SEC is off to middling start in NCAA Tournament

The Southeastern Conference obliterated the Big East’s record of 11 bids in the 2011 NCAA Tournament by getting 14 teams into the field in 2025. Folks around college basketball have either been telling people how great the league is this season or have had to hear how great the league is this season. That hype was going to put the conference under the microscope once this single-elimination tournament play started.

The conference is probably doing exactly what you thought it would. There will be four SEC teams playing in the Round of 32 on Saturday.

• No. 11 Xavier 86, No. 11 Texas 80
• No. 1 Auburn 83, No. 16 Alabama State 63
• No. 8 Gonzaga 89, No. 9 Georgia 68
• No. 2 Tennessee 77, No. 15 Wofford 62
• No. 10 Arkansas 79, No. 7 Kansas 72
• No. 4 Texas A&M 80, No. 13 Yale 71
• No. 11 Drake 67, No. 6 Missouri 57

Greg Sankey’s conference currently sits at 4-3 in the NCAA Tournament with Texas, Georgia, and Missouri all going one-and-done. Arkansas pulled an upset of Kansas to advance. However, the Big Ten (4-0) and Big East (3-0) got off to undefeated starts. The Big 12 (3-1) also had an impressive first day. The ACC (1-2) did not with the only win coming in the First Four.

The league will have a very busy Friday with seven teams in action. Alabama, Florida, and Kentucky are all double-digit favorites. Mississippi State (vs. Baylor), Vanderbilt (vs. Saint Mary’s), Ole Miss (vs. North Carolina), and Oklahoma (vs. UConn) are all featured in toss-up games.

In 2011, the Big East went 7-4 in the Round of 64 before seeing only two teams advance to the second weekend. No. 1 seed Pittsburgh, No. 2 seed Notre Dame, No. 3 seed Syracuse, and No. 4 seed Louisville were all eliminated in the first weekend. The SEC is looking to avoid a similar fate.

The conference will need a big day over the next three days or skepticism on how good the league actually was will become a huge college basketball talking point.

NCAA Tournament schedule (Friday, March 21)

Time (ET)	Game	TV
12:15 p.m.	(9) Baylor vs. (8) Mississippi State Ian Eagle // Bill Raftery, Grant Hill // Tracy Wolfson	CBS
12:40 p.m.	(15) Robert Morris vs. (2) Alabama Spero Dedes / Jim Spanarkel // Jon Rothstein	truTV
1:30 p.m.	(14) Lipscomb vs. (3) Iowa State Kevin Harlan / Dan Bonner, Stan Van Gundy // Lauren Shehadi	TNT
2 p.m.	(12) Colorado State vs. (5) Memphis Lisa Byington / Robbie Hummel, Jalen Rose // Andy Katz	TBS
2:50 p.m.	(16) Mount St. Mary’s/American vs. (1) Duke Ian Eagle // Bill Raftery, Grant Hill // Tracy Wolfson	CBS
3:15 p.m.	(10) Vanderbilt vs. (7) Saint Mary’s Spero Dedes / Jim Spanarkel // Jon Rothstein	truTV
4:05 p.m.	(11) North Carolina/SDSU vs. (6) Ole Miss Kevin Harlan / Dan Bonner, Stan Van Gundy // Lauren Shehadi	TNT
4:35 p.m.	(13) Grand Canyon vs. (4) Maryland Lisa Byington / Robbie Hummel, Jalen Rose // Andy Katz	TBS
6:50 p.m.	(16) Norfolk State vs. (1) Florida Ian Eagle // Bill Raftery, Grant Hill // Tracy Wolfson	TNT
7:10 p.m.	(14) Troy vs. (3) Kentucky Kevin Harlan / Dan Bonner, Stan Van Gundy // Lauren Shehadi	CBS
7:25 p.m.	(10) New Mexico vs. (7) Marquette Spero Dedes / Jim Spanarkel // Jon Rothstein	TBS
7:35 p.m.	(13) Akron vs. (4) Arizona Lisa Byington / Robbie Hummel, Jalen Rose // Andy Katz	truTV
9:25 p.m.	(9) Oklahoma vs. (8) UConn Ian Eagle // Bill Raftery, Grant Hill // Tracy Wolfson	TNT
9:45 p.m.	(11) Xavier/Texas vs. (6) Illinois Kevin Harlan / Dan Bonner, Stan Van Gundy // Lauren Shehadi	CBS
10 p.m.	(15) Bryant vs. (2) Michigan State Spero Dedes / Jim Spanarkel // Jon Rothstein	TBS
10:10 p.m.	(12) Liberty vs. (5) Oregon Lisa Byington / Robbie Hummel, Jalen Rose // Andy Katz	truTV