During a season filled with injuries and inconsistency, the maligned Southeastern Conference appeared on the brink of sending just four teams to the NCAA Tournament.
When Arkansas became the fifth SEC team to reach the tournament after its run to the conference title game, it opened the door for some critics who felt teams such as Syracuse, Drexel and Appalachian State were more deserving.
But so far, the SEC and Pac 10 have been the class of the NCAA Tournament. Each respective conference has three teams remaining in the Sweet 16 – more than the ACC (North Carolina) and Big Ten (Ohio State) combined.
Overall, the SEC is a conference-best 7-2 in tournament play, with Florida, Tennessee and Vanderbilt still alive. Vanderbilt beat Pac 10 school Washington State in overtime to advance, with Tennessee downing ACC school Virginia and Florida rallying to beat Big 10 school Purdue.
