There were 10 SEC teams with bids to March Madness, more than any conference. By the end of the first round, there were nine SEC teams still in the mix, more than any other conference. Of course, that doesn't mean it'll stay that way. There's still a lot of NCAA Tournament to go.
While it all plays out, we're going to be tracking each conference's record and how many teams are left to contribute to that record.
Conferences in March Madness
- March Madness record by conference
- Remaining teams by conference
- First Round Friday wins and losses by conference
- First Round Thursday wins and losses by conference
- First Four: Texas puts SEC in front, ACC has a bad time
March Madness record by conference
Conference | # of teams | Record (Win Percentage) | Active teams |
|---|---|---|---|
SEC | 10 | 9-2 (.818) | 8 |
Big Ten | 9 | 7-2 (.778) | 7 |
ACC | 8 | 4-4 (.50) | 4 |
Big 12 | 8 | 6-2 (.750) | 6 |
Big East | 3 | 2-1 (.667) | 2 |
WCC | 3 | 1-2 (.500) | 1 |
Atlantic 10 | 2 | 2-0 (1.000) | 2 |
MAC | 2 | 1-2 (1.000) | 0 |
American | 1 | 0-1 (.000) | 0 |
American East | 1 | 0-1 (.000) | 0 |
Atlantic Sun | 1 | 0-1 (.000) | 0 |
Big Sky | 1 | 0-1 (.000) | 0 |
Big South | 1 | 1-0 (1.000) | 1 |
Big West | 1 | 0-1 (.000) | 0 |
CAA | 1 | 0-1 (.000) | 0 |
CUSA | 1 | 0-1 (.000) | 0 |
Horizon | 1 | 0-1 (.000) | 0 |
Ivy | 1 | 0-1 (.000) | 0 |
MAAC | 1 | 0-1 (.000) | 0 |
MEAC | 1 | 1-1 (.500) | 0 |
MVC | 1 | 0-1 (.000) | 0 |
Mountain West | 1 | 1-0 (.000) | 1 |
NEC | 1 | 0-1 (.000) | 0 |
OVC | 1 | 0-1 (.000) | 0 |
Patriot League | 1 | 0-1 (.000) | 0 |
Southern | 1 | 0-1 (.000) | 0 |
Southland | 1 | 0-1 (.000) | 0 |
SWAC | 1 | 1-1 (.000) | 0 |
Summit | 1 | 0-1 (.000) | 0 |
Sun Belt | 1 | 0-1 (.000) | 0 |
WAC | 1 | 0-1 (.000) | 0 |
Remaining teams by conference
- SEC: (1) Florida, (4) Alabama, (4) Arkansas, (5) Vanderbilt, (6) Tennessee, (7) Kentucky, (10) Texas A&M, (11) Texas
- Big Ten: (1) Michigan, (2) Michigan State, (2) Purdue, (3) Illinois, (4) Nebraska, (7) UCLA, (9) Iowa
- ACC: (1) Duke, (3) Virginia, (6) Louisville, (7) Miami
- Big 12: (1) Arizona, (2) Houston, (2) Iowa State, (4) Kansas, (5) Texas Tech, (9) TCU
- Big East: (2) UConn, (5) St. John's
- WCC: (3) Gonzaga
- A10: (9) Saint Louis, (11) VCU
- Big South: (12) High Point
- Mountain West: (9) Utah State
First Round Friday wins and losses by conference
SEC leaves no doubt (except Kentucky)
- WIN: (1) Florida vs. (16) Prairie View A&M, 114-55
- WIN: (4) Alabama vs. (13) Hofstra, 90-70
- WIN: (6) Tennessee vs. (11) Miami OH, 78-56
- WIN: (7) Kentucky vs. (10) Santa Clara, 89-84
- LOSS: (10) Missouri vs. (7) Miami, 80-66
Eight of the SEC's 10 teams to make the NCAA Tournament remain in the mix going into the Round of 32. And all four teams favored to win on Friday did just that.
Florida set the new high mark for points in a tournament game this year in a game where they doubled Prairie View A&M's output. Alabama didn't get tripped up by Hofstra despite being a trendy pick to suffer an early upset. Missing star guard Aden Holloway didn't slow down the Tide. Tennessee handled Miami (OH) with relative ease.
Kentucky was lucky not to be in the loss column. The Wildcats had their hands full with Santa Clara, who hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 2.4 seconds left. During a controversial sequence, Otega Oweh hit a 32-foot heave at the buzzer to force overtime. There UK got the job done.
Missouri wasn't so lucky, though the Tigers gave Miami a game before falling away late.
Big Ten clean sweeps
- WIN: (2) Purdue vs. (15) Queens, 104-71
- WIN: (7) UCLA vs. (10) UCF, 75-71
- WIN: (9) Iowa vs. (8) Clemson, 67-61
The Big Ten enjoyed Friday immensely as every team in action came away victorious. While the Boilermakers smashed Queens, star Braden Smith officially claimed the career assists record in Division I, passing Bobby Hurley.
UCLA played without leading scorer Tyler Bilodeau, but they managed to stay out in front of UCF. That narrow final score was the result of a lengthy final stretch as the Knights' fouling strategy allowed them to pull just close enough to threaten. The final four minutes took nearly 35 minutes of real time.
Iowa was en route to a comfortable victory, but a second-half scoring drought let Clemson back in it. The Hawkeyes eventually found their feet and notched a six-point victory.
