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Two of a kind
Tournament titles outweigh regular-season crowns
Posted: Monday March 05, 2001 3:35 AM
Updated: Monday March 05, 2001 4:05 AM
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Mateen Cleaves led Michigan State to a trio of titles last season. Jed JacobsohnAllsport |
By Jacob Luft, CNNSI.com
Given the choice, would you rather have your favorite school win its regular-season conference championship or the postseason conference tournament?
Capturing the regular-season crown requires two months of grueling effort; a team only needs to catch fire for three or four days to win the conference tournament. The real question is, which title bodes the best for NCAA tournament hopes?
The statistics show conference tournaments hold an edge in importance.
Since 1980, 44 of the 84 Final Four participants were regular-season conference champions.
| Hat Tricks |
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Teams that won a regular-season conference title, conference tournament title and NCAA title in the same season (since 1980):
|
| Team |
Year |
Conf. |
| Michigan State* |
2000 |
Big Ten |
| Connecticut |
1999 |
Big East |
| Kentucky |
1998 |
SEC |
| Duke |
1992 |
ACC |
| UNLV |
1990 |
Big West |
| Louisville |
1986 |
Metro |
| Georgetown |
1984 |
Big East |
| North Carolina* |
1982 |
ACC |
| Louisville |
1980 |
Metro |
|
* Shared regular-season title
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During that the same span, 40 teams reached the Final Four after winning their conference tournaments. Now consider that 15 of those 84 Final Four teams played in conferences that did not hold postseason tournaments in those years.
That means 69 of the past 84 Final Four teams participated in conference tournaments. Of those 69 squads, 40 were victorious in their conference tournaments.
When it comes to national championships, having either a tournament or regular-season conference title is an especially good omen. Of the past 21 national champions, only five did not claim a conference title of some sort.
Here are some other nuggets of information on the topic:
Winning both the regular-season and postseason conference titles has been done 26 times since 1980. Eight of those teams were national champions. Three other national champions -- UCLA (1995) and Indiana ('87, '81) -- did not play in conference tournaments.
Oklahoma fell short of the championship trifecta when, after winning both Big 8 titles, lost to conference foe Kansas in the 1988 NCAA championship game.
The 1989 Final Four included no regular-season or conference tournament champions: Michigan, Seton Hall, Duke and Illinois.
The SEC, ACC and Big Ten all had split regular-season champions this season. Kentucky and Florida claimed the 11th co-SEC title (UK is involved in eight) when the Gators beat the Wildcats 94-86 on Sunday. The ACC crown was divided for the eighth time when North Carolina topped Duke 95-81. In the Big Ten, Illinois and Michigan State gave the conference its 24th split title, with three coming in the past four seasons.
 |
| ACC |
| Seasons |
Tournaments |
Winners of both |
| 47 |
47 |
23 |
|
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| SEC |
| Seasons |
Tournaments |
Winners of both |
| 68 |
40 |
24* |
| * Includes 1988 regular season and SEC tournament titles forfeited by Kentucky |
|
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| Atlantic 10 |
| Seasons |
Tournaments |
Winners of both |
| 24 |
24 |
14 |
|
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| Big East |
| Seasons |
Tournaments |
Winners of both |
| 21 |
21 |
12 |
|
 |
| Big 12 |
| Seasons |
Tournaments |
Winners of both |
| 4 |
4 |
3 |
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