NCAA TOURNEY PRIMER: Record 14 teams from SEC ready to make more history
Bruce Pearl looks to lead the Auburn Tigers to their second Final Four berth since his arrival as the head coach. The Tigers are the overall No. 1 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament. (Courtesy Auburn Media Relations)
By GRAHAM DUNN
Beginning Wednesday, the Southeastern Conference will embark on a journey never before enjoyed by a conference.
With 14 entries in the NCAA Tournament, the record of teams from one conference is not only broken, it is shattered.
Prior to this season, the Big East held the record with 11 entries in 2011. The most teams from the SEC had been eight, which happened three times including last season.
Two teams were selected as No. 1 seeds - Auburn and Florida. The Tigers were named the top overall seed in the tourney for the first time ever.
The last time the league had two teams on the 1-line was 1980 when LSU and Kentucky did it.
Six teams are in the top four seeds with Alabama and Tennessee on the 2-line, Kentucky a No. 3 seed and Texas A&M a 4-seed. That’s a record too, breaking last year’s number of four top 16 seeds.
Even when the newcomers Texas and Oklahoma are included, all 16 members have made the NCAA Tournament at least once since 2022.
The festivities begin Wednesday with Texas in a First-Four matchup against Xavier in Dayton.
Six teams are slated for action on Thursday with Auburn facing Alabama State (South Region) and Tennessee paying Wofford (Midwest) in Lexington. Arkansas faces Kansas (West) in Providence while Missouri plays Drake (West) and Georgia faces Gonzaga (Midwest) in Wichita.
Texas A&M will play Yale in a South Region game in Denver, Col.
On Friday, Alabama will play Robert Morris and Vanderbilt will play St. Mary’s in East Region battles in Cleveland. The winners face off on Sunday.
Ole Miss and Kentucky will play in Milwaukee with the Rebels facing North Carolina and the Cats taking on Troy. Should Texas win, it will also be in Milwaukee to face Illinois.
Three teams are in Raleigh, NC with Mississippi State playing Baylor, Florida taking on Norfolk State and Oklahoma facing UConn.
Here are a few tidbits on each team heading into this weekend’s action…
Alabama - Making a program-record fifth-straight appearance in the tournament and it’s the third time the Tide has received a No. 2 seed with the others coming in 1987 and 2021. Alabama could become the first team from the SEC to reach the Final Four in consecutive seasons since Kentucky in 2014-15…
Arkansas - First-year coach John Calipari is making his 24th appearance in the tourney as a coach, having reached the tournament with Kentucky 12 times, Memphis six times, and UMass five times. He has one national title to his credit (2012 with Kentucky) and six Final Four appearances with the last coming in 2015… The Razorbacks have been in the tournament four of the last five years.
Auburn - The Tigers are the top overall seed for the first time in school history. They were also a No. 1 seed in 1999, all under Bruce Pearl. Since ranking teams 1-68, which began in 2004, the top overall seed has won the national title four times including UConn, which did it last year.
Florida - The Gators are a No. 1 seed for the third time in school history. Finished the season on a six-game winning streak that included the program’s fifth SEC Tournament championship. The last time the Gators were a No. 1 seed (2014) they reached the Final Four, losing to UConn, which won the title.
Georgia - Dogs are making their first appearance in the Dance since 2015, which was the 10th overall. They have not won a game in the NCAA since 1996 when they reached the West Regional semifinals.
Kentucky - Making a national record 62nd appearance with 130 all-time victories, which does not include vacated wins. Kentucky has just one win in the last four appearances. Coach Mark Pope was a member of the the 1996 national championship team.
Ole Miss - Has a total of five wins in nine appearances in the tourney, the last coming in 2019. The furthest the program has gone is the Sweet 16 in 2001. The No. 6 seed is highest since that 2001 run when it was No. 3 in the Midwest.
Mississippi State - Third-straight appearance for the Bulldogs, but looking for the first win in the tournament since 2008. Coach Chris Jans has led MSU to three-straight NCAA bids and is making his fourth-straight trip as a coach (New Mexico State).
Missouri - Tigers are making. Their 30th appearance and has their highest seed (No. 6) since 2012 when it was No. 2. Missouri is one of five programs in the SEC to have never reached the Final Four.
Oklahoma - Making first appearance since 2021.With its 6-12 record, the Sooners have the worst record among at-large bids in NCAA history (Texas also has the same record). Prior to this year, no team from the SEC had ever reached the tournament as an at-large team with seven wins or less.
Tennessee - another of the five teams in the conference to have never made the Final Four. This is the second straight year the Vols have received a No. 2 seed. Record-setting seventh-straight year to make the tournament.
Texas - Longhorns making fifth-straight appearance and 23rd in last 26 seasons. The program has three Final Four appearances with the last coming in 2003. The Longhorns are the first SEC team in the “First Four” since Mississippi State played Pittin the 11-seed game in 2023. A total of five teams have played in the First Four in Dayton including three straight years when the conference had a team in the 11-seed game (2014-16).
Texas A&M - Third-straight appearance which is the most since six-straight appearances between 2006-11. No. 4 seed the best since joining the SEC in 2012. Buzz Williams is making his 11th appearances as a head coach (Virginia Tech and Marquette).
Vanderbilt - making first appearance since 2017 and 16th overall. Have not won a game in the tournament since 2012 (Harvard). Best finish was in the regional finals in 1965.
Other notes…
The SEC was 3-5 in first-round games last year and 6-2 in 2023. The league last won every first round game in 2014 (three teams).
The SEC has had at least one team advance to the Sweet 16 in 33 of the last 34 tournaments.
Nine different SEC teams have advanced to the Sweet 16 in the last seven NCAA Tournaments. All 16 SEC members have advanced to the Sweet 16 since 1996.
The SEC has advanced a team in the Final Four seven of the last 13 tournaments.
The last national champion out of the SEC was Kentucky in 2012.