| Conference | Expected | Actual |
| BE Total | (4-2) | (4-2) |
| B1G Total | (5-0) | (4-1) |
| B12 Total | (3-2) | (2-2) |
| ACC Total | (3-0) | (2-1) |
| SEC Total | (1-2) | (2-1) |
| MWC Total | (0-3) | (0-2) |
| WCC Total | (0-2) | (0-1) |
| MVC Total | (0-2) | (0-1) |
| A10 Total | (0-1) | (1-1) |
| OVC Total | (0-1) | (0-1) |
| CUSA Total | (0-1) | (0-0) |
| MAC Total | (0-0) | (1-0) |
| P12 Total | (0-0) | (0-1) |
| CAA Total | (0-0) | (0-1) |
Major conferences started to get dinged in the Round of 32. #10 Purdue made up for Michigan's upset loss to Ohio in the Round of 64, but they weren't able to hold up the conference banner and fell just short of upsetting #2 Kansas. The B12 continued to suffer the fallout of #2 Missouri's Round of 64 upset as neither of its #8 seeds Kansas St or Iowa St could get an upset over a #1 seed. In the ACC #11 NC State upset #3 Georgetown to make up for #2 Duke's absence in the Round of 32, but #3 Florida St gave that conference another black eye (figuratively speaking but also possibly literally) in their loss to #6 Cincinnati.
On the upside the SEC "outperformed" when #7 Florida ended #15 Norfolk St's Cinderella story. Similarly the A10 continued to outperform with #10 Xavier ending #15 Lehigh's NCAAs journey. MAC Daddy #13 Ohio University is the lone low major still dancing after scoring a mild upset over #12 South Florida from the Big East.
All in all when we look forward to the Sweet 16 teams we really don't see much of a storyline. Much to our chagrin there were no Big Least type major conference flops this year. There were a couple of headliner upsets in the Round of 64, but only Ohio University remains as the feel good story for this year's tournament. The other surviving lower seeds that have survived are from major conferences (NC State, Florida, Cincinnati) or the unlovable mid major gangsta X-Men whom no one in America outside of a segment of Cincinnati OH's residents care to see advance any further. We can't rally behind those teams. So...
We're all in for the Bobcats now! #1 UNC is ripe for the upset with Marshall getting screwed (he had one inserted into an arm bone that he broke in their win over Creighton).
