The SEC has drawn a ton of accolades this season for its incredible depth, which was showcased with a record 14 bids to the 2025 men's NCAA Tournament. Only two of the league's schools failed to go dancing, a remarkable feat, but it raised the pressure on the historically football-dominant conference to produce big results in March Madness.
The Big Ten, on the other hand, was given less attention thanks to its perceived lack of title contenders outside of Michigan State and Wisconsin. Two of the Big Ten's bubble teams (Ohio State, Nebraska) played their way out of the field in the conference tournament, leaving the conference with 8 bids out of a possible 18 members.
The College Football Playoff in January provided a huge win for the Big Ten as Ohio State took home the crown over a field that included three SEC teams. Those wins appear to be carrying over to the hardwood as the Big Ten is off to a faster start in March Madness than the SEC.
The Big Ten sets a new standard for early March Madness success
Of the 14 SEC teams in the field, eight are still dancing as Texas lost in the First Four to Xavier while Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Georgia, Oklahoma and Missouri fell in the Round of 64. The Big Ten, as CBS Sports' Matt Norlander notes, went a perfect 8-for-8 to set the record for best performance by a conference in a single round of the tournament.
The Big Ten is 8-0 through the first round of the NCAAT. That's the best record for any league in history in the first round.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) March 22, 2025
The SEC and Big Ten will comprise 16 of the 32 teams left in the tournament — the highest percentage by two leagues in the second round in history.
Seeing the Big Ten and SEC have an equal number of representatives in the Round of 32 despite the SEC nearly doubling up the Big Ten in terms of actual bids is a very surprising turn of events, especially given how poorly the Big Ten has done in March Madness in recent years. While it is true that a lot of the SEC teams that lost were closer to the cut line than the Big Ten's entrants, having an 8-0 record in March Madness is a lot better than an 8-6 one.
Critics of both super conferences and potential NCAA Tournament expansion will likely point to the SEC's performance thus far as evidence that no conference should have that many teams in the field, especially when six of them couldn't reach the .500 mark in league play. Oklahoma and Texas, who were the lowlights of the group at 6-12 in SEC play, each lost their first game in the dance.
While the argument over how many mediocre power conference teams should be in the field is one to be settled at another time, the Big Ten will gladly take their early bragging rights now. The SEC may still win the war with all of its top title contenders (Auburn, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Texas A&M) still dancing, but for now the Big Ten has continued bragging rights over its biggest rival in athletics.