Select Circle: ACC Supplies > Three Sweet 16 Teams For 1st Time In 20 Years
The Atlantic Coast Conference provided more than three teams among the Sweet 16 for the first time in 20 years. 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 17 years to emerge in a year when one of the power alliances supplied at least four representatives among the Sweet 16.
In 2009, the Big East became the only conference to have five playoff teams reach the regional semifinals in the same year until the ACC duplicated the feat this year. The ACC boasted four members advancing that far on eight occasions in a 12-year stretch from 1984 through 1995. The ACC, upon adding Louisville, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Syracuse as new members, is unlikely to endure such an extended absence of four or more entrants in the immediate 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 25 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 |
| 2015 | ACC | x-Duke, Louisville, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Notre Dame |
x-Won NCAA championship
y-Finished national runner-up
z-Reached Final Four