The SEC has been widely regarded as the best conference in college basketball this season. And while the conference as a whole didn’t have the best start to the 2025 NCAA Tournament, the cream of the crop at the top of the conference has certainly made an impact.
Coming into the NCAA Tournament, the SEC had 14 teams get into the big dance, which is a record for the most teams from any one conference to ever get into the tournament.
In the First Four and Round of 64 combined, the conference was rather underwhelming, going 8-6 in the First Four and the Round of 64. But in the Round of 32, the conference bounced back in a major way, going 7-1, with the only team losing their respective game coming in Michigan’s upset win over Texas A&M.
Of the teams in the Sweet 16, seven teams, including Auburn, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ole Miss, and Arkansas, make up the representatives from the SEC. This marks the most teams to ever make it to the Sweet 16 from one respective conference in the history of the NCAA Tournament.
Per our friends at @ESPNStatsInfo: The SEC will have seven teams in the Sweet 16, the most by a conference since the round was introduced in 1975. The previous mark was 6 teams in 2016 by the ACC.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 24, 2025
While Duke remains the clear favorite to cut down the nets on the majority of sportsbooks, the remainder of the top contenders largely live in the SEC. After Duke, it is Florida and Auburn who have the best odds, followed by Houston in the Big 12.
It will certainly be interesting to see how the SEC performs throughout the remainder of the NCAA Tournament. But if an SEC team does indeed win it all, it will be hard to deny that the SEC is the conference to beat in college basketball.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.