I literally look down on anyone using the P5 or P4 phrase, as a complete utter worthless moron.
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The term "Power 5" has been a source of confusion for years when applied to men's college basketball. There are six major conferences in hoops, but because there are five in college football, the label gets tossed around in both sports.
Next season, however, we will at last have a true Power 5 in college basketball. The Pac-12 is dissolving, and 10 of the league's 12 teams will join different major conferences for 2024-25. (Of course by then college football fans will be talking correctly about a "Power 4." Cross-sport confusion will continue. So be it.)
With a new alignment of Division I's top basketball conferences just around the corner, let's forecast what the pecking order might look like within this emerging Power 5. Which conferences stand to benefit from all of this realigning?"
We here at "2025 Realignment" headquarters have already discussed this matter with reference to the ACC, so we'll be brief.
Imagine that the forthcoming 2025 alignment had instead been instituted prior to the 2018-19 season and that the Pac-12 has been gone now for a little more than five years. In this scenario, SMU, California and Stanford have been members of an 18-team ACC all this time.
If this were the case, we would have seen the ACC rank No. 5 out of the five major conferences in four of the past five full seasons. In fact, the ACC would currently be on a streak of four straight last-place finishes dating to 2019-20. So far this season, the league would again be a distant fifth behind the other major conferences.
That's not a bad summary, all things considered. To be sure, the Big 12's overall strength will likely take a small hit when, in effect, the league loses Oklahoma and Texas in exchange for gaining not only UH, BYU, Cincinnati and UCF (all of which joined up this season) but also Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah (all due to arrive next season).
Still, if we proactively slapped a Big 12 label on next season's teams right now, the "new" 16-team league would retain its perch as the strongest conference in the nation today by a healthy margin.
#UCFacts
Predicting realignment: Which conferences will dominate in 2024-25?
The Pac-12 will dissolve; the ACC and Big Ten will grow to 18 teams; and "Power 5" will be redefined. Which leagues will get stronger or become more diluted?
The term "Power 5" has been a source of confusion for years when applied to men's college basketball. There are six major conferences in hoops, but because there are five in college football, the label gets tossed around in both sports.
Next season, however, we will at last have a true Power 5 in college basketball. The Pac-12 is dissolving, and 10 of the league's 12 teams will join different major conferences for 2024-25. (Of course by then college football fans will be talking correctly about a "Power 4." Cross-sport confusion will continue. So be it.)
With a new alignment of Division I's top basketball conferences just around the corner, let's forecast what the pecking order might look like within this emerging Power 5. Which conferences stand to benefit from all of this realigning?"
We here at "2025 Realignment" headquarters have already discussed this matter with reference to the ACC, so we'll be brief.
Imagine that the forthcoming 2025 alignment had instead been instituted prior to the 2018-19 season and that the Pac-12 has been gone now for a little more than five years. In this scenario, SMU, California and Stanford have been members of an 18-team ACC all this time.
If this were the case, we would have seen the ACC rank No. 5 out of the five major conferences in four of the past five full seasons. In fact, the ACC would currently be on a streak of four straight last-place finishes dating to 2019-20. So far this season, the league would again be a distant fifth behind the other major conferences.
The Big 12 is likely to look as mighty as ever
At the other extreme of the major-conference rankings we find the Big 12, which has claimed the No. 1 spot at KenPom in eight of the past 10 seasons. For such a powerful league to add a new member such as perennially strong Houston, for example, would appear to be a case of the rich getting richer.That's not a bad summary, all things considered. To be sure, the Big 12's overall strength will likely take a small hit when, in effect, the league loses Oklahoma and Texas in exchange for gaining not only UH, BYU, Cincinnati and UCF (all of which joined up this season) but also Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah (all due to arrive next season).
Still, if we proactively slapped a Big 12 label on next season's teams right now, the "new" 16-team league would retain its perch as the strongest conference in the nation today by a healthy margin.
#UCFacts
