"Now the SEC is taking over basketball": Hoops fans celebrate Greg Sankey led conference's new March Madness achievement

On Friday, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey predicted 14 teams from the conference could make the men's NCAA Tournament. His projection aged well when it was confirmed on Sunday that a record 14 SEC teams qualified for March Madness this season.

When the SEC broke the Big East's previous record for the most teams in a single conference to enter the NCAA Tournament, fans took to social media to celebrate.

"Now the SEC is taking over basketball. Love this conference!" one tweeted.

"Well-deserved. This was probably the best conference, top to bottom, there has ever been." another commented.

"Power house SEC," added a third.

However, others weren't too pleased by the excessive number of SEC teams in the NCAA Tournament.

"Wait until half of those teams lose in the opening round. Texas getting in is a complete joke. SEC bias is ruining college sports." a user wrote.

"What a crock! Let's just call it the SEC Invitational, then." another added.

"And didn’t deserve it. No conference should get that many teams in." a fan tweeted.

The Big East had 11 teams qualify for the NCAA Tournament in 2011. However, the SEC shattered that record this year, having 14 of its 16 teams play in March Madness.

Here is a list of the SEC teams in the NCAA Tournament, along with their seedings.

• No. 1 Auburn (South)
• No. 1 Florida (West)
• No. 2 Alabama (East)
• No. 2 Tennessee (Midwest)
• No. 3 Kentucky (Midwest)
• No. 4 Texas A&M (South)
• No. 6 Ole Miss (South)
• No. 6 Missouri (West)
• No. 8 Mississippi State (East)
• No. 9 Oklahoma (West)
• No. 9 Georgia (Midwest)
• No. 10 Vanderbilt (East)
• No. 10 Arkansas (Midwest)
• No. 11 Texas (Midwest)

Greg Sankey has special message for SEC teams ahead of 2025 NCAA Tournament

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey - Source: Imagn

On Saturday, Greg Sankey had some advice for the SEC teams, including the coaches and players, to manage themselves ahead of a busy March Madness schedule.

“Last year, Garth Glissman, our associate commissioner for men’s basketball, went through all the foul calls for every team for the first, second, third, fourth round into the Final Four where we had teams in the NCAA tournament,” Sankey said.

“We put the data in front of our coaches. Higher foul count and higher technical foul count, which means you have to manage yourself physically and mentally. That’s part of the message going into next week. Manage yourself physically, emotionally and mentally."

Greg Sankey was appointed as SEC Commissioner in 2015, and has held the role ever since. It will be interesting to see if an SEC team wins the national title this year.