All the talk this year has been about how bad the play is in the SEC. I will admit that I have fallen into this discussion and more than once have I said that the level of play in the SEC is bad. I want to say that we all may be wrong. Ken Pomeroy at Deadspin did had an article where he talks about how small a sample of games a college team plays compared to the NBA does not give a good enough picture to see how good or bad a team may really be. He may be on to more than I thought. Let's look at the NCAA tourney and break some things down.
The BIG 12 had 7 teams; The PAC 12, BIG 10, A10 and ACC all had 6 teams; the AAC had 4; the SEC 3; and the Mountain West had 2 teams go to the tournament. Now let's look at what's left. The PAC 12, BIG 12, SEC,all have 3; the BIG 12 and AAC have 2 and the Mountain West, A 10 and ACC each have one. So why is it that the SEC has all three of their teams left. Because maybe the SEC is not as bad as we think. If you had the next three SEC teams that were left out Arkansas, Missouri and let's say Georgia. Would they be any worse off. I say no. In fact one of those teams could have just as easily snuck a win out in the first round.
So are all these top 25 teams that were put out in the first two rounds overrated. Maybe not. They are all probably pretty good teams. But to say that the SEC is such a weak conference after they are the only conference with a 100% of their teams in the sweet sixteen is little foolish. There will always be teams that are better than the rest, but in the SEC it is just as easy for the number one loose to the sixteen on their court. The SEC is difficult place to play on the road, just ask Arkansas. Let's face it. The is more parity in basketball than maybe any order time in the history of the tourney. A team like Kentucky that is loaded with Freshman, many destined to leave early for the NBA still has it's challenges. And a team like Florida, who has held a nucleus of upperclassman have experience and growth on their side. This makes it easier to have a mid major like San Diego St. in the Sweet Sixteen. It also shows that a team does not have to recruit a starting 5 of Freshman on a short ride to the NBA to be successful.
What really at play here is a shift. The football conferences will continue to create a larger rift between the top tier schools and those that are not. But basketball is a great equalizer. A team just needs a player or two each year and over the course of 4 years have a 6-8 man rotation that can compete with anyone. So maybe the SEC isn't as bad as I thought. What do you think, let me know.