Sports
Do Conference Tournament Titles Translate to NCAA Tournament Success?
When you watch analysts fill out their NCAA tournament brackets, you normally see them pick a conference tournament winner in their brackets. How can you blame them? These teams are entering the tournament playing their best basketball of the season, and we all just got to watch them play winning basketball in a tournament setting.
Because of that, I wanted to find out whether there’s an advantage to power conference teams winning their tournament, or if some added adversity and rest are better when trying to win in March?
I looked at results from the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, and Pac-12 tournaments since 2015 to see if I could find any trends within each conference and across the power conferences as a whole.
Over those 10 years, only four conference tournament champions have gone on to win the national championship, with half of those wins coming in the last two seasons. With the prevalence of NIL, I think we will see more conference tournament champions win in March Madness.
Another statistic that stood out was the number of first-round exits. Of the 59 teams examined, 15 exited in the first round of the tournament. Those 15 were fairly evenly distributed among the conferences, with each conference winner having at least 2 first-round exits since 2015, and the ACC, Big Ten, and Big 12 each having 3.
The Big 12 has the highest average success over the last decade. They only have two first-round exits and three final four appearances out of their conference tournament winners. The Big East follows closely behind the Big 12, but their conference is far more volatile.
UConn and Villanova have half of the four championships on this list, which helps the average finish for the Big East, but they have a median finish in the round of 32, whereas the Big 12’s median finish falls between the Sweet 16 and Elite 8.
The biggest shock on this list was the disappointing finishes from ACC tournament winners. The ACC had the second-lowest average finish for conference winners, zero national champions, and a tie for the most first-round exits. For a conference that’s won three national championships over the analyzed period, it’s shocking to see such a small amount of success from the teams that won the ACC tournaments.
Below are the conferences ranked in total final fours, and average finishes.
Final Fours:
1. Big East: 3 Final Fours, 2 Champions
2. Big 12: 3 Final Fours, 1 Champion
T3. ACC: 3 Final Fours, 0 Champions
T3. Big Ten: 3 Final Fours, 0 Champions
5. SEC: 2 Final Fours, 1 Champion
PAC-12: 0 Final Fours
Average Finishes:
- Big 12
- Big East
- Big 10
- SEC
- ACC
- PAC-12
My biggest takeaway from looking into these teams is not to put too much weight on how a team finishes its conference tournament.
What makes March Madness the best sporting event on the planet is the volatility. Teams can get hot for one game or one month, and you shouldn’t put too much pressure on a team to win its conference. The college basketball season is a marathon, not a spring. Pick the team that’s been the best for the longest period of time, not the one that’s just getting hot at the right time.
Sports
Italy pivots to RHP Aaron Nola in WBC semis vs. Venezuela
Mar 11, 2026; Houston, TX, United States; Italy starting pitcher Aaron Nola (27) pitches against Mexico in the fifth inning at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images Team Italy will turn to right-hander Aaron Nola as the starter for Monday’s World Baseball Classic semifinal game against Venezuela at Miami, instead of right-hander Michael Lorenzen.
With an eye toward Tuesday’s championship game, Italy presumably will line up Lorenzen for a potential matchup against the United States for the WBC title. Lorenzen earned the win against the U.S. in pool play last Tuesday when he gave up two hits over 4 2/3 scoreless innings.
Nola also dominated in his lone start of the tournament when he held Mexico without a run on four hits with five strikeouts to close out pool play on Wednesday. Italy finished 4-0 in pool play, while the United States went 3-1.
Nola, 32, is coming of the worst season of his career in 2025 when he was 5-10 with a 6.01 ERA in 17 starts for the Philadelphia Phillies, while battling ankle and rib injuries.
In 11 career seasons, all with the Phillies, Nola is 109-89 with a 3.83 ERA in 285 appearances (all starts) and finished as high as third in National League Cy Young Award voting in 2018 when he made his lone All-Star appearance.
Lorenzen, 34, signed a one-year deal with the Colorado Rockies in the offseason after going 7-11 with a 4.64 ERA in 27 appearances (26 starts) for the Kansas City Royals last season.
In 11 career seasons, Lorenzen is 54-55 with a 4.08 ERA in 395 games (119 starts) for six different clubs. He made his lone All-Star Game appearance in 2023 as a member of the Detroit Tigers.
–Field Level Media
Sports
World Cup of Hockey '28 coming to Calgary, Edmonton, Prague
Sep 29, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Team Canada center Brad Marchand (63) hoists the championship trophy after game two of the World Cup of Hockey final against Team Europe at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images The North American portion of the World Cup of Hockey 2028 will take place in the Alberta cities of Edmonton and Calgary.
Prague, in the Czech Republic, will serve as the European host for the international tournament, which was most recently held in 2016.
Scotia Place, the Calgary Flames’ new arena opening for the 2027-28 season, and Prague’s 02 Arena will each host six round-robin games and one elimination game. The World Cup semifinals and final will be held at Rogers Place, home of the Edmonton Oilers.
“There is no international competition in sports that matches the passion, skill, and excitement of hockey’s best-on-best coming together to represent their countries — last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off and the recent Winter Olympics were just the latest examples,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said.
