Seed Distributions for March Madness: A Tool for Bracketologists

Power Conferences Versus Mid-Majors

The selection committee has been kind to Power Conferences (Atlantic Coast Conference, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 12, and since 2014, American Athletic Conference). The criteria used to select at-large teams to be in the tournament favor Power Conference teams (Top 50 Wins, Strength of Schedule, NET/RPI, etc...) The following table gives the number of Power Conferences and mid-major at-large teams that have been selected by the committee between 2006 and 2023.

Number of Power Conferences	Year	Auto Bids	At-Large Bids	Power Conference At-Large Bids	Other At-Large Bids
6	2006	31	34	26	8
6	2007	31	34	28	6
6	2008	31	34	28	6
6	2009	31	34	30	4
6	2010	31	34	26	8
6	2011	31	37	30	7
6	2012	31	37	26	11
6	2013	31	37	26	11
7	2014	32	36	29	7
7	2015	32	36	30	6
7	2016	32	36	33	3
7	2017	32	36	33	3
7	2018	32	36	33	3
7	2019	32	36	32	4
7	2021	31	37	33	4
7	2022	32	36	30	6
7	2023	32	36	32	4

Given the abundance of Power Conference teams in the tournament, how do they do? The following table gives their performance in the various rounds of the tournament (between 2006 and 2022).

Conference	Total Number of Teams in Tournament	Reached Round of 32	Reached Sweet 16	Reached Elite 8	Reached Final Four	Won National Championship
Big 10	113	80	38	15	10	0
Pac 12	74	50	31	12	5	0
Big 12	103	69	35	22	7	3
SEC	87	60	30	19	10	3
ACC	102	69	42	23	11	5
Big East	111	68	36	20	12	5
AAC	25	13	6	3	2	1
Percent of Total	.	67	81	84	84	100

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