Years of parentheses chaos have given way to the year of the Power Conference.
Cinderella stays at home this time.
The Sweet 16, a popular destination for the main support support, will be completely composed of Power Conferences equipment, the first since the group expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
It is not a Chicago of San Pedro or Loyola in the group. Not even a butler or gonzaga.
The support was prepared for this after a first calcareous round, when the four upper seeds were a 16-0 combined one for the sixth time. Two seeds No. 12 reached the second round and one 11.
They all lost.
The highest seed to get to Dulce 16: No. 10 Arkansas. All others have 6 or more, with the four seeds No. 1 and three of the four 2 (sorry St. John’s).
There will be four conferences represented in regional sties in San Francisco, Newark, Indianapolis and Atlanta. That is the youngest in the history of the NCAA tournament and far from the record of 11 (three times).
Speaking of records, the SEC accumulated a trio of them.
First, 14 teams reached support. Record.
Then, six teams lost in the first round. Record.
Now, seven sec teams are in the sweet 16. Sweet record.
“We have worked hard as a league to get where we are this year and it is always difficult,” said Tennessee coach Rick Barnes. “But I would like to think even how fans that we would all have to have returned mutually at this time of the year and then we can return to what we normally do.”
To the other conferences, the three, also quite well.
The Big Ten was the first winner of the great bracket, becoming the first league to go 8-0 in the first round and stretched it to 10-0 until Byu knocked out Wisconsin. Four teams were expelled in the second round, but Michigan State, Michigan, Purdue and Maryland feel sweet.
The new Big 12 was also represented well, matching a league record established in 2002 by landing four teams in the Sweet 16.
Arizona is new to Big 12, while Houston and Byu joined last year, so there were better probabilities that only a few years ago. Even so, four teams, with Texas Tech, give the league an opportunity in three national champions in the last five years.
The ACC, defamed by a bad beginning of the beginning of March, has a sweet 16er and is good.
Duke and the fabulous first -year student Cooper Flagg were one of the favorites to win the national title to open the season and keep looking like this after playing with their first two opponents of the NCAA tournament.
“For us to win by this margin, I think this speaks of the level of murderous instinct that our boys have, competitiveness and connectivity,” said coach Jon Scheyer after The 89-66 victory of the Blue Devils About Baylor once formidable.
One thing is safe: there will not be three mobs.
The first repeated champion from Florida in 2006-07, UConn kept the dream alive with an opening victory over Oklahoma. The commitment to join John Wooden’s UCLA teams when the only three university basketball legs arrived An emotional end Sunday with A loss of 77-75 to Florida better sown.
“We are a passionate program,” said UConn coach Dan Hurley, stopping twice to compose. “The players play with that. I train with Him. You are always (expletive) exhausted when it ends.”
This year’s passion has been in power: conferences.
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