Big 12, Big Ten shine in 2025 NCAA Tournament; SEC, ACC teams flop
Much was made about West Virginia being left out of the 2025 NCAA men's basketball tournament.
The Mountaineers (19-13) had six Quad 1 victories and played the 29th-toughest schedule in the country, according to KenPom. But the 12-person NCAA Tournament Selection Committee did not give West Virginia an at-large bid, which left the Big 12 — arguably the deepest college basketball conference in the country — with just seven teams in March Madness.
The SEC, on the other hand, placed a record 14 teams in the NCAA Tournament. And nearly half of them are already gone.
Big Ten undefeated; Big 12 shows out
Through the first four days of the tournament — the First Four and the round of 64 — the Big Ten is 8-0 and the Big 12 is 6-1. Kansas suffered the only Big 12 loss, falling to Arkansas 77-72 on Thursday.
No. 4 Arizona had one of the most impressive victories of the first round, routing Akron 93-65 in a game where they shot 12-of-25 from downtown and outrebounded the Zips 53-22.
No. 9 Baylor upset No. 8 Mississippi State in a head-to-head Big 12 vs. SEC matchup, and No. 6 BYU beat No. 11 VCU in a game many experts picked the Rams to win.
SEC stumbles in first round
The SEC went 8-6 over the first four days, with No. 6 Missouri suffering a stunning 67-57 loss to No. 11 Drake.
Perhaps the worst loss was No. 9 Georgia being routed by No. 8 Gonzaga 89-68. The 8-9 matchup is supposed to be a coin flip between two teams with identical resumes. It was not close. Gonzaga embarrassed Georgia. The Zags jumped out to a 27-3 lead and never let them get closer than 16 points.
The Georgia-Gonzaga game was the most glaring example of the selection committee's mistakes. Georgia did not look like an NCAA Tournament team. And West Virginia beat Gonzaga earlier this season.
ACC has one team left
It was a down year in the ACC, and it showed over the first four days of the tournament.
The ACC went 2-3, with No. 1 seed Duke the only team left. No. 5 seed Clemson was upset by No. 12 McNeese and No. 8 Louisville was routed by No. 9 Creighton.
No. 11 North Carolina won a First Four game, but lost in the round of 64 to Ole Miss.
Here's a look at the conference records after the first four days of the tournament:
SEC record - 8-6
Big Ten record - 8-0
Big 12 record - 6-1
Big East record - 4-2
ACC record - 2-3
Mountain West record - 2-2
WCC record - 2-0
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-029877d49238355bd3388a94f90e3c72.jpg "Ben Sherman")
Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his 27-year journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. A basketball junkie, March Madness is his favorite time of the year.