ACC closes late
- WIN: (3) Virginia vs. (14) Wright State, 82-73
- WIN: (7) Miami vs. (10) Missouri, 80-66
- LOSS: (8) Clemson vs. (9) Iowa, 67-61
Wright State gave Virginia some stressful moments but the Cavaliers got enough from Jacari White to win anyway.
It was a similar story for Miami vs. Missouri. It was a back-and-forth affair for much of the game until the Hurricanes surged late.
Clemson got in a hole early. They spent the rest of the game trying to dig out of it, and they almost did just that. But almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. It was all too little, too late for the Tigers against Iowa.
Big 12 favorites roll
- WIN: (1) Arizona vs. (16) Long Island, 92-58
- WIN: (2) Iowa State vs. (15) Tennessee State, 108-74
- WIN: (4) Kansas vs. Cal Baptist, 68-60
- WIN: (5) Texas Tech vs. (12) Akron, 91-71
- LOSS: (10) UCF vs. (7) UCLA, 75-71
Friday was a big day for the Big 12. Four of the five teams on tap advanced to the second round, three of the four via blowouts. Kansas was almost part of that group, but they let Cal Baptist close the gap with a 19-2 run. It was a nervy final minute, but one that the Jayhawks survived.
UCF didn't survive their final minute, but they sure drew it out as long as they possibly could.
First Round Thursday wins and losses by conference
SEC won the day even if UGA laid an egg
- WIN: (4) Arkansas vs. (13) Hawaii, 97-78
- WIN: (5) Vanderbilt vs. (12) McNeese, 78-68
- WIN: (11) Texas vs. (6) BYU, 79-71
- WIN: (10) Texas A&M vs. (7) Saint Mary's, 63-50
- LOSS: (8) Georgia vs. (9) Saint Louis, 102-77
It was another great day to be in the SEC on Day 1 of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. In fact, the conference started the day perfect, with the first four teams in action advancing to the second round. Arkansas and Texas A&M enjoyed comfortable wins, but Vanderbilt needed a rally to survive a double-digit deficit to McNeese. Texas rode the momentum of their First Four victory to a shocking beat down of BYU.
Georgia let the conference down and more. It's not just that they lost to Saint Louis, an Atlantic-10 rep. It's that they got trashed by the Billikens, trailing wire-to-wire and by as many as 40.
Teams like Auburn and Oklahoma will look at these results with some frustration. The SEC was responsible for 11-6 and 10-7 upsets that go to show the immense depth in the conference.
Big Ten had highs and lows
- WIN: (1) Michigan vs. (16) Howard, 101-80
- WIN: (2) Michigan State vs. (14) North Dakota State, 92-67
- WIN: (3) Illinois vs. (14) Pennsylvania, 105-70
- WIN: (4) Nebraska vs. (13) Troy, 76-47
- LOSS: (5) Wisconsin vs. (12) High Point, 83-82
- LOSS: (8) Ohio State vs. (9) TCU, 66-64
Six of the Big Ten's nine teams were in action on Day 1. The four winners stayed stress free. Michigan was closer to Howard than they would have liked early, but they blew off the doors eventually. Nebraska was the happiest Big Ten team, nothing their first ever March Madness win.
As good a time as others were having, the two losers in the Big Ten were capital-L Losers. First Ohio State fell to TCU by running one of the worst final plays you'll ever see. Then Wisconsin was on the wrong end of the biggest upset of the tournament as the Big South's High Point moved on.
ACC flirted with and succumbed to disasters
- WIN: (1) Duke vs. (16) Siena, 71-65
- WIN: (6) Louisville vs. (11) South Florida, 83-79
- LOSS: (6) North Carolina vs. (11) VCU, 82-78
The ACC had a winning record on Day 1, but that doesn't mean it was impressive. No. 1 seed Duke came dangerously close to suffering one of the worst upsets in the history of March Madness. A Siena team with so little depth they played all five starters all 40 minutes led the Blue Devils by double digits at the half. Duke outlasted them, but barely.
No. 6 seed Louisville took care of business against No. 11 seed South Florida. The same cannot be said of North Carolina. The Tar Heels absolutely blew it against VCU, who trailed by 19 in the second half. Their comeback was the largest second-half comeback in NCAA Tournament history. Hubert Davis has not gotten UNC out of the first round in three straight tournaments.
Big 12
- WIN: (2) Houston vs. (15) Idaho, 78-47
- WIN: (9) TCU vs. (8) Ohio State, 66-64
The Big 12 was on both sides of a very welcome equation. Houston enjoyed a blowout over Idaho in a significant mismatch. TCU and Ohio State, on the other hand, were perfectly well-matched and played a tight affair because of it. In the end, the Horned Frogs executed better in the key moments.
First Four: Texas puts SEC in front, ACC has a bad time
- SEC WIN: (11) Texas vs. (11) NC State
- MAC WIN: (11) Miami OH vs. (11) SMU
- MEAC WIN: (16) Howard vs. (16) UMBC
- SWAC WIN: (16) Prairie View A&M vs. (16) Lehigh
Texas knocked NC State out of the First Four on a game-winner with 1.1 left on the clock. That rough start foretold more trouble for the ACC as Wednesday brought a loss for SMU as well. The Mustangs were victims of the Miami (OH) RedHawks, who were the last team in the field despite their 31-1 record going in.
The 16-seed matchups gave early wins to the MEAC via Howard and the SWAC via Prairie View A&M. UMBC of the American East and Lehigh of the Patriot League never made it out of Dayton.