Whether they are called arguments or debates, the question of which college conference is the best in football and basketball is ongoing.
It isn't close in football. Wins and losses have determined that the SEC is king of the football hill. Of the past 10 national championships, seven were won by the SEC, led by Alabama with four. In the past 25 years, the SEC's dominance covers 12 national championships; the Big 12 is second with five.
Legally, the Pac-12 shared only one national championship in the past 25 years because USC had to vacate its 2004 championship, which basically robbed undefeated Auburn of a title. USC split the 2003 title with LSU.
The only Big East school to win a national title in the past 25 years is Miami (2001), and it is now in the ACC.
Which naturally brings us to basketball and the ACC, which was a dismal 11-8 in NCAA Tournament play after getting nine teams in, but six of those victories came from national champion North Carolina. The ACC is clearly the monster when it comes to college basketball.
The ACC holds an 8-6 advantage over the Big East and SEC for men's NCAA Tournament titles in the past 25 years, and in the past decade it has a 4-3 advantage over the Big East. The only other conferences to win a championship in the past 10 years are the SEC (Kentucky, of course), the Big 12 (Kansas, also of course) and the American Athletic Conference (Connecticut, which was in its first season after leaving the Big East).
For the SEC in the past 25 years, Kentucky won three titles, Florida has two and the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville won one. But taking one in the past decade speaks volumes to how down the SEC has been, although there was a big turnaround this season.
The SEC received five bids, and many basketball enthusiasts whined that was at least one too many (Vanderbilt) and maybe two (South Carolina). Vandy lost its opener, but the Gamecocks won four in a row to make the Final Four.
Arkansas went 1-1, and Florida and Kentucky were 3-1 to give the SEC an 11-5 record compared to the ACC's 11-8 record and the Big East's 6-7. That's more than acceptable for the SEC.
It is really hard to believe it has been 24 years since the Hogs took home the championship. In some ways, it seems like yesterday, but in too many ways it seems like more than 23 years ago.
March has been more maddening than madness for the Razorbacks since Nolan Richardson left.
Stan Heath followed Richardson and took the Hogs to two Big Dances in five years, losing the first game both times, including once to Bucknell.
Next was John Pelphrey, who was 1-1 in the NCAA Tournament, but that was his first season and with Heath's players. After that, he was 0-3 in the SEC Tournament.
Mike Anderson came in to right the ship only to find it was sinking. His first team went 18-14, and his leading scorer was Mardracus Wade, who averaged 10.8 points per game. His second season, the Hogs were 19-13, and B.J. Young was the leading scorer at 15.2 points per game and Marshawn Powell was second with 14.5. Wade averaged 6.5.
His third season, they were 22-12 and went 1-1 in the NIT. The fourth season, the Hogs went 27-9 and 1-1 in the NCAA Tournament. After a 16-16 season in year five, the Hogs went 26-10 and 1-1 in the NCAA Tournament after being eliminated by eventual 2017 champion North Carolina, 72-65.
No one in the NCAA Tournament -- not Butler, Kentucky, Oregon or Gonzaga -- gave the Tar Heels more problems than the Hogs. Kind of like the glory days when the SEC was as feared as the ACC and Big East.
Sports on 04/06/2017