How the SEC’s Ascension in NCAA Basketball Dominance

An analysis of how the SEC transformed its reputation in college basketball during March Madness.

Date: Mar 28, 2025, at 10:56 am ET

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INDIANAPOLIS – The exact moment the SEC became a basketball conference is still up for debate. What Rick Barnes can tell you is when his league was barely known for basketball.

It was 1987, the beginning of what will someday be a hall of fame career for Tennessee’s current coach. Barnes had just taken what turned out to be a one-season-and-done job at George Mason. That season marked only the program’s 10th year of existence. It was a year before its first ever NCAA appearance, 18 years before its first NCAA win during a miracle run to the 2006 Final Four.

“Back when I was at George Mason, you tried to schedule SEC teams in November and December because you felt like you could go in and play in front of nobody and maybe steal a game,” Barnes recalled.

The 14 SEC teams in the NCAA Tournament is a record, by three. The Big East had 11 in 2011. The league also has a record seven Sweet 16 teams, shattering the old mark of four. Kentucky meets Tennessee here on Friday in one Midwest semifinal in a bout that will send a third SEC team to the Elite 8 (Alabama and Florida advanced Thursday night). The record for most schools from one conference in an Elite 8 is four. The SEC can tie that mark held by the ACC in 2016 and the Big East in 2009, if Auburn or Ole Miss win Friday and would even surpass it if both do.

“Everybody’s talking about how historic it’s been, the best league probably basketball has ever seen,” Tennessee assistant Rod Clark said. “Everybody was waiting for us [SEC] to flop when we got in the tournament. We look up and we’ve got almost half the Sweet 16. I think people are realizing this league was really for real.”

It’s time, then, to ask some questions. Like, how did all this happen? An overall upgrade in coaching has had a lot to do with it. Defying a national trend, top SEC players are coming to programs and staying. Officiating is better.

Barnes was half coach, half oracle in speaking to the media about the subject Thursday afternoon. He is both one of the reasons the SEC has taken over the world and a keen observer of the process. It was when Barnes arrived at Tennessee 10 years ago that the league was in the process of taking stock in its underperformance.

The problem was, the SEC wasn’t good at basketball. At least not good enough. Tranghese took one look at the budgets, arenas and possibilities in the league and concluded, “six, seven, eight teams [in the tournament] should be the norm.” But from 2009-2019 it averaged 4.5.

That sentence about the SEC being a hoops league might have sounded amusing, but the influence and dominance of SEC basketball cannot be overstated this season. With so much at stake, the tournament’s scope has shifted, bringing the SEC into sharp focus.

Florida followed Alabama on Thursday night to become the second SEC team to clinch an Elite 8 berth.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

As a former commissioner, Tranghese had no problem speaking to SEC coaches, ADs himself.

“You’ve got everything in the world. You’ve got fans, support, television network … you win in every sport with the exception of men’s basketball,” he said. “I said, ‘It was ridiculous.’”

The atmosphere in the SEC is one of high energy and competitive spirit, where every team brings its best game to the court. This has been a phenomenal year, and the stage is set for even more dramatic performances in the final rounds of the tournament.

“It’s just been a magical, brutal, beautiful year in the SEC,” Pope said. “A lot of bangin’. A lot of playin’ against high level dudes. After the game you’re sore, like you just played a full two games.”

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The newly invigorated SEC highlights not just a story of improved competition but also a testament to the growth and commitment of college basketball as a whole.