Power Outage: Mizzou Struggled Down Stretch But Still Left SEC Winless Zoo

Missouri struggled down the stretch, losing four of last five regular-season outings. But the Tigers (10-8 in SEC) still duplicated Oregon's feat of posting a winning mark in premier-conference play the year after going winless in league competition (8-6 in 1972-73). Seton Hall (2-18 in Big East) and South Carolina (2-16 in SEC) registered the worst power-conference records this campaign.

Eight power-conference members in the previous 11 seasons went winless in league competition after DePaul and Missouri suffered the indignity in 2023-24. The Blue Demons, incurring the same Big East Conference fate 15 years earlier, joined Clemson (1954 and 1955), Georgia Tech (1954 and 1981), Northwestern (1991 and 2000) and Texas Christian (1964, 1977 and 2014) as current power-league schools in this dubious category multiple times since the formation of the ACC in 1953-54. Tech was winless in two different power leagues (SEC and ACC).

The 2023-24 campaign marked the third season in 70 years when two power-conference members were winless in league competition. Previous campaigns with a pair of winless power-league teams in that span were 1953-54 (Clemson and Georgia Tech) and 1985-86 (Colorado and Wake Forest). The ACC and Big East have had the most different members go winless in that stretch with four apiece. Clemson headlines the following list by largest average losing margin in power-league play of winless teams since the ACC's inaugural campaign in 1953-54:

Winless Power-League Member Conference Season League Mark (Average Losing Margin) Overall Coach
Clemson ACC 1953-54 0-9 (29.3) 5-18 Banks McFadden
Clemson ACC 1954-55 0-14 (24.6) 2-21 Banks McFadden
DePaul* Big East 2023-24 0-20 (23.9) 3-28 Tony Stubblefield/Matt Brady
Georgia Tech ACC 1980-81 0-14 (23.6) 4-23 Dwane Morrison
Miami (Fla.) Big East 1993-94 0-18 (20.2) 7-20 Leonard Hamilton
Northwestern Big Ten 1999-00 0-16 (20.1) 5-25 Kevin O'Neill
Pittsburgh ACC 2017-18 0-18 (19.1) 8-24 Kevin Stallings
Oregon State Pac-10 2007-08 0-18 (18.7) 6-25 Jay John/Kevin Mouton
Georgia Tech SEC 1953-54 0-14 (18.4) 2-22 John "Whack" Hyder
Texas Christian Big 12 2013-14 0-18 (17.8) 9-22 Trent Johnson
Colorado Big Eight 1985-86 0-14 (17.2) 8-20 Tom Apke
Boston College ACC 2015-16 0-18 (16.9) 7-25 Jim Christian
Northwestern Big Ten 1990-91 0-18 (16.7) 5-23 Bill Foster
Texas Christian SWC 1976-77 0-16 (16.1) 3-23 Johnny Swaim
DePaul* Big East 2008-09 0-18 (15.8) 9-24 Jerry Wainwright
Wake Forest ACC 1985-86 0-14 (15.4) 8-21 Bob Staak
Texas Tech SWC 1989-90 0-16 (13.8) 5-22 Gerald Myers
Vanderbilt SEC 2018-19 0-18 (13.3) 9-23 Bryce Drew
Texas Christian SWC 1963-64 0-14 (13.1) 4-20 Byron "Buster" Brannon
Iowa State Big 12 2020-21 0-18 (12.6) 2-22 Steve Prohm
Georgetown Big East 2021-22 0-19 (12.4) 6-25 Patrick Ewing
Oregon Pac-8 1971-72 0-14 (12.3) 6-20 Dick Harter
Texas A&M Big 12 2003-04 0-16 (11) 7-21 Melvin Watkins
Missouri SEC 2023-24 0-18 (10.7) 8-23 Dennis Gates
Southern California Pac-8 1975-76 0-14 (9.6) 11-16 Bob Boyd
Providence Big East 1979-80 0-6 (9.5) 11-16 Gary Walters

*DePaul won opening-round game in 2009 league tourney and lost 2024 tourney opener by one point.