Ole Miss gives SEC record-breaking 7th Sweet 16 team

The SEC can add another record to its haul from the 2025 NCAA Tournament, as it will have seven teams in the Sweet 16, the most ever sent to that stage of the competition by any conference.

No. 6 Ole Miss' upset of No. 3 Iowa State ensured the conference will hold the new mark after it tied the ACC's mark of six, set in 2016, earlier Sunday.

The Rebels joined No. 1 Florida, No. 1 Auburn, No. 2 Alabama, No. 2 Tennessee, No. 3 Kentucky, and No. 10 Arkansas in making it through the first weekend, and they did so in style with a 13-point blowout of the Cyclones.

While the achievement is impressive, it's worth noting that the conference had a record 14 teams in the field this year. When the ACC sent six members to the Sweet 16 nine years ago, it only had seven teams in the entire tournament field.

The SEC could dominate the next few rounds as well, since the only Sweet 16 matchup featuring two of its members is Kentucky versus Tennessee. The possibility for an all-SEC Final Four is also alive with the seven schools spread out across all four regions.

With one conference making up almost half the Sweet 16, there is a serious lack of Cinderella programs bringing the underdog angle to the tournament's second weekend. No. 10 Arkansas is the lowest seed still standing, marking the first time since 2007 that there is no 11-seed or lower in the regional semifinals.