Men’s conference competitions top seeds have actually traditionally dominated

Keith LipscombMar 2, 2025, 09:00 AM ET Close Keith Lipscomb is a senior editor for ESPN Fantasy and a contributing author for men’s college basketball at ESPN.If you’re antsy for March Insanity and peak bracket season, there’s no better method to warm up than by locking into the conference tournaments.Last season, we had a remarkable 5 bid burglars, and there’s always some

form of trouble that occurs in traditional one-bid leagues.What will this year’s action bring?Though we can likely agree that previous results are not necessarily indicative of future

performance, it’s fun to examine which

competitions have actually preferred greater vs. lower seeds in recent history. The membership of lots of conferences has actually altered with continued adjustment, so the main focus will be on results considering that 2021. Nevertheless, numerous patterns that go further back are too juicy to neglect, so they will be mixed in as well.Because there are many methods to define the volatility of a particular conference tournament, here is a sampling of the aspects that were thought about: Average seed of the champ

Integrated average seed of the finalists How typically the top 2-or 3-seeds lose their first game How often a lower-seeded team makes a deep run Now let’s break it down.Tournaments that have favored greater

• seeds Note: Averages revealed listed below

• are since 2021, unless otherwise noted.

  West Coast Conference(WCC)Average seed of champion: 1.3(T-2nd least expensive )Average combined seed of finalists: 3.0(lowest)There disappears foreseeable conference tourney this century than the WCC. It all starts with Gonzaga, which has made the title game an astonishing 27 straight years, always as the No. 1 or No. 2 seed.No conference comes close to the WCC in holding kind at the top, either, as it has actually been a 1-vs. -2 in the title game 15 of the past 16 years. In 12 of those 15 years, it has been Gonzaga vs. Saint Mary’s– BYU, which has actually because left the conference, is the just other group to make the finals in that span.While it’s worth keeping in mind the top two seeds have received a bye to the semis in 17 of the previous 22 tournaments, other leagues also do this without such remarkable predictability. Southern Conference(SoCon )Average seed of champion:

  1.0(most affordable )Average combined seed of finalists: 6.8 (T-10th greatest)Editor’s Picks 2 Associated The No. 1 seed has actually won the SoCon tourney seven years in a row– no

  other league has a streak longer

  than three. Surprisingly, each of the previous six champions have actually been various, bending the league’s depth.While the champ has actually been milky, the average seed

  of the runner-up since 2021 is really tied for the 2nd greatest(5.8 )of the 31 conferences, but there’s an easy explanation for that: Blame the 7-seed. Over this seven-year streak, the No. 1 seed has actually faced the winner of the 2-vs.

  -7 quarterfinal match every year(No. 7 has four runners-up and No. 2 has 3). Extremely, No. 7 seeds have actually won 3 games to reach the title game four times in the past 5 years. Patriot League Typical seed of champ: 1.3(T-2nd least expensive)Typical combined seed of finalists: 7.0( 9th highest)Similar to the SoCon, the Patriot League competition has normally been won by the front runner– in 3 straight years and 6 of the past eight– while the runners-up have been Cinderella types(6-seeds

  the past 2 years and

  a No. 9 in 2021 ). There are two huge distinctions between the two conferences, though.1. In the Patriot, it

  has actually been a one-team program: Colgate has won 4 straight titles and appeared in 7 straight national championship.2. While the Southern Conference tourney occurs at a neutral site(Asheville, North Carolina), the higher seed hosts each game throughout the Patriot tourney, a good advantage for a dominant Colgate team that lost simply three

  conference home games in those four seasons. Southland Conference Average seed of champion: 2.0(T-7th most affordable)Average combined seed of finalists: 4.0 (T-2nd lowest)Considering that modifying the bracket to give the 1- and 2-seeds a bye to the semifinals in 2013, the Southland has actually mostly avoided major upsets for its auto-bid. The front runner has actually won each of the previous two years, and either the 1-or 2-seed has raised the prize 9 of the previous 12 competitions. The most significant surprise over this period remained in 2022, when No. 4

  seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi( 7-7 in conference play)knocked off the No. 1 and No.

  2 en route to the title.At least one of the leading 2 seeds has actually reached the championship game every year since 2013. And the last time a group seeded 5th or even worse made

  the title game was 2011. Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Typical seed of champion: 2.3 (T-13th highest) Average combined seed of finalists: 4.0(T-2nd least expensive )Regardless of a conventional bracket setup– there are no byes to the semis in Arch Madness, child!– we have actually gotten a 1-vs. -2 title game in three of the past four years, with No. 2 seed

  Drake winning in 2023 and 2024. There

  have actually been really couple of upsets in the early rounds over this
  span, as the top four seeds have reached the semifinals three of

  the previous 4 years.Here’s a” wow”truth from the Valley: The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds have actually lost in the quarterfinals only when each in the previous 26 MVC tourneys … and it occurred in the same year(2020). Summit League Average seed of champ: 1.8 (T-4th

  lowest) Average combined seed of finalists: 5.5 (T-11th most affordable)Male’s Competition Challenge Register now to play the # 1 Guy’s bracket game for FREE!$135,000 in rewards.