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When it comes to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, the Big East reigns supreme. Historically-speaking, of course. But the SEC has a chance to break a Big East record this season, if the (mostly) southeastern schools continue to dominate on the hardwood.

The all-time record is still safe, as the Big East has sent a whopping 355 teams to the NCAA Tournament in its history. That’s 132 more bids than the ACC, the next-highest ranked conference on the list. 

The SEC ranks fifth, with 201 all-time bids. However, they have a chance to increase that number in record-breaking fashion in 2025. 

According to the latest Bracketology report from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, the SEC currently has 13 teams (!!) in position to reach March Madness, with three schools earning #1 seeds. 

The SEC has a chance to break the Big East record by sending at least 12 teams in the NCAA Men's Basketball March Madness Tournament.

The SEC has a chance to break the Big East record by sending at least 12 teams to the NCAA Men’s Basketball March Madness Tournament.

(Imagn Images)

The Big East currently holds the record for most teams reaching the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in one year when they sent 11 schools in 2011. 

Although nine of the 11 Big East schools failed to reach the Sweet 16, UConn won the National Championship, meaning a successful season for the conference that ended in a title. 

That 11-bid season eclipsed the previous record, also set by the Big East, of eight teams reaching the tournament. 

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The SEC has never sent more than eight teams to the Big Dance, but that record is almost certain to fall in 2025. Of course, adding Texas and Oklahoma to the conference certainly didn’t hurt. 

They are among the 13 schools projected to reach March Madness, along with three teams selected for top seeds (Tennessee, Auburn, Kentucky), one on the two-line (Alabama), two on the three-line (Texas A&M and Florida) and six others scattered throughout the bracket. 

Of course, this will change over the next few months, but it’s also unlikely that the SEC completely falls apart in conference play. At the very least, the SEC is quite likely to become the second conference to ever send at least 10 teams to the tournament. 

Keep in mind that the SEC has the same number of schools (16) as the Big East did in 2011. While the latter sent 69% of the league to the tournament, the former has an opportunity to send a ridiculous 81% of the conference to the Big Dance. 

Again, there’s a long way to go. But there’s no question that the best basketball conference in the country, right now, is the SEC.