Bracketology: What conference has the most teams in the NCAA tournament?

The most popular tournament in the United States is right around the corner. Selection Sunday is less than a month away. Teams will find out if they have qualified to compete for the Division 1 college basketball championship.

Bracketologists across the country predict which teams will be invited by the committee based on their performance. Following every bracket expert to compare which teams are in and who are out is a difficult task.

BracketMatrix simplifies this and takes the average seed placement across multiple bracket experts. Teams are placed on each seed line according to the average number across each bracket analyzed.

Check it out here: http://www.bracketmatrix.com/

So which conference is leading the field among the teams currently in the tournament picture?

Big 12

8 teams (Kansas, Texas, Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas State, TCU, West Virginia, Oklahoma State)

K.J Adams dunks versus Texas

The Big 12 is considered the best conference in the country. Their conference schedule is a gauntlet for every team. There are three teams under .500 in conference play and none with an under .500 record overall.

Out of the eight teams currently projected to make the tournament field, six of them are the top five seeds.

Big Ten

8 teams (Purdue, Indiana, Rutgers, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan State, Northwestern)

Zach Edey dunks versus Penn State

It might be surprising to see Big Ten teams projected to make the tournament. Purdue is the only elite team with a number-one seed in every bracket.

The highest projected teams after Purdue are Indiana and Rutgers. Both are projected as five seeds.

This conference might run on reputation more than anything. But it's still a difficult schedule to play. Six teams are currently tied for third in conference play at 7-5.

ACC

7 teams (Virginia, Miami, Duke, NC State, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Clemson)

Virginia v Syracuse

The perception around the ACC is that this is a down year. Getting seven teams in the tournament during a down year is impressive.

Big names like Duke, North Carolina, and Syracuse are average teams at best. This could be driving the perception, but other teams have picked up their slack.

SEC

6 teams (Alabama, Tennessee, Auburn, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky)

Alabama v Arkansas

This is a top-heavy conference. Alabama is a consensus number-one seed and Tennessee is on the edge of a one or two.

There are six teams with a losing record in conference play. The best teams in the SEC feast on the bottom feeders. This both hurts and helps the conference.

The best teams will have a high win total, but it will limit how many teams can get in the tournament overall.

Big East

5 teams (Xavier, Marquette, Connecticut, Providence, Creighton)

St. John's v Xavier

A staple in the tournament is Big East teams. It's not the conference of old, but they have a gritty identity.

This is also a high-level conference. All five of the projected tournament teams are currently ranked in the Top 25 in the national poll.

Mountain West

4 teams (San Diego State, New Mexico, Boise State, Nevada)

New Mexico v San Diego State

Mountain West is an awesome conference. Any team can beat another on any night.

Three teams are tied for second in conference play. The second-placed teams are one game back from the first-place team.

Mountain West teams haven't had much success in the tournament over the years, so getting four teams in would be a victory.

Pac-12

3 teams (Arizona, UCLA, USC)

UCLA v Arizona

It's shocking to see only three teams in this conference projected to make the tournament.

Half of the teams have a losing record in conference play, four have a losing record overall and the entire conference has a losing record against the Top 25 teams. The Pac-12 is truly having a down year. They have to hope their top-end teams can make a deep run.