Big 12 Leads All Conferences With Five Teams in Second Round of NCAA Tournament
The Big 12 Conference is sending five teams, tied with the PAC-12, to the Round of 32 after the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Big 12 and SEC each led the way with eight teams reaching March Madness, but the SEC went 3-5 in its eight games, while the Big 12 went 5-3. The Big 12 was consistently the best conference in college basketball this season, and while there were some disappointing First Round losses, all in all, the league backed up its status on Thursday and Friday.
Here’s a look at the records of all conferences after Round 1.
Big 12: 5-3
Pac-12: 5-0
ACC: 4-1
Big Ten: 4-2
Mountain West: 3-4
Big East: 3-0
SEC: 3-5
Out of the Big 12, Baylor, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas and Texas are all moving on to the Second Round, while the SEC will only see Tennessee, Alabama and Texas A&M playing on Saturday or Sunday. In fact, we will get a Big 12 vs. SEC match up, as Houston beat Longwood to set up their game vs. Texas A&M.
The Big 12 losers in the First Round included TCU falling to Utah State, BYU losing to Duquesne, and Texas Tech against NC State.
Overall, it was a solid First Round of the NCAA Tournament for the future Big 12 teams as well, with Arizona and Colorado each winning their first round games in the Big Dance.
Now the question is, how many teams can the Big 12 get to the Sweet 16? In 2022, the Big 12 saw 30% of its conference get to the Sweet 16. The Big 12 went 6-0 in First Round games that year, and then saw Kansas, Iowa State and Texas Tech reach the Sweet 16.
