Select Circle: Big Ten Boasts Four Sweet 16 Teams Second Straight Year
The Big Ten Conference boasts four teams among the Sweet 16 for the second straight year. But are these squads running on fumes when they reach the Final Four after getting beat up on all season in a rigorous league? Syracuse '03 (from the Big East) is the only national champion in the previous 15 years to emerge in a year when one of the power alliances supplied at least four representatives among the Sweet 16, comprising 37 schools from 1998 through 2012.
In 2009, the Big East became the only conference to have five playoff teams reach the regional semifinals in the same year. The ACC boasted four members advancing that far on eight occasions in a 12-year stretch from 1984 through 1995 but hasn't had that many entrants go to that level in the last 18 years. The ACC, upon adding Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Syracuse as new members, is likely to end this streak in the not-too-distant future.
The ACC in 1985 was the only league in this category not to have at least one of the quartet reach the Final Four until the Big East was foiled in 2006. Following is a look at the 24 times when thoroughbred leagues supplied at least four of the Sweet 16 since the NCAA Tournament field expanded to at least 48 teams in 1980:
| Year | Power League | Four or More Members Reaching Sweet 16 |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Big Ten | Indiana, z-Iowa, Ohio State, z-Purdue |
| 1984 | ACC | Maryland, North Carolina, z-Virginia, Wake Forest |
| 1985 | ACC | Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State |
| 1985 | Big East | Boston College, y-Georgetown, z-St. John's, x-Villanova |
| 1986 | ACC | y-Duke, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, North Carolina State |
| 1986 | SEC | Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky, z-Louisiana State |
| 1989 | ACC | z-Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia |
| 1989 | Big Ten | z-Illinois, Indiana, x-Michigan, Minnesota |
| 1990 | ACC | Clemson, y-Duke, z-Georgia Tech, North Carolina |
| 1992 | ACC | x-Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina |
| 1993 | ACC | Florida State, x-North Carolina, Virginia, Wake Forest |
| 1995 | ACC | Maryland, z-North Carolina, Virginia, Wake Forest |
| 1996 | SEC | Arkansas, Georgia, x-Kentucky, z-Mississippi State |
| 1997 | Pacific-10 | x-Arizona, California, Stanford, UCLA |
| 1998 | Pacific-10 | Arizona, z-Stanford, UCLA, Washington |
| 1999 | Big Ten | Iowa, z-Michigan State, z-Ohio State, Purdue |
| 2001 | Pacific-10 | y-Arizona, Southern California, Stanford, UCLA |
| 2002 | Big 12 | z-Kansas, Missouri, z-Oklahoma, Texas |
| 2003 | Big East | Connecticut, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, x-Syracuse |
| 2006 | Big East | Connecticut, Georgetown, Villanova, West Virginia |
| 2009 | Big East | z-Connecticut, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, z-Villanova |
| 2012 | Big East | Cincinnati, z-Louisville, Marquette, Syracuse |
| 2012 | Big Ten | Indiana, Michigan State, z-Ohio State, Wisconsin |
| 2013 | Big Ten | Indiana, y-Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State |
x-Won NCAA championship
y-Finished national runner-up
z-Reached Final Four