Any college conference worth its salt wants several of its teams to contend for NCAA Tournament berths. The good news is both the Atlantic 10 and the new-look Big East have their fair share of teams in...

Any college conference worth its salt wants several of its teams to contend for NCAA Tournament berths.

The good news is both the Atlantic 10 and the new-look Big East have their fair share of teams in position to challenge for spots in the field. The bad news is that the depth of both conferences is starting to muddy the waters, sinking teams� March dreams along the way.

The A-10 has more teams with NCAA profiles right now than does the Big East, the PAC-12 or the Southeastern Conference. Massachusetts (11 RPI), Saint Louis (27), Virginia Commonwealth (28) and George Washington (32) are all in the top 35 in the Ratings Percentage Index. Richmond, Saint Joseph�s, St. Bonaventure, La Salle and Dayton are also competitive.

That depth means that teams are starting to beat one another. UMass looked like the league�s top dog, but its top-five RPI took a hit after losing three of four games, all on the road. George Washington lost at Dayton, but that was after the Flyers had lost four in a row. Richmond let chances at upsets against Saint Louis and VCU go by the boards.

With the halfway point of the conference schedule near, it�s still too early to say which teams can make a move and get into position for a NCAA spot.

Saint Louis (7-0 in league play), VCU (6-1), GW (5-2) and UMass (4-3) are all in terrific shape right now, but it remains to be seen if Saint Joe�s (the best bet right now), Richmond or Dayton is good enough to beat those upper-echelon teams enough to catch everyone�s attention.

The Big East is developing into a curious test case for the NCAA selection committee. Villanova is a potential one seed and Creighton is so good at home (27-2 last two seasons) that the Jays will almost assuredly be a top-four seed. But after that, the conference is scrambling. Perceived giants Georgetown (12-9) and Marquette (12-10) are struggling through their worst seasons in years and still face a load of tough games in the second half of the conference schedule.

That leaves Providence and Xavier as the next two teams in line. If the field was picked this morning, both the Musketeers (36) and the Friars (37 RPI) would be firmly in the tournament. But there is a long way to go. Both teams have home losses to Seton Hall, for one thing. The Pirates actually aren�t bad when healthy, but their 121 RPI gives both teams a black eye.

PC�s front-loaded home Big East schedule is a concern. The Friars are 2-2 on the road so far, but after Tuesday�s big home game against a dangerous St. John�s team, PC finishes with five of its final eight games away from the friendly confines of the Dunkin� Donuts Center.

The Friars have some nice numbers (two top-50 wins, 7-5 vs. top 100) so far but need to continue to build a tournament-worthy resum�.

Xavier lost at home (12-1) for the first time all season on Saturday, against Seton Hall, and doesn�t have a win over Villanova, Creighton or PC. A win Monday night in Philadelphia would certainly help Chris Mack�s club.

The biggest issue with the Big East? Teams such as Georgetown, St. John�s, Marquette, Seton Hall and Butler. They are far from bad, especially at home. They also all probably need to win the Big East Tournament to be NCAA teams, and they�ll have plenty of chances to knock off Providence and Xavier and cost their league at-large berths.

Turnaround issue

Providence improved to 3-1 in so-called turnaround games when Ed Cooley and his staff have just one day to prepare in between games. A fourth quick flip comes next weekend when the Friars play at Xavier on Saturday and Georgetown on Monday.

Some of these turnarounds are explainable in an era when TV windows need to be filled, but the Big East butchered its first try at scheduling for a 10-team league.

The A-10, for example, didn�t schedule Rhode Island into a single one-day turnaround. Fox Sports executives were heavily involved in drafting the Big East�s schedule, much to the dismay of head coaches around the league. One coach (not Cooley) insisted recently that the tight scheduling �will cost us an (NCAA) at-large berth or two, for sure. We made a major mistake here.�

Hunt for Graham

It�s easy to see why Providence, URI, Creighton, UConn, West Virginia and a host of other schools are following Brewster Academy�s Devonte Graham this year. Graham signed with Appalachian State in the fall of 2012 but asked for his release last spring. The school wouldn�t give one, however, so Graham landed at Brewster,where he has enjoyed a breakout season. He hit six 3-pointers and handled the ball superbly in an easy win at the National Prep School Invitational at Rhode Island College on Sunday.

It�s hard to believe Appalachian State coach Jason Capel won�t release Graham and restrict where he could land (like the ACC, for example). If so, Providence is offering Graham a chance to play loads of minutes as Bryce Cotton�s replacement next season.