NCAA tournament conference breakdown: SEC and Big Ten thrive, while ACC struggles

The second round of the 2026 men’s NCAA tournament will be heavily populated by the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 after all three conferences posted strong first rounds. 

The three leagues will combine to send 21 teams to the second round with the SEC leading the charge with eight out of 10 teams moving forward. 

Overall, eight leagues are sending multiple teams to the second round of NCAA tournament.

SEC: 8 teams

Big Ten: 7 teams

Big 12: 6 teams

ACC: 4 teams

Big East: 2 teams

Atlantic 10: 2 teams 

WCC: 1 team

Mountain West: 1 team

Big South: 1 team 

SEC 

The SEC produced a monster first round in 2026. Only Georgia and Missouri lost across the league’s 10 bids. 

Eight SEC teams moving on matches last season’s total — with four fewer bids. It also maintains an incredibly high floor for the conference only two seasons removed from a 3-5 first round.

South Region top seed Florida and No. 4 seed Arkansas — facing Cinderella High Point — are both heavy favorites in the second round. Alabama, Vanderbilt and Tennessee are all close favorites to reach the Sweet 16. 

Kentucky battles No. 2 seed Iowa State after surviving Santa Clara. Texas A&M and First Four-advancing Texas are intriguing double-digit seeds playing No. 2 seed Houston and No. 3 seed Gonzaga. 

2026: 10 bids, 9-2 record

2025: 14 bids, 23-13 record

2024: eight bids, 9-8 record

RESULTS

No. 1 Florida beat No. 16 Prairie View A&M 114-55

No. 4 Alabama beat No. 13 Hofstra 90-70

No. 4 Arkansas beat No. 13 Hawai’i 97-78

No. 5 Vanderbilt beat No. 12 McNeese 78-68

No. 6 Tennessee beat No. 11 Miami (Ohio) 78-56

No. 7 Kentucky beat No. 10 Santa Clara 89-84 in overtime

No. 8 Georgia lost to No. 9 Saint Louis 102-77 

No. 10 Missouri lost to No. 7 Miami 80-66

No. 10 Texas A&M beat No. 7 Saint Mary’s 63-50

No. 11 Texas beat No. 11 N.C. State 68-66 in the First Four 

No. 11 Texas beat No. 6 BYU 79-71

Big Ten

The first round saw another strong showing from the Big Ten with a 7-2 start. An upset to No. 5 seed Wisconsin and Ohio State losing in the 8-9 matchup to TCU were the only losses during an otherwise solid showing. 

Top Big Ten teams dominated. All five top-four seeds won by at least 20-plus points. In the second round, the Big Ten is the stronger seed in all four matchups on Saturday while No. 2 seed Purdue is a favorite on Sunday. UCLA and Iowa are dangerous underdogs with plenty of talent to reach the second weekend. 

2026: nine bids, 7-2 record

2025: eight bids, 13-8 record

2024: six bids, 10-6 record

RESULTS

No. 1 Michigan beat No. 16 Howard 101-80

No. 2 Purdue beat No. 15 Queens 104-71

No. 3 Illinois beat No. 14 Penn 105-70

No. 3 Michigan State beat No. 14 North Dakota State 92-67

No. 4 Nebraska beat No. 13 Troy 76-47

No. 5 Wisconsin lost to No. 12 High Point 83-82

No. 7 UCLA beat No. 10 UCF 75-71

No. 8 Ohio State lost to No. 9 TCU 66-64

No. 9 Iowa beat No. 8 Clemson 67-61

ACC

After a first round full of tests and losses, the ACC can’t feel good entering the Round of 32. Duke trailed by double digits by halftime before winning a close game over a 16 seed. Virginia was tested by 14-seed Wright State. Louisville survived 11-seed South Florida. Miami did win an impressive (road) game against No. 10 seed Missouri in Saint Louis.

But North Carolina, Clemson, N.C. State and SMU are all gone. 

Top seed Duke is the ACC’s only favorite in the second round. The Blue Devils are double-digit favorites over TCU. Outside of Duke, No. 6 seed Tennessee is favored over Virginia and No. 3 seed Michigan State has the edge over Louisville. 

2026: eight bids, 4-4 record

2025: four bids, 5-4 record

2024: five bids, 12-5 record

RESULTS

No. 1 Duke beat No. 16 Siena 71-65

No. 3 Virginia beat No. 14 Wright State 82-73

No. 6 Louisville beat No. 11 South Florida 83-79

No. 6 North Carolina lost to No. 11 VCU 82-78 in OT

No. 7 Miami (FL) beat No. 10 Missouri 80-66

No. 8 Clemson lost to No. 9 Iowa 67-61

No. 11 N.C. State lost to No. 11 Texas 68-66 in First Four

No. 11 SMU lost to No. 11 Miami (Ohio) 89-79 in First Four

Big 12

The top five teams moved on in the Big 12 while No. 6 seed BYU and UCF were eliminated. 

