March Madness: Power Conferences Dominate Sweet Sixteen

0:00On March 23rd, the NCAA men's college basketball tournament started Tuesday with 68 teams chasing the title, but just six days later, only. 16 remain in the suite, 16. Despite some calling it chalky with favorites advancing, there have been real shocks. By the 11-seed Texas beating 6-seed, Brigham Young, and 3-seed, Gonzaga, after starting in the first four. And 9-seed Iowa pulled off a rare upset over top-sea Florida, the first of its kind in eight years. The Big Ten dominates with six teams still alive, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, and Purdue. Stats show this conference is the third strongest ever, behind only 1989, and last year proving its depth from top to bottom. Even Iowa, which went just 10-10 in league play, just toppled the SEC's best team. Meanwhile, the SEC has four squads hanging on. Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Texas, still historically strong, despite dipping from last year's peak.

1:01The Big 12 follows with three, Arizona, Houston, and Iowa State, all legit title threats and league firing on all cylinders. Big East has two, Yukon and St. John's, while Duke stands alone for the ACC. This marks the second straight year only the big power conferences, plus the Big East have teams in the sweet 16, raising questions about fewer. Cinderella stories hurting the tournament's excitement. Looking back, if these 16 teams had reached this stage in past years ending in six like 1986, or 2016 the breakdown, would have included seven conferences, showing contenders once came from everywhere. As the bracket titans, these powerhouse leagues look poised to battle deep into April, highlighting how money and talent are reshaping March. Madness.