I am torn on how to write this. Normally, I do this article in between the Elite 8 and the Final 4. I can rate how the tournament has gone up to that point, and not worry about how the rest of the team goes. But with it being so close to the championship, I feel a little uncomfortable with it. And part of the reason is how the Big 12 has done as a whole. At the end of the day, it is a very true statement that teams win championships – not conferences.

But we can’t break with tradition. So, here we go!!!! I will do any conference that got multiple teams in the tournament — and then, we will have a catch-all for the rest.

Pac 12 – A+++. The Pac 12 was the story of this tournament. According to the seeds, Colorado, USC and Oregon were supposed to win their first round games, and then the conference would disappear from the tournament. So, what happens. The top seeded Pac 12 team, Colorado actually did lose in the second round as expected. Oregon and USC both made the Sweet 16 – forcing USC to eliminate one of their conference foes. 12 seeded Oregon State that only got in by winning the Pac 12 tournament beat Tennessee, Oklahoma State and Loyola-Chicago to get to the Elite 8. And of course, we all know what 11 seeded UCLA almost did in the Final Four. They might not have won the championship – but as a conference, they were the stars of the tournament.

American – A+. Sure – Wichita State lost in the First Four in a close game to Drake. And Houston was a 2 seed, so they were supposed to do well. But any time, the American Conference has a team make it to the Final 4 like the Cougars did, that is an A+ in my book.

SINGLE BID CONFERENCES – A+. 15 seed Oral Roberts made it to the Sweet 16. And 14 seed Abilene Christian, 13 seed North Texas and 13 seed Ohio all won their first games. Having a 15 seed in the Sweet 16 is easily an A+ for a group that isn’t supposed to win a game in the tournament. Cinderella lasted a lot longer than usual this year.

West Coast – A. I almost gave them an A+ as well for the same reason. The only thing that stopped this is that Gonzaga was undefeated and the number 1 team in the country. Expectations are slightly higher than they were for Houston. Also, BYU was supposed to win their first round game, and while they were not the only favorite that lost to UCLA, it doesn’t change that they were expected to win that game.

Missouri Valley – A-. Drake won their First 4 game against Wichita State. And Loyola-Chicago’s upset of top seeded Illinois earns them a top grade. Normally, I would give the Missouri Valley an A or A+ for making the Sweet 16 – but the fact that the Ramblers were suddenly the favorites to make it to Elite 8 when Oregon State also advanced drops them slightly to an A-.

SEC – B+. The SEC deserves the next best grade of the Power 5 conferences, so I almost gave them an A-. But at the end, I dropped them to a B+. They basically did what they were expected to. Based on seed, they were supposed to have one Elite 8 team and one Sweet 16 team, Alabama got upset in the Sweet 16 but Arkansas made up for it by getting to the Elite 8. Tennessee got upset as a 5 seed, but LSU and Florida both won their first round games like they were supposed to. Missouri was a 9 seed and lost a close game to Oklahoma. Not a bad tournament – but at the end, it didn’t feel like they exceeded expectations to deserve an A. But compared to the other Power 5 conferences, meeting expectations is still pretty good.

Big East – B. Villanova, Creighton and UConn were supposed to win their first round games and then bow out of the tournament. UConn was upset, but Villanova and Creighton both advanced to the Sweet 16. Georgetown wasn’t supposed to win their game – but they weren’t supposed to be blown out either. I would say because they got two Sweet 16 teams, they exceeded expectations, but a major conference like the Big East needs at least an Elite 8 team to get an A.

ACC – C+. With Florida State and Virginia being 4 seeds, the ACC weren’t supposed to make the Elite 8. But despite seeds, that is never the expectation for the ACC – they are supposed to be playing late in March. Florida State got to the Sweet 16 as expected. And Syracuse as an 11 seed getting to the Sweet 16 was great. But Virginia got upset by 13 seed Ohio, and Clemson, UNC, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech all lost. They might not have had high expectations this year, but 4 wins by 7 ACC teams can’t get anything other than a C.

Big 12 – C. The only thing that makes this a passing grade is Baylor. They might have been supposed to make the Final 4 – but I can’t fail a conference when they have a representative in the Championship game. But Texas got upset by 14 seed Abilene Christian, and Kansas, West Virginia and Oklahoma State all got upset a round early – with West Virginia and Oklahoma State losing to double digit seeds. And while Texas Tech and Oklahoma got to the second round as they were supposed to, they also couldn’t pull an upset to make up for the top half of the lead. When you are supposed to have 5 teams in the Sweet 16 and you only get one, you don’t typically get a passing grade. That is how much that Baylor is carrying the Big 12. (And as I watch Baylor beat Gonzaga by 19 points, I am questioning if I have to give them a B simply based on the Bears).

Atlantic 10 – C-. To be fair, St. Bonaventure and VCU weren’t supposed to win. But St. Bonaventure losing by double digits isn’t really meeting expectations. And I don’t really know what to say about VCU. On one side, they didn’t get to play which is terribly sad. On the other side, they were the only team that couldn’t pass the protocols. Can’t really give worse than a C- since they weren’t supposed to win a game, but this wasn’t what the Atlantic 10 wanted.

Mountain West – D. Both Utah State and San Diego State lost their games by double digits. But as the 6 seed, San Diego State was supposed to win their game. I don’t feel right giving an F to a conference that was only supposed to win one game to begin with – but this was a really bad performance for them.

Big 10 – F. The Big 10 had 4 of the top 8 seeds and 5 of the top 16. Then Ohio State loses in the first round to 15 seed Oral Roberts. Then Purdue loses in the first round to 13 seed North Texas. Illinois and Iowa both lose in the second round unexpectedly. Michigan at least got to the Elite 8 – but they were supposed to get to the Final 4. You have to give a little credit to Wisconsin, Maryland and Rutgers for their upsets. But the entire tournament was played in Indianapolis in the heart of Big 10 country. When you are supposed to have 2 of the Final 4 teams and 5 of the Sweet 16 – and you only get 1 team to the Elite 8, that is a big failure.