Keeping tabs on the tourney talk

The madness has begun. A look at some of the storylines from out-of-town news outlets heading into this week’s Big West Conference Tournament:

Long Beach State, Cal Poly get double byes in Big West tournament
Los Angeles Times
If recent history is any indication, it's advantage Long Beach State and Cal Poly in the Big West Tournament.

D-Day coming for 49er brass
Long Beach Press-Telegram
Larry Reynolds might have won the Big West Coach of the Year, but he's still on the hot seat.

UCR’s Morrison to experience NCAA tournament selection process ...
Press-Enterprise
Stan Morrison got off to a flying start in college basketball. In his first two seasons at Cal, he played in two NCAA championship games. ...

Matadors have one more chance to dance
Los Angeles Daily News
Cal State Northridge believes it has a puncher's chance to win the Big West tournament…

Nixon making his mark
OCRegister
Hey, if Big West Tournament TV ratings are that good, why isn't CBS showing it? A year ago this Friday, Nixon gunned in a three-pointer from the deepest ...

Thomason: Tigers have shortfalls
Stockton Record
The defending-champion Tigers are 11-18 overall, opening the tournament on the first day.

Long Beach State projected to win conference tourney
ESPN.com’s Joe Lunardi has the 49ers as the favorite to earn the Big West’s automatic bid. They’re also favored by CBSSportsline.com and Sports Illustrated’s Stewart Mandel going in.

2007 Big West Conference Tournament Preview
Sports Network
The Sports Network also picks Long Beach State to go dancing.

Big West Tournament Preview
This AOL Sports Blogger is one who picks Cal Poly to win the tournament.

Links to The Tribune's Big West Tourney coverage so far:
History not good for some at Big West Tournament
Cal Poly basketball duo are on Big West first team again
Mustangs among Big West Conference Tournament favorites this week
Men's Basketball Mustangs cap regular season with 82-70 victory 

Some useful resource sites for this time of year:
USA Today power rankings
Sagarin RPI ratings by conference
Injury reports for college teams
Vegas lines for today’s games
Yahoo! scoreboard with today’s games