“We at the National Hockey League and our partners at the National Hockey League Players’ Association can’t wait to bring the World Cup of Hockey 2028 to three spectacular venues in three cities that shine when staging big events. We know Calgary, Edmonton and Prague will serve as fantastic hosts for hockey fans from all over the globe, and that the greatest hockey players in the world will compete on a level that will make this event truly memorable.”
Dates for the eight-nation tournament, as well as the competing nations and a full schedule, will be announced at a later date.
“Coming off the amazing international hockey played at the recent Olympic Winter games, NHL players are very excited to return to international hockey at the World Cup of Hockey 2028,” NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh said. “Calgary, Edmonton and Prague are cities with very deep roots in hockey and the games will be played in three hockey venues that will be amongst the best in the world. The players cannot wait to don their home country’s sweaters in Alberta and Prague in February 2028.”
The three previous editions of the World Cup of Hockey were won by the United States (1996) and Canada (2004, 2016).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Six WWE Superstars Who Could Miss WrestleMania 42
We are five weeks away from WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas. The main events have been announced. Night 1 will be the American Nightmare Cody Rhodes taking on the Viper Randy Orton for the WWE Championship.
Night 2 is headlined by CM Punk facing Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship. There are six women’s matches rumored to be featured on the card, and 14-16 bouts total.
So, when looking at the WWE roster right now, who is in danger of missing out on the grandest stage of them all? Let us look at six WWE superstars who might not have their WM moment this year. We are also not counting injuries, so Bianca Belair, Roxanne Perez, or Bron Breakker will not be included on the list.
Tiffany Stratton and Guilia
It might not be Tiffy Time at WrestleMania this year.
Stratton has not appeared on WWE television since losing the Elimination Chamber match and has been on television only five times this year. She defeated Kiana James on Friday Night SmackDown, along with Chelsea Green, Alba Fyre, and Guilia. The reason I paired these two together is that Stratton has her eyes on the Women’s US Championship, and Guilia currently holds the belt. The problem is that the title has not been featured on a PLE since its debut at Saturday Night’s Main Event in December 2024. They could find themselves competing for the belt on the SmackDown before ‘Mania or the Raw a day afterwards. Let’s hope Triple H makes the right decision and gives this championship the spotlight it deserves
Lyra Valkyria
Last week on Monday Night Raw, Bayley won the Gauntlet Match to become the No. 1 contender for the Women’s Intercontinental Champion. She will face AJ Lee, and there could be some shenanigans. Becky could interfere, and so could Lyra. If Becky gets added to the match at WM, where does that put Lyra? They could make it a Fatal-Four-Way, but the odds of that happening are slim. Valkyria is the inaugural Intercontinental Champion, and it would be nice to have to be involved in the title picture somehow. Perhaps she is in Bayley’s corner at WM. That would be worth an appearance.
Gunther
The career killer has not had much of a direction since retiring AJ Styles at the Royal Rumble. He last beat Dragon Lee on Raw and took off Lee’s mask, causing a controversy. Now, Gunther is without an opponent for WrestleMania. He could face Rey Mysterio, but I do not see Mysterio putting his career on the line and losing. Or he could answer Brock Lesnar’s open challenge, but the rumor is these two will collide at SummerSlam in what would be Lesnar’s last match. Heading into WM, the “Ring General” is the biggest heel in the company, and not having him on the card would be disappointing.
LA Knight
LA Knight cannot catch a break. He is one of the most over superstars in WWE, but never gets the push.
Reports suggest Triple H has a personal dislike for Knight, and this could be the reason he is not the WWE Champion yet. Knight is currently feuding with the Vision in a nothing burger of a rivalry. He is rumored to be one of the options to face Brock Lesnar at WM, but fans don’t want to see him get squashed. Knight has been letting out his frustrations with the company, and as reported by Ringside News, he asked to move to Raw because he was done feuding with the MFTs. Hopefully, WWE can find a slot for him in Vegas because the WWE Universe is clamoring for it.
Aleister Black
Seriously, what were we even doing with him? His last two appearances on SmackDown have been interactions with Sami Zayn. The two are not reported to be headed towards a collision course at WrestleMania, so what is the point? He is relegated to backstage segments even though his match with Randy Orton was fine. Black and Vega are being portrayed as Karrion Kross and Scarlett when they were in WWE. Not adding much to the program, and not having any real character development. I really do not know what they will do with him, and would not be shocked if he did not get his WM moment.
Triple H has a lot of work to do, and it is rumored WWE Creative is hoping Bron Breakker can return before ‘Mania to kickstart a rivalry with Seth Rollins. The dominoes will soon fall, and WWE fans will have a clearer picture of what they will be seeing come April 18th and 19th. Speaking of which, there are five matches announced for the event, and by the end of this week, more will be added. In the next article, I will delve into each match and the rivalry between the competitors.
Italy pivots to RHP Aaron Nola in WBC semis vs. Venezuela
World Cup of Hockey '28 coming to Calgary, Edmonton, Prague
