The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is the traditional powerhouse of college basketball, but have they given up that title? I would argue that this season, the Big 12 Conference is more competitive, tougher and overall a better conference than the ACC. The Big 12 is a more solid conference top to bottom than the ACC. The Big 12 and ACC both placed seven teams in the NCAA tournament, however, the Big 12 only has 10 teams compared to the ACC's 15. This is the best proof of how competitive the Big 12 was this season.
The usual top ACC teams like Duke, Syracuse and Notre Dame are all down this year. Where a lot of the Big 12 teams are up; West Virginia, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Baylor. This has been a very strange season in college basketball. Upsets on top of upsets made the regular season exciting and unpredictable. The Big 12 was a battle, where anyone could beat anyone on any given night.
The ACC does have two number one seeds in the NCAA tournament (Virginia and North Carolina), where Kansas is the only number one seed from the Big 12. However, I believe number two Oklahoma or number three West Virginia could make a deep run in the tournament. It will be interesting to watch the ACC vs. Big 12 matchups throughout March Madness.
The Big 12 and ACC offer different cultures when it comes to college basketball. The classic history in the ACC with teams like Duke and North Carolina are what most people think of when discussing the best teams in the NCAA. The Big 12 is on the rise though, with classic teams like Kansas and Oklahoma, with rising teams like West Virginia and Baylor.
There are many different playmakers in both of these conferences, but the best player in the country, in my opinion is Buddy Hield from Oklahoma. One could argue that ACC players like Grayson Allen (Duke), Brice Johnson (UNC) or even Ben Simmons (LSU who is in the SEC) are the best players in college basketball. In the ACC, we see more one and done players compared to the Big 12. Although there is a great, new batch of talent in the ACC each season, you don't get to watch the players develop throughout their four years, which takes away from the game.
The argument of what college basketball conference is the best will be settled within the next month. Rankings, seedings and records are thrown out and madness ensues in the month of March.
