Unbeaten in conference: A league-by-league look
They rolled through the conference season, winning game after game in places like Durham, New Hampshire, and Ithaca, New York. They weren’t contending for Top 25 spots — and they might not even end up in the NCAA Tournament — but Vermont and Princeton accomplished something memorable in 2017: They were the only Division I teams in the country to go through league play in the regular season without a loss.
Vermont went 16-0 in America East play. The last team in that league to go unbeaten was Delaware back in 1992, when it was called the North Atlantic Conference. Princeton went 14-0 in the Ivy League, the first team to pull that off since Cornell in 2008.
Vermont and Princeton could both end up in the NIT if they lose in their conference tournaments. The Catamounts play Saturday in the title game of the America East Tournament, and the Tigers open the inaugural four-team Ivy Tournament that same day.
No matter what happens, though, what Vermont and Princeton achieved in the regular season is rare. There are five current leagues — the American Athletic, Big East, Mountain West, Northeast and Summit — that have never had an unbeaten team. In some other conferences, it’s been decades since anyone pulled it off.
With postseason play gaining steam, here’s a nod to regular-season supremacy — a list of the most recent team (before this year) to go unbeaten in the regular season in each current Division I conference where it’s happened (in reverse chronological order):
SOUTHLAND
Stephen F. Austin, 18-0 in 2016. The Lumberjacks were the only team to go unbeaten in conference last season, capping a four-year stretch in which they went 69-3 in Southland play during the regular season.
What Happened Next: The Southland Tournament was no problem, and Stephen F. Austin then beat West Virginia 70-56 to open the NCAA Tournament behind 33 points from Thomas Walkup. The Lumberjacks came achingly close to a Sweet 16 appearance but were denied when Notre Dame beat them on a tip-in in the final seconds.
MEAC
North Carolina Central, 16-0 in 2015. Coach LeVelle Moton’s team lost only once in league play in 2014, then went unbeaten in 2015, outscoring conference opponents by over 15 points a game in the regular season.
What Happened Next: The Eagles didn’t even reach the title game of the MEAC Tournament, losing to Delaware State in the semifinals. N.C. Central had to settle for an NIT bid and lost to Miami.
OHIO VALLEY
Murray State, 16-0 in 2015. The Racers didn’t lose a regular-season game after November, going unbeaten in conference play in a season when no other OVC team had fewer than five losses.
What Happened Next: Murray State picked a bad time to lose to a conference opponent. In the OVC Tournament final, Belmont beat the Racers 88-87 on a 3-pointer in the final seconds, sending Murray State to the NIT.
The Racers did win a couple games in that tournament.