Eagles are trying to win their first Big East title since they were back-to-back regular season league champions in 2012 and 2013. They could sweep season series with the Wildcats with a victory Feb. 27 on the road.
Big Ten
A three-team battle at the top is intriguing between Michigan (12-3), Michigan State (12-3) and Purdue (11-3). Both the Wolverines and the Spartans were favorites at one time, but the Boilermakers might have the most favorable path to the league crown. Purdue doesn't play another team with a current winning Big Ten record the rest of the regular season. Meanwhile, Michigan and Michigan State still plays twice, while the Wolverines also play at Maryland. There's also another injury blow to Tom Izzo's squad with Nick Ward suffering a broken hand Sunday. It doesn't appear to be a season-ending injury like Joshua Langford, but Ward is out indefinitely.
SEC
