Four teams in the Sweet 16 and Auburn in the Final Four led the SEC in 2018-19, a league where the benefits of investment, outstanding coaching hires and overall commitment to hoops continue to show.
Conference Notes
2018-19 Big West Post-Mortem
A string of remarkable parity in the Big West Conference this decade was snapped by UC Irvine, which had a huge season and has emerged as the league’s top program.
2018-19 Southern Conference Post-Mortem
Already enjoying great improvement the previous few years, the ancient Southern Conference broke out on the national scene with teams in the national rankings, NCAA at-large contenders, and the league’s best year in over half a century.
2018-19 Summit League Post-Mortem
Mike Daum’s terrific career at South Dakota State finished up this year. Surprisingly, it didn’t include another Summit League tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance, as this time it was North Dakota State returning to postseason supremacy.
2018-19 Big Ten Post-Mortem
The Michigan schools and Purdue continued their excellence in the Big Ten, which was again one of the top conferences in the land and sent a league-record number of teams to the NCAA Tournament.
2018-19 Conference USA Post-Mortem
Old Dominion won the regular season and tournament titles in Conference USA, which was actually an improved conference again but whose razor-thin difference between many squads mean it didn’t always show.
2018-19 WAC Post-Mortem
It was another very solid year for the unsung WAC, which continued its comeback with seven teams going to the postseason. One member still loomed large over the rest, though: New Mexico State.
2018-19 Big 12 Post-Mortem
For the first time in 15 years, the Big 12 champion was not Kansas. The league was once again atop conference rankings, though, led by a program whose rise the past couple years very nearly resulted in a national title.
2018-19 Big Sky Post-Mortem
Experienced but very small, Montana and its terrific backcourt played through a key injury to own the Big Sky for the second straight year
2018-19 OVC Post-Mortem
It was a special year for the Ohio Valley Conference, which put two teams in the NCAA Tournament and had a rare crop of individual talent led by a superlative performer who even got ESPN’s attention.
