State Farm Arena will serve as a battleground for a March Madness power struggle between the sport’s top two conferences this weekend.
Two of the SEC’s record-breaking seven Sweet 16 teams will face off against a pair of Big Ten powerhouses with a Final Four berth on the line.
The No. 6-seeded Ole Miss team will try to topple No. 2-seed Michigan State at 7:09 p.m. Friday. It would be the Rebels’ second upset of the tournament after beating No. 3-seed Iowa State last weekend.
Top-seeded Auburn will follow with a scheduled 9:39 p.m. tipoff against No. 5-seed Michigan. The winners will advance to the Elite Eight and tip off Sunday at State Farm Arena.
The SEC has been the sport’s chief power so far this year, putting an record 14 teams in the NCAA Tournament. The conference had two No. 1 seeds, two No. 2 seeds and a dominant record over other conferences in the regular season.
Every conference except for the Big Ten, that is.
The SEC went 185-23 against other conferences in the regular season. That included 14-2 records against the ACC and the Big 12.
Its winning record against the Big Ten was much slimmer at 10-9.
The SEC went 2-1 against the Big Ten in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Tennessee beat UCLA and Kentucky beat Illinois while Michigan eliminated Texas A&M.
The SEC’s regular-season and early-tournament accomplishments are impressive, but a failure to make a strong showing in the later rounds and win a national championship would weaken the SEC’s stamp on this season.
SEC fans would also love to see a basketball national champion after watching the Big Ten surpass the SEC for the past two titles in football.
The SEC and Big Ten have emerged as the top two conferences in football and basketball. The conferences have won nine of the past 10 college football championships and annually put at least one title contender in the NCAA Tournament.
That’s part of what makes the next three games in Atlanta so interesting. Fans won’t have to hope for the right matchups to watch the two conferences brawl. It’s happening twice in a five-hour span with a good chance for a third game Sunday.
Auburn is the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed, while Michigan State is the highest-seeded Big Ten team. If the top seeds win out, the Spartans would face the Tigers in the Elite Eight.
The Spartans could represent the Big Ten’s best chance at spoiling the SEC’s dream season. Michigan State is the only remaining Big Ten team that is favored in its Sweet 16 matchup.
An 11th trip to the Final Four for Michigan State would both eliminate one of the SEC’s top seeds while placing one of college basketball’s blue bloods just two wins away from a third national title.
It would be the second Final Four in Auburn history, but the Tigers appear plenty powerful enough to overcome any lack of experience and push for a fitting end to a monstrous SEC season.
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