March Madness 2014: Conference Rankings as the Final Four Approaches

Congratulations to the Big Ten, SEC and American Athletic Conference—you are the only three conferences that still have representatives alive in the NCAA tournament.

There is a legitimate chance that college basketball fans will see a rematch of the SEC tournament championship in the national title game, but Wisconsin and Connecticut have other plans.

With that in mind, it's time to come up with conference power rankings.

Remember that tournament results obviously play a major factor, but simply having a Final Four team doesn’t necessarily guarantee one conference will be ahead of one that doesn’t. After all, the body of work and league strength from top to bottom is still worth something.

*RPI rankings are courtesy of RealTimeRPI.com as of March 19 (the day before the round of 64 began).

No. 8: Big East

David J. Phillip

The Big East checks in at No. 4 in the RPI rankings, but it doesn’t get as much love in these power ratings.

It was a quick one-and-done in the NCAA tournament for both Xavier and Providence, although the Friars had their hearts broken against North Carolina in the final seconds. The Musketeers on the other hand never appeared to have much of a chance in the First Four game against T.J. Warren and North Carolina State.

Elsewhere, regular-season conference champion Villanova was the second victim of Connecticut’s run to the Final Four, which had to sting a bit more considering the Wildcats and Huskies are old conference rivals. Creighton was also destroyed by Baylor in the round of 32, which brought Doug McDermott’s college career to an unceremonious end.

The new-look Big East would have been much stronger this year had traditional names like Marquette, Georgetown and Butler turned in typically strong seasons. Instead, the conference saw all four of its tournament teams eliminated within the first two games, while the departed Huskies reached the Final Four.

No. 7: Atlantic 10

John Bazemore

All hail Dayton.

Were it not for the Flyers’ incredible run to the Elite Eight, the Atlantic 10 would have turned in a rather disappointing NCAA tournament.

Saint Louis was destroyed by Louisville in the round of 32 after being outplayed for the majority of the game against North Carolina State. VCU was stunned by Stephen F. Austin. George Washington was eliminated immediately by Memphis. Saint Joseph’s lost its first game to Connecticut. And Massachusetts was embarrassed by Tennessee.

Fortunately for the league, Dayton turned in a magical run to the Elite Eight behind victories over Ohio State, Syracuse and Stanford and hung with the mighty Florida Gators for the majority of its final game. Even with the disappointment of the other teams, Dayton’s victories and the fact that six teams went to the Big Dance were a testament to the Atlantic 10’s strength.

No. 6: American Athletic Conference

Frank Franklin II

Between Central Florida winning a BCS bowl on the gridiron and Connecticut making it all the way to the Final Four on the hardwood, it has been a banner year for the American Athletic Conference.

The conference is ranked No. 8 in the RPI ratings, but it gets more credit here for the successful run of the Huskies. Shabazz Napier is doing his best Kemba Walker impersonation, and only Florida stands in the way of an appearance in the national title game.

Louisville’s one-year stop in the league is officially over, but the American still gets credit for the Cardinals’ appearance in the Sweet 16. A heartbreaking loss to Kentucky was the only thing that prevented two AAC teams from making the Elite Eight.

Cincinnati was stunned by Harvard, and SMU was left on the outside looking in on Selection Sunday. If we look past the top two teams, the league strength isn’t quite there.

Still, an appearance in the Final Four is an appearance in the Final Four.

No. 5: ACC

Gerry Broome

The ACC has enjoyed a long and storied history, but it’s probably safe to say the 2014 NCAA tournament won’t be earning a favorable spot in the league’s collective memory.

Conference champion Virginia was eliminated by Michigan State in the Sweet 16. Duke was embarrassed by Mercer in the round of 64. Injury-plagued Iowa State knocked out North Carolina in the round of 32. Pittsburgh ran into the Florida buzz saw, and Syracuse was victimized by Dayton.

The league will be stronger next year with the addition of Louisville, but that doesn’t change the fact that the 2013-14 postseason was a major disappointment.

Had these power rankings been written in the middle of the season, the ACC would have earned a higher spot. But no teams from the league reaching the Elite Eight is hard to ignore.

No. 4: SEC

John Bazemore

Mock the SEC all you want for how weak the league was from top to bottom this year, but the fact that half of the Final Four hails from this football conference is worth a number of bonus points here.

Throw in the fact that Tennessee made an impressive run from the First Four in Dayton to the Sweet 16, and it has been an impressive NCAA tournament for the SEC. Were it not for a Jordan Morgan flop, perhaps the Vols would have made the Elite Eight as well.

Florida has been the best college basketball team all season, and Kentucky is finally playing up to its talent level. Don’t be surprised if the national championship game is a rematch of the SEC title game, which would be a remarkable feat for the league.

The lack of strength after the three teams that made the Big Dance is the reason that the conference is still behind three others.

No. 3: Pac-12

Jae C. Hong

The Pac-12 checks in at No. 3 in the RPI rankings, and it slides into the same spot here.

Arizona was one of the best teams in the country all season (hence the No. 1 seed) and saw its season end in heartbreaking fashion in overtime against Wisconsin in the Elite Eight. One point, a questionable offensive foul and a lengthy review had fans sitting on the edge of their seat against the Badgers, but the game ultimately ended in disappointment.

Wisconsin is also the team that ended Oregon’s postseason run in the round of 32 in a thrilling contest that came down to the final seconds. The eight-point margin of defeat was misleading because the Ducks actually held a lead with just more than a minute remaining.

Throw in the runs by UCLA and Stanford to the Sweet 16, and it was an impressive postseason for the Pac-12.

Stanford, in particular, caught some eyes with upset wins over New Mexico and Kansas. Dwight Powell undoubtedly earned himself a future spot in the NBA with his performances, and the future looks rather bright for the Cardinal.

No. 2: Big 12

Jeff Roberson

The fact that no Big 12 teams advanced past the Sweet 16 certainly takes some of the luster off of an incredible season for the conference.

Still, the No. 1 league in the RPI rankings deserves some recognition. You can also make the argument that had Joel Embiid been healthy for Kansas and Georges Niang been healthy for Iowa State, the Jayhawks and Cyclones would still be playing.

Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Iowa State, Texas and Kansas State all qualified for the NCAA tournament, which meant an astounding 70 percent of the league was part of the field. The star power also was hard to ignore with names like Embiid, Andrew Wiggins, Marcus Smart, Isaiah Austin, Cory Jefferson, Melvin Ejim, DeAndre Kane and Niang among others.

Even though the tournament was disappointing as a whole for the Big 12, Baylor and Iowa State still impressed by reaching the Sweet 16. Only a more impressive postseason for the Big Ten separated the two top conferences by the slimmest of margins.

No. 1: Big Ten

Jae C. Hong

A handful of possessions in the Kentucky-Michigan and Connecticut-Michigan State games in the Elite Eight were all that stood in the way of a Final Four that featured three Big Ten teams.

Alas, only Wisconsin remains from the country’s strongest league, which is a testament to the consistency of the program Bo Ryan has built.

There were some NCAA tournament disappointments for the Big Ten—Ohio State and Iowa immediately come to mind—but three teams in the Elite Eight is certainly noteworthy. Throw in the fact that Minnesota is in the semifinals of the NIT, and the postseason has been a positive one for the league.

The regular-season consistency of Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Iowa, Ohio State and even Nebraska, combined with the impressive showing in the postseason in relation to the Big 12, was enough to earn the No. 2 conference in the RPI rankings the No. 1 spot in these power ratings.