Wild Fan Compromise Could Lead to Greatest Elite 8 Match-Ups Ever

When it comes to the NCAA Tournament, things get so compartmentalized that fans often don't process which teams have managed to slide into the Sweet 16 outside their mini-pod, much less recognize any trends.

Last season the one trend that couldn't escape anyone regardless of how locked into their individual team fans were happened to be that the SEC consistently made up essentially half the field throughout the tournament other than the first round and that was only because it wasn't possible.

This year, the only trend so blatant was how true Cinderellas as America has come to know them over the decades are becoming a thing of the past. Other than High Point, there wasn't a small conference miracle trying to blow up everyone's brackets, and Arkansas put an end to that nonsense despite having the entire country wishing bad things for Razorbacks' star freshman Darius Acuff each time he drove for the rack.

As the smoke cleared from the first weekend, things unfolded a lot like the College Football Playoffs. The Big Ten and SEC made up the largest chunk of the conferences left playing with 10 of the 16 teams remaining.

Only five conferences made it into the Sweet 16, all of which have been considered firmly fixed as college basketball's Power Five — Big Ten, SEC, Big 12, Big East and the ACC. Although, it should be noted the ACC has slowly faded as a conference into questionable status as it pertains to being locked in as Power Five.

Duke is the last remaining member of the ACC and the Blue Devils had to be drug into the Sweet 16 kicking and screaming because they played like they wanted no part of advancing in either round for three of the first four halves of the tournament.

Big Ten
Michigan St.
Iowa
Nebraska
Illinois
Michigan
Purdue

SEC
Arkansas
Tennessee
Alabama
Texas

Big 12
Arizona
Houston
Iowa St.

Big East
St. John's
UConn

ACC
Duke

Knowingly outnumbered, the Big East has put forth a proposal to help keep its conference from being bounced unceremoniously from the tournament as a conference. UConn head coach Dan Hurley took time this week to urge Huskies fans and fans of the St. John's Red Storm to join together in Washington DC as a singular force against Duke and Michigan State in an effort to make it an all Big East Elite 8 rather than an all Big Ten round.

While it's not likely to happen, Arkansas coach John Calipari has the opportunity to follow suit. As he zips across the usual national talk shows, there is a chance to encourage Texas fans to join Hogs fans in an effort in San Jose to drown out Arizona and Purdue fans in an effort to force an old school Razorbacks-Longhorns battle reflective of their Elite 8 battle in 1990 that also required Texas to upset No. 2 seed Purdue along the way to make it possible.

Alabama and Tennessee have the chance to do the same in Chicago if Tide and Vols fans can set aside their differences and choke out the words Rocky Top or Roll Tide or at least make simple generic loud noise.

In the South Region there are three Big Ten fan bases that can combine in an effort to have some combination of Iowa or Nebraska against Illinois at the expense of Houston. Should all this collusion take place and work out, America would then be left with an Elite 8 stacked with legitimate conference rivals.

West:
Arkansas vs. Texas
South:
Iowa/Nebraska vs. Illinois
Midwest:
Alabama vs. Tennessee
East:
UConn vs. St. John's

That would make it a return to last season for the SEC where the conference would make up half the field and would be guaranteed to have a team in each half of the Final Four. If the SEC could vanquish the Big East and Big Ten in the Final Four, there would be an SEC championship game in the midst of the national title game.

While all of that is borderline impossible to take place, if it were to unfold that way, it would be a huge push for the Arkansas Razorbacks as potential national champions.

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