SEC sends record seven teams to Sweet 16
03/24/2025
By Chris Marler
Thursday started with a fizzle.
Sunday ended with a bang.
Like Stairway to Heaven or the movie Titanic, the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament was a slow burn until the finale on Sunday.
Revenge is Sweet
Mondays are the worst for pretty much everyone. However, this Monday has to be the actual worst for the weird, anti-SEC crowd on social media.
When Texas lost their play-in game against Xavier on Wednesday it took less than a minute for the trolls to come out.
The greatest conference to ever bless the sport of college basketball is now 0-1 in March Madness.
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) March 20, 2025
The SEC finished Round One just 8-6. The league was the subject of a lot of criticism from people around the country, and if we are being honest some of it was fair. However, a lot of those trolls were very quiet after Round Two.
The SEC finished 7-1 in Round Two, sending an NCAA record seven teams to the Sweet 16. The only team that didn’t advance from Round Two to next weekend was Texas A&M, who lost to the Big Ten Champions, Michigan.
Now the question is: What must the SEC do moving forward to avoid this season being labeled a failure?
Said before tournament….
Needed 6 teams in Sweet 16
3 teams in Elite 8
2 teams in Final 4
1 in Title gameSEC needs to hit that mark to live up to hype they created in regular season https://t.co/Ax3iiN20iS
— Peter Burns (@PeterBurnsESPN) March 22, 2025
The path won’t be easy. There’s a reason why Mike Krzyzewski only won five national titles in a gazillion years of coaching. However, the road itself looks somewhat favorable considering the track record of non-SEC teams against the conference throughout this season.
Remaining non-SEC Sweet 16 teams vs. the SEC in 2024-25:
Purdue: 2-2
Duke: 1-1
Michigan: 1-2
Arizona: 0-1
BYU: 0-1
Texas Tech: 0-1
Houston: 0-2
Maryland: 0-0
Michigan State: 0-0Total: 4-10
— Connor O’Gara (@cjogara) March 24, 2025
The next few weeks will serve as the ultimate test of just how much people dislike the SEC. Big Ten fans? No question. Big J journalists like Nicole Auerbach and Stuart Mandel? Seems likely. But does the general public dislike the conference enough to actually root for—gulp—Duke?
If so, wow. Also, if so, gross.
$50 million value from a “disgraced” coach and student manager? That’s March, baby!
Few people capitalized on their moment more than Amir Khan during March Madness. The McNeese State manager’s moment in the spotlight stretched beyond 15 minutes, lasting from their conference tournament run through their first-round upset of Clemson.
Whether you loved it, grew tired of it, or fell somewhere in between, one undeniable takeaway was the immense value Will Wade and McNeese State built over the past two years before it all came to an end.
McNeese St’s President said that this team, its players, coaches and student manager have brought in an estimated $50 Million in free marketing and advertising for the school. #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/Sw4PA07WRi
— Chris Marler (@VernDumbquist) March 22, 2025
One of the coolest, and most surprising, parts of this story is that it seems like both sides seemed to know this was the ultimate outcome from the start. No animosity. No unspoken miscommunications. Just business that benefited both sides before a goodbye. We love to see it.
Dawg of the Week
A lot of players could deserve this after the first weekend. Tahaad Pettiford and Dylan Cardwell carried Auburn over Creighton. Walter Clayton Jr. took over for Florida against UConn. However, all those moments paled in comparison to what Derik Queen did.
More specifically what Derik Queen said and then did.
to the Head Coach: “What play did you call?”
“I said ‘who wants the ball’ and he said ‘Give me the MFIN ball”
to Derik Queen: “Where does that confidence come from?”
“I’m from Baltimore,” pic.twitter.com/JArPwRvkKp
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) March 24, 2025