Double-digit wins mostly defined the first round for the Big 12’s elite group. Some second-round wars test the conference ahead.

Arizona and Houston are double-digit favorites against Utah State and Texas A&M, respectively. Iowa State could have its hands full against Kentucky if Joshua Jefferson is out. The All-Big 12 selection exited the Cyclones’ first-round win with an ankle injury. 

Meanwhile, Kansas faces Big East champion St. John’s while Texas Tech plays No. 4 seed Alabama. TCU also gets a crack at top seed Duke in the East Region after its first-round win over Ohio State.  

2026: eight bids, 6-2 record

2025: seven bids, 14-7 record 

2024: eight bids, 7-8 record

RESULTS

No. 1 Arizona beat No. 16 LIU 92-58

No. 2 Houston beat No. 15 Idaho 78-47

No. 2 Iowa State beat No. 15 Tennessee State 108-74

No. 4 Kansas beat No. 13 California Baptist 68-60

No. 5 Texas Tech beat No. 12 Akron 91-71

No. 6 BYU lost to No. 11 Texas 79-71

No. 9 TCU beat No. 8 Ohio State 66-64

No. 10 UCF lost to No. 7 UCLA 75-71

Big East 

Moving two teams to the Round of 32, the Big East sent UConn and St. John’s forward. Villanova dropped its matchup to Utah State as the better seed in the 8-9 matchup to finish its first season under head coach Kevin Willard. 

Both in the East Region, UConn faces UCLA in the next round and the Red Storm matchup with No. 4 seed Kansas. If both teams can advance to the Sweet 16 it will meet the conference’s NCAA win total from last season 

2026: three bids, 2-1 record

2025: five bids, 4-5 record

2024: three bids, 10-2 record

RESULTS

No. 2 UConn beat No. 15 Furman 82-71

No. 5 St. John’s beat No. 12 Northern Iowa 79-53

No. 8 Villanova lost to No. 9 Utah State 86-76

WCC

The WCC made progress this year with its first three-bid season since 2022 and only the fourth three-bid season in league history (2022, 2012, 2008). Unfortunately the league needs Gonzaga to advance to consider this a successful postseason.

Advancing past Kennesaw State, the Zags play No. 11 seed Texas — hoping to advance to the Sweet 16 after exiting in the second round last season. As for the others, Saint Mary’s had a disappointing showing against Texas A&M and Santa Clara lost in an overtime heartbreaker to Kentucky. 

2026: three bids, 1-2 record

2025: two bids, 2-2 record

2024: two bids, 4-2 record

RESULTS

No. 3 Gonzaga beat No. 14 Kennesaw State 73-64

No. 7 Saint Mary’s lost to No. 10 Texas A&M 63-50

No. 10 Santa Clara lost to No. 7 Kentucky 89-84 in overtime

Atlantic 10

For the second time in three years, the Atlantic 10 finishes the first round with a 2-0 record. Dayton and Duquesne both advanced to the Round of 32 in 2024 before being eliminated during the next round. The goal for 2026 for the A10 is at least one team to make the second weekend.

Saint Louis obliterated Georgia and VCU rallied from double digits in the second half to outlast North Carolina in overtime. Perhaps most impressively, both won as worse seeds.

The Billikens get top seed Michigan next round while the Rams battle No. 3 seed Illinois in the second round.

2026: two bids, 2-0 record

2025: one bid, 0-1 record 

2024: two bids, 2-2 record 

RESULTS

No. 9 Saint Louis beat No. 8 Georgia 102-77

No. 11 VCU beat No. 6 North Carolina 82-78 in overtime

MAC

The MAC finished the 2026 NCAA tournament with a 1-2 record. Miami (Ohio) completed a memorable season with a convincing First Four victory over SMU before falling to Tennessee in the Round of 64. Conference tournament champion Akron also fell to Texas Tech.

This was the MAC’s first multi-bid season since 1999 and only the sixth multi-bid campaign since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. An unbeaten regular season from the RedHawks, coupled with three straight NCAA tournament trips from the Zips, gives the MAC positive momentum for the mid-major league going forward. 

2026: two bids, 1-2 record

2025: one bid, 0-1 record

2024: one bid, 0-1 record

RESULTS

No. 11 Miami (Ohio) beat No. 11 SMU 89-79 in First Four

No. 11 Miami (Ohio) lost to No. 6 Tennessee 78-56

No. 12 Akron lost to No. 5 Texas Tech 91-71