In this last March Madness tourney the Pac-12 had six teams in the tourney and a number one seed in Oregon. Only two of those Pac-12 teams advanced to the second round. That is dismal. It got me thinking, when was the last time a West Coast team won the NCAAM Basketball Tourney, because we all know when the last time a West Coast NCAAW team won... Never. Thanks, UCONN.
1997 - University of Arizona, Wildcats
That's almost 20 years ago.
The most recent time a team was in the championship was 10 years ago with UCLA.
The tourney is the fairest way to crown a champ and the West Coast hasn't brought the crown home in some serious time.
NCCAF is a bit better, but continues to display a lack of consistent and recent winning ways on the West Coast. The last team to win:
2004 - Southern California, Trojans
In 2008, Utah had a helluva run, but didn't get the consensus "National Championship"
It turns out, for the better part of my life the West Coast just hasn't brought the glory home in the two sports I care about the most.
-- Update --
When you only have one reader and they challenge your post... you take note and do what they ask. The argument is that there are a lot more East Coast school than there are West Coast schools. And without looking at reported numbers, I would agree with this statement. This means you would have more chances to win the championships because you have more teams. Simple logic. Simple math... A valid point.
Does it make more sense then to compare it by conference? Well, not really. You have more teams so you would have more conferences. You should come to the same conclusion. More chances to win... So really what the argument is saying is that when a West Coast team wins, its huge. They are the underdog!
For kicks and giggles, lets look at the numbers:
NCAAB Championships by Conference - Thanks Wiki!
NCAAF Championships by Conference
1) IVY League: 46.... Yeah... this doesn't count. Moving on
2) Big Ten: 39
3) SEC: 29
4) ACC: 18
5) Independents: 17
6) Pac 12: 15
7) Big 12: 11
I think the argument here is what have you done recently. And the SEC has just been flat dominant. Oregon represented the Pac 12 very recently, but wasn't able to bring the hardware.
It is an uphill road for the West.
1 comment:
I see where you're going with this but it's also important to take into account the huge discrepancy in number of teams in the east compared to the west. The best comparison would just be between conferences.
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