The SEC has become a basketball powerhouse and now the NCAA has bid to prove it.
The SEC rewrites record books for most NCAA Tournament bids at Sunday's selection meeting, kicking off this year's March Madness and sending 14 teams to this year's Big Dance.
He defeated the previous record set by Big East in the 2011 back. The meeting won 11 bids in the tournament that year.
The league's impressive show was predicted to be a deserved conclusion after an impressive year for conference teams, including the Florida Gators' first SEC Tournament Championship in more than a decade and winning Tennessee on Sunday.
Having grown heavily over the past decade, the SEC has held a .889 win rate in this year's non-conference games, boasting a 30-4 record against the ACC, a 14-2 record against the Big 12 and a 10-9 record against the Big Ten.
With the change, SEC committee member Greg Sankey told staff in January that 14 bids should be repeated at this year's tournament, In an interview with ESPN Over the weekend, before the bracket was announced, he said it was “justified.”
“We shouldn't talk about under the age of 14,” Sankey said. “I said that literally every expectation we communicate has at least 14 or more expectations, depending on how the season works, and I think it was completely justified, and I think it continues to be justified.
“And I feel good about breaking records. We have to trust the committee in decisions. But when you look at victory in meetings with great teams, when you look at the number of Quad 1 experiences, Quad 2 experiences, and 14 teams, it's unparalleled.”
