SEC lands 8 teams in NCAA tourney No. 8 seed Missouri and No. 7 seed Texas A&M. The Atlantic Coast Conference led all conferences by tying its own record with nine teams in the tournament, and the ACC needed Syracuse squeezing in as the last team to matc
It’s the most ever for the conference known more for football.
NASHVILLE, TENN. — The Southeastern Conference’s push to improve in men’s basketball finally paid off in record fashion.
The conference best known for cranking out national champions in football landed a league-record eight teams in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. That easily topped the six teams the SEC has put into the tournament nine times, most recently in 2008.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey quickly took to Twitter to remind everyone of the league’s record haul.
“We are proud to have an @SEC record 8 teams in the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament,” Sankey wrote. “This achievement is a reflection of the commitment our universities have made to support men’s basketball. Good luck student-athletes, coaches & fans during #March Madness. #ItJust MeansMore.”
Tennessee, which split the regular-season title with Auburn, is the SEC’s top-seeded team at No. 3 in the South. Kentucky, which beat Tennessee 77-72 on Sunday for the SEC Tournament title, wound up seeded fifth in the same region. Auburn wound up seeded No. 4 in the Midwest Region.
Kentucky coach John Calipari said Sunday that he loved the SEC getting eight teams into the tournament, proof the league finally is past the point of a loss costing programs dearly. Calipari said the SEC helped itself by recruiting good players and with improved strength of schedules, something coaches and officials worked on across the league.
The SEC’s other teams include ninth-seeded Alabama, No. 7 seed Arkansas, sixth-seeded Florida,