Selection Sunday is only one week away and conference tournaments for men’s basketball starts this week. With all this, I have three early favorites before we know the layout of what the tournament will be like. I feel these three teams will succeed no matter what and most likely win the national championship.

Number 3: Purdue 

They have an overall 28-3 record and are 17-3 in conference play, and they also have 11 quad one wins—which is tied for second in the nation. They have extremely good depth, and the player of the year again in my book is Zach Edey. They have been dominant all year with barely cracking or showing signs of weakness at all. But the only scary part of Purdue is their recent history in the tournament, as last year they lost to a 16 seed. But I think this year could be their year and I feel that they have that loss behind them and that they are gonna shock a lot of people in this year’s tournament.

Number 2: UConn 

UConn is also heading into their conference tournament at 28-3 and 18-2 in conference play, also with 11 quad wins and is tied for second as well with Purdue. I feel like UConn is very similar to Purdue-very deep, can play in the paint-but they can all shoot threes. They’re a very dynamic, versatile team. But the one different thing is UConn has the tournament experience after winning a national title last year. They made a name for themselves they know how and what it takes to win which is why I think they have the better edge on Purdue to win the tournament.

Number 1: Houston 

Houston has been the most dominant team in the nation the whole year in my opinion. They just beat Kansas (ranked 14) by 30 which is crazy to think about: how far ahead they are against a team that has been ranked in the top five multiple times. Their record is also 28-3 and their conference is 15-3, which is very similar to UConn and Purdue but Houston has 12 wins in quad one and has dominated at home as well. In terms of tournament success, they are a very consistent team of making sweet sixteens and beyond. They are extremely deep and score better than any team in the country. I think their offensive power will be too hard to combat as their whole team is made up of lethal shooters, which is why Houston is my early favorite to win March Madness.

This week of conference tournaments will show a lot about these teams and what they will be able to accomplish in the NCAA tournament. This list will be updated after the next week of games. But I only imagine these three teams will continue to excel in the right direction, continue to get better, and easily win their conference tournament. I just don’t see any other teams out there that are as dominant as these three.