SEC = Basketball Conference?
The SEC has been the powerhouse of this season, with a strong chance to claim five of the eight spots among the top two seed lines. Even more impressively, three SEC teams—Auburn, Florida, and Alabama—are in contention for No. 1 seeds.
Here’s a look at the numbers behind the SEC’s historic dominance this season:
- SEC teams went 185-23 (89%) in non-conference games.
- Against the other Top 6 conferences (ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, and Mountain West), they went 62-19 (77%).
- All but one of the 16 SEC teams went 11-2 or better in non-conference play. The exception was South Carolina, which went 10-3 and is currently winless in conference play.
- The conference has only six losses to teams not in our projected 2025 NCAA Tournament field today, half of those by South Carolina.
- 13 of the 16 teams are inside our Top 50 in power ratings, with No. 83 South Carolina the only team outside the Top 65.
In early November, we had 11 SEC teams projected to make the NCAA Tournament. Based on our probability calculations, the average expected number of SEC teams in the field was 9.1.
However, in our latest bracket update, the SEC’s outlook has improved significantly. We now have 13 teams projected in the field, with an average of 12.6 expected to make the NCAA Tournament.
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