Missouri Valley

Player of the Year: Patrick O'Bryant, Bradley.
Just as there was no dominant team in this league, there was no single player who stood out above the rest. O'Bryant, a 7-foot sophomore center, missed the first eight games of the season because of NCAA suspension, but he still did enough to merit this honor. The long and lean big man led the Valley (and was ninth in the nation) in blocks with 3.14 per game. He was also second in rebounding (8.2), fourth in field goal percentage (.553) and ninth in scoring (13.1).

Freshman of the Year: Josh Dotzler, Creighton, and Bryan Mullins, Southern Illinois (tie).
You've got to give me one cop-out here. These two guys had nearly identical seasons running the point for their respective teams. Dotzler had slightly better numbers on offense (third in the Valley in assists with 4.22, while Mullins was ninth with 3.21). Mullins, however, had the slight edge on defense, finishing first in the league in steals (2.87) while Dotzler came in second (2.26). It's going to be great fun watching these guys continue to go head to head the next three years.

Coach of the Year: Mark Turgeon, Wichita State.
The Shockers lost a ton of players from last year's NCAA tournament team, yet they still won the regular season title by two games. Turgeon isn't getting quite as much who-will-hire-him buzz right now as Creighton's Dana Altman and Northern Iowa's Greg McDermott, but believe me, coaches around America know exactly how good this guy is.

All-conference: O'Bryant; Anthony Tolliver, Creighton; Paul Miller, Wichita State; David Moss, Indiana State; Jamal Tatum, Southern Illinois.

Pac-10

Player of the Year: Brandon Roy, Washington.
I actually thought I might struggle choosing between Roy and Cal forward Leon Powe, but upon further review it wasn't as close as I thought. Yes, Powe leads the league in scoring (20.0) and rebounding (9.9), but Roy has been far more versatile. Check out his conference rankings: first in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.82-to-1), second in scoring (19.6), fourth in assists (4.14) and field goal percentage (50.9), fifth in free throw shooting (81.9), eighth in steals (1.34), 10th in blocks (0.83) and 11th in rebounding (5.8).

Freshman of the Year: Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, UCLA.
It was a real close call here between Mbah a Moute and Washington's Jon Brockman, but Mbah a Moute gets the nod because he averages 8.4 rebounds to Brockman's 6.9. Besides, while Brockman was a celebrated McDonald's All-American, Mbah a Moute was a true diamond in the rough mined brilliantly by Bruins coach Ben Howland.

Coach of the Year: Howland.
The UCLA coach would deserve this award simply by shepherding a team relying heavily on freshman and sophomores to the outright title. Throw in the plethora of injuries Howland also had to deal with, and his selection is a cinch.

All-conference: Roy; Powe; Hassan Adams, Arizona; Jordan Farmar, UCLA; Matt Haryasz, Stanford

SEC

Player of the Year: Glen Davis, LSU.
Another tough call here between Davis and Tennessee guard Chris Lofton, but Davis' numbers were too impressive to pass up. He led the league in rebounding (9.9), he was second in scoring (18.3) and he was fourth in field goal percentage (51.0). As for Lofton, it should be noted that along with his stellar offensive production this season (fourth in scoring, second in 3-point shooting), he was also ranked second in the SEC in steals with 2.07 per game.

Freshman of the Year: Tyrus Thomas, LSU.
Thomas was only supposed to be the second-best freshman on his team behind Tasmin Mitchell, but he was the revelation of the season in the SEC. Described by a former NBA coach I spoke with as "a Stromile Swift who plays hard," Thomas led the league in blocks (3.04) and was second in rebounding (9.3) while chipping in 12.7 points per game.

Coach of the Year: Bruce Pearl, Tennessee.
I realize the Volunteers' imperfect finish has cost Pearl some votes for national Coach of the Year, but let's not forget how moribund this program was before he arrived in Knoxville. Besides getting his players to compete hard and execute efficiently, Pearl also riled up the fans and is already generating buzz on the recruiting trail. UT fans are going to enjoy having him there for a long, long time.

All-conference: Davis; Lofton; Joakim Noah, Florida; Ronald Steele, Alabama; Ronnie Brewer, Arkansas.

National Awards

Player of the Year: J.J. Redick, Duke.

Freshman of the Year: Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina.

Coach of the Year: Roy Williams, North Carolina.

All-American team: Redick; LaMarcus Aldridge, Texas; Adam Morrison, Gonzaga; Shelden Williams, Duke; Randy Foye, Villanova.

Pickoff Update

A season can turn in a split second, as demonstrated yet again in last week's pickoff. If Charlotte had pulled out its upset of GW (darn you, Leemire Goldwire!), I would have gone 5-5 on the week and tied the guest picker, Anthony Violi of Carrollton, Texas. But Anthony's favorite Radiators song is "Deep In My Voodoo," and he definitely laid a little black magic on me in that game. As a result, I finished 4-6 to Anthony's 6-4, putting me two games behind the readers as we head into the postseason.

The Pickoff will be on a two-week hiatus before returning with a special Sweet 16 edition. And if the margin is two games or less, this thing will be settled right where it ought to be -- at the Final Four. Happy Madness, everyone.