With the placing of MSU as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the committee solidified their opinions on which conference is the best basketball conference.
By the committee’s selection, the Atlantic Coastal Conference shows to be the front-runner for best conference with two teams, University of North Carolina and University of Virginia, both receiving No. 1 seeds.
The Tar Heels proved to be a dominant force with a 29-6 record and capturing both the regular season ACC title along with the ACC tournament title. No question the boys in light blue should be representing the East Region this year.
The Virginia Cavaliers posted an impressive 27-7 record and finished one game behind the UNC in the ACC regular season. Virginia head coach Tony Bennett's defensive system has given the Cavaliers a nation’s third best scoring defense with 59.7 opponent's points per game.
However, with a 29-5 record, the Spartans finished second in the Big Ten regular season and shielded off Purdue for the Big Ten championship. With all five losses coming during conference play, MSU is one of four schools to defeat No. 1 Kansas this year. Also, the Spartans lead the nation in three separate offensive categories — 3-point percentage, assists per game and rebound margin.
The Big 12 is also stepping forward as a contender for the best basketball conference. With No. 1 Kansas looking to cut down the nets in Houston, the Big 12 is accompanied with Oklahoma and 25 points per game scorer Buddy Hield.
Even the Pac-12 has Oregon as a No. 1 seed. The Ducks (28-6) have taken their speed and offense from the football turf to the hardwood. The Ducks, led by Dillon Brooks, have had little love from March Madness. Out of each number one seed, the Ducks are considered the least likely to win it all, according to oddshark.com.
Each of these conferences, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12, have seven teams represented in March Madness this year.
After Purdue's first-round loss and recent drop offs of Iowa and Maryland, the Big Ten will need a stellar performance in March Madness in order to prove the committee wrong. Indiana vs. Kentucky, in the round of 32, will be a must-win against for the Hoosiers in order to attempt to regain the Big Ten reputation.
In order for the Big Ten to gain top status, MSU will have to win the championship and another Big Ten team will have to catapult themselves into the Elite Eight.
Kansas will have to win the tournament and have Oklahoma travel to the Elite Eight, preferably Final Four to make the Big 12 the best basketball conference. With the loss of Baylor in the round of 64, The Big 12 might also have to look for a push from Iowa State.
Unfortunately, unless something major happens this year, the disrespect of the Pac-12 will continue for years to come. Once the dominant conference when John Wooden and UCLA reigned, the Pac-12 has been unable to drawn attention to themselves.
As for the ACC, they are in best position to remain in basketball glory. The history behind Duke and UNC, the defensive prowess of Virginia and the experience of Miami make the ACC the conference to watch this March Madness. Even if UNC does not take the title this year, they have a good shot of remaining as the best conference in the eyes of the committee. Without the recent issues surrounding Louisville, another ACC team would have been representing the ACC, giving them eight total.
Sorry Big Ten and Big-12 fans, unless there is magic in the air, the ACC will still remain as the best basketball conference in college basketball.
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