The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Who’s the top conference in March?
ACC has case, though others in the discussion
Determining which conference has fared the best in the March the last three years can be a heated discussion.
An argument could be made for the Big 12, which has had the highest percentage of its members get into the NCAA Tournament during the three-year span. The conference only has 10 schools, yet it has received seven NCAA bids each year during that time.
But in some respects, March brings out the worst in the Big 12. Its 20-21 NCAA Tournament re- cord over the last three seasons is the worst of any of the Power Five conferences.
The best? That honor belongs to the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The ACC has won 70 percent of its NCAA Tournament games the last three years and has sent 12 teams to the regional semifinals and seven to the regional finals during that stretch. No other conference has more than eight Sweet 16 representatives or five regional finalists over the last three years.
But before crowning the ACC, consider no league has separated itself when it comes to the most cov- eted accomplishment in the tourney: Final Four appearances and national championships.
The ACC, Big Ten and Southeastern Conference have each sent three teams to the Final Four over the last three years. The national championship has gone from the American Athletic Conference in 2014, to the ACC in 2015 and the Big East last year.
Here are the NCAA Tournament profiles for each of the Power Five leagues as well as the AAC and Big East since 2014 — the first postseason with the new version of the Big East.
AMERICAN Number of league members: 11 NCAA Tournament teams: 10(4in 2014, 2in 2015, 4 in 2016) NCAA Tournament record: 11-9 Sweet 16teams: 2(Connecticut 2014, * — Louisville 2014) Regional finalists: 1(Connecticut 2014) Final Four teams: 1(Connecticut 2014) National champions: 1 (Connecticut 2014)
ACC
Number of league members: 15 NCAA Tournament participants: 19(6in 2014, 6in 2015, 7in 2016) NCAA Tournament record: 42-18 Sweet 16teams: 12(Virginia 2014and 2016, Duke 2015and 2016, (asterisk) Louisville 2015, North Carolina 2015and 2016, Notre Dame 2015and 2016, North Carolina State 2015, Miami 2016, Syracuse 2016) Regional finalists: 7(Duke 2015, Notre Dame 2015and 2016, (asterisk)Louisville 2015, North Carolina 2016, Syracuse 2016, Virginia 2016) Final Four teams: 3(Duke 2015, North Carolina 2016, Syracuse 2016) National champions: 1 (Duke 2015) BIG 12 League members: 10 NCAA Tournament participants: 21 NCAA Tournament record: 20-21 Sweet 16teams: 7(Baylor 2014, Iowa State 2014and 2016, Oklahoma 2015and 2016, West Virginia 2015, Kansas 2016) Regional finalists: 2(Kansas 2016, Oklahoma 2016) Final Four teams: 1(Oklahoma 2016) National champions: None
BIG EAST
Number of league members: 10 NCAA Tournament participants: 15(4in 2014, 6in 2015, 5in 2016) NCAA Tournament record: 16-14 Sweet 16teams: 2(Xavier 2015, Villanova 2016) Regional finalists: 1(Villanova 2016) Final Four teams: 1(Villanova 2016) National champions: 1 (Villanova 2016)
BIG TEN
League members: 14 NCAA Tournament participants: 20(6in 2014, 7in 2015, 7in 2016) NCAA Tournament record: 30-20 Sweet 16teams: 8(Michigan 2014, Michigan State 2014and 2015, Wisconsin 2014-16, Indiana 2016, Maryland 2016) Regional finalists: 5 (Michigan 2014, Michigan State 2014and 2015, Wisconsin 2014and 2015) Final Four teams: 3 (Wisconsin 2014and 2015, Michigan State 2015) National champions: None
PAC-12
League members: 12 NCAA Tournament participants: 17(6in 2014, 4in 2015, 7in 2016) NCAA Tournament record: 20-17 Sweet 16teams: 7(Arizona 2014and 2015, Stanford 2014, UCLA 2014and 2015, Utah 2015, Oregon 2016) Regional finalists: 3 (Arizona 2014and 2015, Oregon 2016) Final Four teams: None National champions: None
SEC
League members: 14 NCAA Tournament teams: 11 (3in 2014, 5in 2015, 3in 2016) NCAA Tournament record: 21-11 Sweet 16teams: 5 (Florida 2014, Kentucky 2014and 2015, Tennessee 2014, Texas A&M 2016) Regional finalists: 3 (Florida 2014, Kentucky 2014and 2015) Final Four teams: 3 (Florida 2014, Kentucky 2014and 2015) National champions: None * — Louisville played in the American Athletic Conference in the 2013-14season before joining the ACC the following year.