The first weekend of the NCAA Tournament is almost over with eight more Round of 32 matchups on tap for Sunday, but its not too early to make some snap judgements about the tournament. There have been a few noteworthy conference performances, including a historic 10-0 start for the Big Ten, which is poised to send up to six of its eight teams in the field to the second weekend.
How does the Big Ten stack up against the rest of the multi-bid conferences in the field? Let's take a look at some March Madness conference power rankings before the second round wraps up after the conclusion of Oregon and Arizona tonight.
March Madness Conference Power Rankings
1. Big Ten
Little was expected of the Big Ten at the start of the tournament and they have wildly overachieved. All eight of their teams got out of the first round, marking the first 8-0 start for a conference in March Madness history, and they have scored two bids to the Sweet 16 with Purdue's blowout of McNeese and Michigan's impressive late comeback against SEC stalwart Texas A&M.
The league took its first two big hits after Wisconsin was upset by BYU and UCLA couldn't get by Tennessee, but four more Big Ten schools are in action on Sunday: Michigan State, Maryland, Illinois and Oregon. The first two should be able to get through their matchups with relative ease and Illinois is actually favored over Kentucky in a 3-6 matchup from the Midwest Region, which could set the stage for a six-team showing in the Sweet 16.
2. Big 12
Although the Big Ten has drawn the headlines, the Big 12's tournament performance isn't far behind. Kansas was the only Big 12 team to lose in the first round and three of its six remaining teams have already punched Sweet 16 tickets, headlined by Houston's thrilling win over Gonzaga on Saturday night.
There is some vulnerability for the Big 12 on Sunday as Iowa State takes on a red-hot Ole Miss and Baylor has to deal with Duke. Arizona wraps the day with Oregon and the winner of that matchup could determine which league had the best first weekend, which is ironic since both schools are former Pac-12 rivals.
3. SEC
Having 14 bids into the dance is an automatic leg up for the SEC, and they do deserve to get dinged for losing six of those teams before the end of the first round. The good news for the conference is that almost all of their top title contenders are still dancing, including Auburn and Tennessee, who advanced to the Sweet 16 on Saturday night.
Arkansas' upset win over St. John's in the West Region was a good result for the bottom of the conference and there are still three more opportunities for the SEC to add more representation to the Sweet 16. Florida should get by UCONN in their matchup while Kentucky (Vs. Illinois), Alabama (Vs. Saint Mary's) and Ole Miss (Vs. Iowa State) have trickier matchups.
4. Mountain West
San Diego State's disappointing effort in the First Four was a problematic start for the Mountain West, which was heavily criticized last year after its six-bid effort quickly flamed out, but the league is off to a better start this season with just four teams in. Utah State was competitive in a loss to UCLA while New Mexico and Colorado State pulled off upsets to earn spots in the Round of 32.
Both teams play a Big Ten foe on Sunday, with the Lobos tangling with Michigan State and the Rams set to take on Maryland. Pulling off two more upsets would be great for the league, but there is also a good chance the Mountain West is done after Sunday night.
5. Big East
After getting notably disrespected last season, the Big East garnered more bids and sent five teams dancing. Things looked good after the Round of 64 with three teams through (plus a First Four win for Xavier), but UCONN is now the only thing standing between the Big East and a second weekend shutout.
While Creighton played Auburn tough before folding late, a big reason why the Big East is likely to get left out of the Sweet 16 is St. John's abysmal performance against Arkansas. As the only top seed to get bounced at this point, the Red Storm's underachieving ways have sunk the Big East's power ranking.
6. West Coast Conference
Having two teams in and having both reach the second weekend is solid work for the West Coast Conference. Gonzaga nearly extended its Sweet 16 streak to 10 consecutive years before their late comeback against Houston fell short on an awful final possession, leaving all of the pressure to keep the WCC's season alive on Saint Mary's.
The West Coast Gaels have an intriguing matchup against Alabama where they will try to impose one of the slowest tempos in the country on a team that plays with the fastest pace. There is a shot that a rugged defensive game could result in an upset for Saint Mary's, but the more likely scenario is that they fall short on the offensive end.
7. ACC
It has been a down year for the ACC and their showing in March Madness is proof of that. Despite the fact that Duke has looked great and could cut down the nets, the rest of the league (which should have gotten just two at-larges out of 18 teams before a generous decision to keep North Carolina's 1-12 Quad 1 record in the field) didn't carry their weight.
Louisville was gifted a de facto home game in their 8-9 matchup with Creighton and laid an egg to start the tournament while Clemson, a dark horse Final Four contender that was the last team to beat Duke, put up 13 points in the first half on the way to getting upset by McNeese. All of the chirping from Tar Heels' fans after their emphatic First Four win over San Diego State vanished quickly when they lost to Ole Miss in the first round, leaving Duke as the only representative of the conference still standing. Even if Duke wins a title, it won't be enough to raise the ACC too far in these rankings.