NCAA Tournament: Big 12 has company
The Big 12 is having a miserable NCAA Tournament. But the Big 12 has some company. The Big East is gasping, too.
Among the major conferences, the Big 12 has the worst NCAA record this season — 4-4. But the Big 12 is matched by, yes, the Big East, which is 9-9.
Think about that. The Big East had 11 teams placed into the 68-team bracket but has pushed fewer teams into the Sweet 16 than has the ACC, which had just four teams in the tournament. The Big East has Marquette and Connecticut; the ACC has Duke, North Carolina and Florida State.
Kansas State guard Jacob Pullen reacts to their loss to Wisconsin during a Southeast Regional NCAA college basketball tournament third round game Tucson, Ariz., Saturday, March 19, 2011. Wisconsin won 70-65. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Ironically, the Big East’s two regional semifinalists had to beat fellow Big East teams to advance — Marquette over Syracuse, UConn over Cincinnati. You could argue that such a packed bracket kept the Big East from perhaps having four in the Sweet 16. Or you could argue that such a packed bracket is what helped the Big East get any into the second weekend.
Here are the conference records: ACC 7-1 (three in the Sweet 16); Big Ten 7-5 (two); SEC 4-3 (two); Pac-10 4-3 (one); Big East 9-9 (two); Big 12 4-4 (one). Among the mid-majors, the Mountain West is 4-1 (two), the Colonial 4-2 (one) and the Atlantic-10 3-2 (one).
The Big 12 came close to having a stellar Sweet 16 field. But Texas and Kansas State lost last-second games to Arizona and Wisconsin, respectively. Such is life in the NCAA Tournament.
And as usual, the ACC’s reputation soared when March arrived. The ACC was billed as a down conference, but Duke and North Carolina did its usual heavy lifting, then Florida State and Leonard Hamilton added its spirited run, and the ACC is back on top.
Meanwhile, the Big 12 pulled its usual March slump. It’s getting a little tiresome hearing how great the league is. Conference prowess is proved in March. Not in November and December. Not in January and February, when all the teams just play each other. You prove it in March, on neutral courts against opponents someone else scheduled for you.
Kansas does the Big 12 proud, just like UNC and Duke do for the ACC. But the Jayhawks don’t get a lot of help from the rest of the Big 12. Texas has become an annual disappointment. OSU and OU have suspended their big-time hoop dreams. Missouri will break your heart every time. Give credit to Kansas State; Frank Martin has the Wildcats in there fighting.
But until multiple Big 12 programs start winning big again in March, let’s hear no more about this conference’s basketball status.
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
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Comments
So, given that BYU is looking up after its 2010 rebuilding year in football and its magical Jimmer-ation run in the NCAA in 2011, when does the Big XII begin believing that adding BYU to the Big XII is well worth the downside of having to deal with BYU’s no Sunday play rule and pulls the trigger on an invite?
Yet another stupid documentary by the doofus Tranmble. Kansas should do well every year with the draw they get.Ooops did they not lose to Bucknell a year or so ago ?? You mr. smarty pants have it all figured out don’t you.
Still amazes me you have a job. What a freakin loser . You need to be drug tested immediately if not sooner.
Maybe you should begin respecting so-called mid major conferences and programs? When they perform better than you conference, the least you could do is respect them as equal or better programs instead of remaining delusional.