The SEC set records with 14 bids to March Madness and seven teams in the Sweet 16. It also obliterated the mark that matters more than any other: dollars earned.
The conference collected 35 NCAA Tournament units that are worth millions of dollars each, easily eclipsing the previous mark (25) set by the ACC in 2016.
Under the NCAA’s revenue distribution model, each game played equates to one unit earned (except for the national championship). This year, the units are worth approximately $350,000 annually and paid out annually over six years — or $2 million over the full payout period.
Which means the SEC has earned $70 million, to be split equally among the membership. With 16 schools, the unprecedented success this month will result in $4.4 million per campus from 2026-31.
The Big Ten finished second in the unit-acquisition game with 21, followed by the Big 12 with 20. The ACC and Big East earned nine, the Mountain West six and the West Coast Conference four.
On a units-per-bid basis, the Big 12 led the way with 2.9 units per participating team. The Big Ten collected 2.6 per participant while the SEC earned 2.5. (To a certain extent, the SEC faced a diminishing-returns situation because Tennessee and Kentucky faced each other in the Sweet 16.)
All in all, the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 collected 76 units, or 57.6 percent of the total available units.
In part because of realignment, this was the most top-heavy tournament in history.
Other winners and losers from the regional rounds as Duke, Florida, Houston and Auburn advanced to the Final Four …
Winner: No. 1 seeds. For the second time ever — and first since 2008 — all four top seeds advanced to the Final Four. (Then as now, the journey ended in San Antonio.) In case you’re interested in such matters, Duke is favored by 4.5 points over Houston on Saturday while Florida is favored by 2.5 points over Auburn.
Loser: Cinderellas. The closest we came to an upstart in the Sweet 16 was Texas Tech, a No. 3 seed, which pushed Florida to the brink in the West regional. The Hotline is hesitant to draw conclusions on the future of the little guys in the Big Dance — the sample size is small — but NIL and the transfer portal are worrisome for that subset of Division I.
Winner: Houston. The Cougars experienced a tough break last year with the injury to star guard Jamal Shead and a bad draw this year, having to face Purdue in Indianapolis. But the Cougars are back in the Final Four in authoritative fashion, taking the toughest seed path of any team since North Carolina in 2017. To survive the Midwest, they beat the Nos. 16, 8, 4 and 2 seeds. (Stat courtesy of the NCAA.)
Loser: ACC. The conference was maligned all year and played down to its reputation with only four total bids and just one team advancing to the Sweet 16. Of course, that one team, Duke, is the team to beat.
Winner: CBS and Turner. Anytime the Blue Devils reach the Final Four, eyeballs are sure to follow. The Cooper Flagg factor means fans of the NBA teams tanking for the No. 1 pick — there are several — will be tuned in, as well. Not surprisingly, CBS has picked Duke for the second semifinal slot Saturday evening.
Loser: Tennessee. Another regional appearance without a Final Four berth for the Volunteers, who are tied with Xavier for the most NCAA Tournament wins (31) by a school that has never reached the sport’s grandest stage, according to CBS.
Winner: The South. A single quadrant of the country claims all four semifinalists — yes, we’re including Houston in the region — and the skewed geography reminds us of the College Football Playoff’s southerly bent prior to the North’s emergence in 2023.
Loser: The West. The last teams standing from the western half of the country, Brigham Young and Arizona, were eliminated in the Sweet 16. It has been 28 years since the region won the national title (Arizona), and in the past decade, it has filled just five of the 40 spots in the Final Four: Gonzaga twice, plus UCLA, Oregon and San Diego State.
Winner: Foul shooting. Often overlooked in the metric-based sport, the freebies from 15 feet can make all the difference. And the Final Four teams combined to shoot 79.3 percent from the line in their eight games this weekend. Duke was 42-of-49 (85.7 percent), Florida made 41-of-48 (85.4), Houston hit 11-of-15 (73.3) and Auburn converted 25-of-38 (65.7).
Loser: Officiating reviews. We understand the desire to get the clock correct in the final minutes, even down to the tenth of a second. But reliance on replay is out of control and must end before it does further damage to the playing and viewing experience.
Winner: Duke. The pre-tournament betting favorite is the team to beat in San Antonio after a dominant performance in the East regional, where the Blue Devils led Arizona and Alabama by at least two possessions for every minute of the second half. Currently, they are even money to win the title.
Loser: Brigham Young. All in all, the Cougars had a terrific season and should be a tournament regular under coach Kevin Young. But their defense against Alabama in the Sweet 16 was so bad as to offend basic basketball sensibilities. Put another way: The Crimson Tide scored 48 more points against BYU (113) than they did two days later against Duke (65).
Winner: KenPom.com. The respected analytics website that tracks points-per-possession (adjusted for opponents) looks prescient on several fronts: Duke’s overall efficiency was No. 1 by a considerable margin entering the tournament; eight of the top nine teams advanced to the Elite Eight; and Gonzaga played to the level of its Pomeroy ranking (No. 8) in the second-round loss to Houston.
Loser: John Calipari. Arkansas’ first-year coach did well to beat St. John’s and get the Razorbacks into the Sweet 16. But the meltdown against Texas Tech, in which the Hogs wasted a 13-point lead with five minutes remaining, won’t fade from memory anytime soon.
Winner: Overtime. There has been one overtime game thus far (Texas Tech-Arkansas), which compares poorly to last year (five) but extends a 55-year streak. The last March Madness without at least one overtime game was 1970, when only 25 teams participated.
Loser: Texas Tech. Sure, Florida hit several big shots from 3-point range. But the Red Raiders blew their nine-point lead, and lost the game, because two empty trips to the foul line in the final minutes cost them four critical points. If Darrion Williams and JT Toppin convert their chances, the subsequent possessions unfold differently.
Winner: Walter Clayton Jr. Florida’s veteran guard has emerged as the best clutch shooter in the tournament, with big baskets against both Connecticut and Texas Tech. In all, he’s averaging 22.3 points, shooting 45 percent from 3-point range and making himself some money in the upcoming NBA Draft.
Loser: My bracket. The Hotline correctly picked six teams that reached the Elite Eight and three that made the Final Four. (We had Michigan State winning the South instead of Auburn.) But our sorry showing in the early rounds undercuts any claim to prognosticating success.
Winner: Cooper Flagg. It didn’t seem possible, but Duke’s prodigy is even better than the immense hype that accompanied his freshman season. His size, skill set, versatility, vision and feel for the game form the most complete package the sport has seen in eons.
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