2016 NCAA Tournament: Big Ten Conference 14-2 After Two Rounds

The first two round of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament have wrapped, with the field narrowed to just 16 teams left. So far, major conferences have dominated, led by the Big Ten and Pac-12.

Those two conferences entered the tournament tied in total entrants, with 8 teams apiece. So far 6 of the 8 Big Ten programs remain in contention along with 4 of the 8 Pac-12 programs. That’s more than half the total teams still playing into round 3.

Even more impressive for the Big Ten are the set scores. All 8 Big Ten teams won their first round matches in clean 3-0 sweeps. That added up to a 24-0 set record heading into round 2. From there, Nebraska, Minnesota and Wisconsin all swept their round 2 matches. All-in-all, the Big Ten is a whopping 45-10 in total sets this tournament, with the only losses being #9 Michigan State to Arizona and Purdue to #15 Missouri.

The Pac-12, meanwhile, is 10-4 overall and 34-17 in sets. #6 Stanford and #8 Washington are perfect 6-0s so far, and UCLA and Arizona are still in play. Those top two conference have met three times so far, with the Big Ten winning twice (Michigan over Oregon, Wisconsin over Washington State) and the Pac-12 winning once (Arizona over Michigan State).

The Big 12 hasn’t fared well, with just 1 of 6 programs still playing. Conference champs Kansas fell in a massive upset to Creighton. #4 Texas is the only program still in the hunt for the NCAA title. There is also only one SEC program left (Missouri), but the ACC has been a surprise. UNC and Florida State are still in the hunt, with Pitt playing Penn State tough but losing in round 2.

The conferences still represented in the Sweet Sixteen: Big Ten (6), Pac-12 (4), ACC (2), Big 12 (1), SEC (1), West Coast (1) and Big East (1).

Here’s a look at the records for each conference represented in the tournament: