The Mount: Week 11

The big meets to focus on are the power conferences. With the Big 10, Pac-12 and SEC all hosting two sessions of competition and the Big 12 with one. There’s a lot going on Saturday, and we’re here to help you through it.

As always, we’ve got previews of the top conference showdowns, brief things to watch for in the smaller conference championships, who we think will win the top matchups and every link for scores and video you could possibly need. But we don’t want to be the only ones with opinions. We want to hear your opinions too! So play along by answering who you think will win each matchup by participating in the polls. And if you feel strongly about your choices, feel free to let us know in the comments below.

SEC Championships: Saturday, March 19 at 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. ET
Championship Central | Coverage Plan
This will most likely be the closest competition, with three real candidates for the title and a couple other outside shots. The conference is the strongest it has been in years and maybe ever with all eight teams ranked in the top 25 and all showing real highs so far this season.

Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky and Missouri will have a tough task in front of them if they want to have a chance at the title. Being in the afternoon session. These teams are already at a disadvantage for high scores, individual titles and team glory. It’s well known that judges like to “save” the good scores for the second session so they don’t put themselves in a hole early. However, if the gymnastics is there, these four teams will still get rewarded. Georgia is technically the strongest team of the group, but beam is always a question. If the Gymdogs hit, they have a chance at not only winning the session but placing within the top four. However, if beamtastrophies make a presence again, anything can happen. Missouri beat Georgia who beat Arkansas who beat Kentucky who beat Missouri. So who even knows what will happen.

The night session will be one you don’t want to miss. Just like in the first session, no team is undefeated in the conference with LSU losing to Georgia, Alabama losing to Auburn, LSU and Florida, Florida losing to LSU and Georgia and Auburn losing to Florida, LSU and Arkansas. Coming into the meet, LSU and Florida are neck-and-neck, and with the competition being held on neutral ground, the win will go to whichever team hits the cleanest and with the fewest landing errors. However, if one or both slips, expect Alabama to be waiting in the wings just like the past two years. Auburn has an outside chance, but it would take some major errors from LSU and Florida for it to happen.

Pac-12 Championships: Saturday, March 19 at 4:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ET
Championship Central
In a somewhat shocking turn of events, Stanford not only got pushed to the afternoon session of the Pac-12 Championships but sits below WASHINGTON in the rankings as the sixth-seed in the conference. This meet will likely come down to Utah and UCLA taking the title. Both are pretty evenly matched and UCLA only beat Utah during the regular season by the smallest margin possible. Getting on neutral ground with all players healthy or as healthy as they can be will make it an exciting meet. The battle for third will also be interesting with Cal the higher-ranked team but Oregon State winning that matchup during the regular season.

Session one will be Stanford’s to lose. And the Cardinal will win easily if March Stanford shows up and not January or February Stanford. The team will have had a week off to rest and prepare (and also be mentally drained by exams), so it should be ready to go with all its major players healthy. Ivana Hong on vault is now a thing with floor coming soon. Get exciting. If the Cardinal have a UCLA tri-meet performance, there’s a chance of finishing top three overall. Washington also has a chance of doing well. It’s unlikely the Huskies will finish higher than fifth, but a stronger performance could keep the team inside the seeded teams for regionals, which would be a feat in and of itself. Arizona is also strong for this group and is pretty neck-and-neck with Washington. The Huskies will have home floor advantage, but Arizona has a chance to challenge. Arizona State is Arizona State, but has admittedly looked calmer and more confident since Dr. Rene Lyst was put on administrative leave.

Utah and UCLA are very closely-matched. Utah will win if UCLA doesn’t have everyone healthy, but the competition will be quite close if everyone is in action. But if those teams falter at all and California is having one of its good days, things could get interesting. Oregon State also has a chance to take advantage of others mistakes. But if all goes well, it’ll really be a battle for first and third and then throw in Stanford and things get messy as well as exciting. There’s so many things that the outcome of this meet depends on that it’s almost impossible to predict at this point.

Big 10 Championships: Saturday, March 19 at 12:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET
Championship Central
Before the Big Five meets, it was pretty straight forward that Michigan would take this conference title. However, after yet another beam plosion and almost not making the “good” session of the conference championships, things are in serious doubt. Michigan State also surprising snuck into the night session after Illinois had a very bad, no good, rotten competition and potentially lost another key contributor.

Session One: No. 18 Iowa, No. 25 Illinois, No. 37 Maryland, No. 40 Rutgers
Iowa | Illinois | Maryland | Rutgers

Iowa could make some noise in this session. The Hawkeyes should really be in that night session, but Penn State had a good/home scoring advantage last weekend. But all hope is not lost for Iowa. If the team has one of its good days and stays on the beam, it can finish definitely in the top six and more likely in the top five or four. Illinois just hasn’t been good this year. Injuries and a string of bad luck has left this team in the dumps. Now being potentially without Giana O’Connor as well as Mary Jane Horth, the team will be lucky to stay in the top 25 after the weekend. Maryland and Rutgers will be fighting to not finish last as well as produce a good score to potentially make their way into the top 36 and a trip to regionals.

Session Two: No. 7 Michigan, No. 12 Nebraska, No. 16 Minnesota, No. 27 Penn State, No. 28 Ohio State, No. 35 Michigan State
Michigan | Michigan State | Minnesota | Nebraska | Ohio State | Penn State

This meet is still Michigan’s to lose. However, if the team doesn’t figure out beam and Nicole Artz isn’t 100 percent ready to go, it’s anyone’s game. Nebraska has bounced back from a sluggish start and Minnesota is coming on strong this last part of the season. On paper, the Wolverines and Huskers are still better than the Gophers, but Minnesota has the confidence coming off the big win and regular season conference title. Penn State, despite doing well last weekend, isn’t really going to stand a chance with level-headed scoring and non-home floor advantage. Ohio State and Michigan State will look to up their chances for regionals and more into more comfortable positions in the rankings. This will be the last chance for the teams to throw out any lingering bad scores still being used in RQS.

Big 12 Championships: Saturday, March 19 at 5:00 pm. ET
No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 10 Denver, No. 29 West Virginia, No. 38 Iowa State
Championship Central | Television Information

This meet will actually be sort of exciting now that Denver’s become a pseudo-member of the conference. Oklahoma will still win hands down unless Haley Scaman, Chayse Capps and AJ Jackson miss the bus to Texas. And even then, the team would probably still win. Denver should come in an easy second. However, this last meet at Washington is slightly worrisome. The team is better than that and needs to bring it Saturday. Nina McGee needs to win all the things and it’s about time that floor routine goes viral. PLEASE. But mainly, Denver will look to put up a good enough score to remain in the top 10 or at least a top-two seed at regionals. Iowa State and West Virginia will battle it out for third with West Virginia probably the stronger team, but anything can happen as we all know. Iowa State will look to keep its spot inside the top 36, though, and earn a trip to regionals.

Other Conference Championships
ECAC Championships: Saturday, March 19 at 12:00 p.m. ET
Brown, Cornell, Penn, Temple, W&M, YaleThis meet is basically another Ivy league meet plus Temple and William & Mary. There’s not much to say besides that. Brown and Cornell are the highest-ranked and should fight for the win while the others will be battling it out for third.

EAGL Championships: Saturday, March 19 at 2:00 p.m. ET
George Washington, N.C. State, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Towson

George Washington will most likely win this one although New Hampshire can give the Colonials a run for their money. N.C. State is also strong and has posted some solid scores this season. George Washington will have to have one of its high 195/low 196 performances to pull out the victory. UNH and NCSU are also still fighting for a regionals spot, so a good score here will help.

MAC Championships: Saturday, March 19 at 2:00 p.m. ET
Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan

Eastern Michigan should win. It’s already locked into regionals for the first time ever and is by far the highest ranked. Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Kent State and Western Michigan are still fighting for a regionals spot, so this meet will be about doing all they can to extend their season.

MIC Championships: Saturday, March 19 at 5:00 p.m. ET
Centenary, Illinois-Chicago, Illinois State, Lindenwood, SEMO, Texas Woman’s

Lindenwood actually had a great chance of winning this despite being a DII team competing with other DI teams.All these teams are out of regionals, though, so this meet will be about preparing for the USAG nationals and ending the season on a high note.

Mountain Rim Championships: Saturday, March 19 at 8:00 p.m. ET
Boise State, BYU, Southern Utah, Utah State

The meet’s at Boise, so it should win easily. It’s the highest-ranked team, but will also be looking to go from it’s current No. 15-ranking to somewhere back in the top 12. Southern Utah also has a chance and is locked into regionals, so this meet will be about preparation and potentially increasing its ranking. BYU and Utah State will fight for third and a spot at regionals as both are still eligible.

Mountain Pacific Championships: Saturday, March 19 at 9:00 p.m. ET
Air Force, Alaska, UC Davis, Sacramento State, San Jose State, Seattle-Pacific

All these teams are out of regionals, but Sacramento State and UC Davis are tied in the rankings while San Jose isn’t far behind, so it should still be a close meet. SPU has also done pretty well this season and is actually ranked higher than Air Force and Alaska. SPU’s all arounder, Maria Hundley has also been having a great season, regularly scoring 39.3+, so watch out for her.

*Note: All conference meets will occur on Saturday, March 19.